The Atlantic City Council will meet 5:30-p.m. Wednesday in their chambers at City Hall, the first meeting held in the same room since the electronic, social distancing sessions via ZOOM began April 1st.  The last time they met together in the same room was the meeting held March 4th. During this Wednesday’s meeting, Mayor Dave Jones will swear-in the City’s newest Police Officer, Tayte Schoff, who was selected from a highly qualified and competitive pool of applicants. Schoff replaces a full-time officer who left a few months ago. Originally from Iowa, Officer Schoff comes to the City from Scotland County, MO., where he served as a Deputy with the Sheriff’s Office. His first day on the force in Atlantic, was March 17, 2020.

After he’s sworn-in, the Atlantic City Council will review bids for the Atlantic Facade Rehabilitation Project, made possible through a Community Development Block Grant. City Administrator John Lund says only two bids were received, one from Cornerstone Commercial Contractors, Inc., of Corning, and United Construction, in Atlantic. The bids, which were close, came in well below the projected cost of $520,000. Lund is expected to recommend the Council approve the low bid of $422,009 from Cornerstone Contractors. The facade project will include the following businesses on Chestnut Street:

• Nails & Spa
• Brymon’s Interiors
• Meredith Communications
• The Fog Zone

as well 509, 511 and 514 Chestnut. After acting on a Resolution to approve the recommended bid, the Atlantic City Council will take action on a request from property owner Tad Wonio, to reverse an abatement at 602 Maple Street. The property has been the subject of repeated complaints and violations of an Ordinance against nuisance household waste and junk, dating back to March 1st. City crews cleaned-up the property on March 13th, after repeated notices were sent about the mess. The City then billed Wonio $937 for equipment, labor and materials necessary to get rid of the trash.

In other business, the Council will act on approving a Resolution “To change the Federal Functional Classification System on Atlantic Roadways,”: from Urban Local to Urban Collector for Highland Road from the south Urban Area Boundary north, then east on Marne Ave. to Highway 83; from Urban Minor Arterial to Urban Local, for W. 6th Street from the west Urban Area Boundary east to Sunnyside Lane, and Sunnyside Lane from W. 6th Street to Highway 6. A similar Resolution was approved May 12th by the Cass County Board of Supervisors.

The Council will hold a Public Hearing for an amendment to the FY 2020 Budget, which John Lund says is a routine matter, and involves only a few changes with regard to revenue and expenditures. They will also act on a Resolution setting June 17th as the date for a Public Hearing on “Designation of the Expanded North Urban Renewal Area and on [an] Urban Renewal Plan Amendment,” with regard to the Whitney Group Development agreement that was approved by the Council in 2017, but has since run into some legal snags pertaining to Tax Increment Financing (TIF). John Lund says he and the City’s Legal Counsel, John Danos have worked out a solution to the matter, which he will explain during this Wednesday’s meeting.

Their final items of business include the third and final reading of an Ordinance making the north side of E. 12th Street a “No Parking” zone, and, an order to close 6th Street between Chestnut and Poplar on Thursday evenings, from 3-to 6:45-p.m. June 4th through Sept. 24th, for “Produce in the Park,” held in the downtown Atlantic City Park.

(Radio Iowa) — The state’s bars and casinos are still waiting to get the okay from the governor to reopen after restrictions were lifted on restaurants and many other businesses. Iowa Racing and Gaming administrator Brian Ohorilko says the 19 state-licensed casinos will follow a thoughtful, slow process when they are given the green light. “It’s not just a situation where when they can open that we’ll see the doors spring open and lots of people come in and we’re back to how things used to be that will certainly not be the case,” Ohorilko says.

Ohorilko says he expects there will be limits on how many people will be allowed at each property. “So customers may not be able to touch the cards as much as they used to, we’ll see seating removed to promote social distancing,” he explains. Buffet meals have been a staple at the casinos and he says they will likely have a new look too. “Many of the food and beverage outlets, I do not believe we’ll see customers being able to get their own food like you would see at a normal buffet,” Ohorilko says.

The casinos saw thousands of customers come through their doors every day before they were shut down.

Creston Police report the arrest on Friday morning, of 27-year old Miah Lynn Caron. The Belton, IA woman, was taken into custody on a Montgomery County warrant for Probation Violation. Caron was turned over to Montgomery County Deputies.

And, a Creston woman residing in the 600 block of Grand Avenue, reported Friday, that sometime between 10-a.m. and Noon that day, someone stole a B.F. Goodrich 275 R 16 tire and rim from her property. The loss was estimated at $180.

AMES, Iowa – May 18, 2020 – The development of a long-range plan for public transit in Iowa is nearly complete. This plan supports the current state transportation plan, Iowa In Motion 2045, and will provide input into the future development of Iowa in Motion 2050. The intent of these efforts is to efficiently plan and manage resources for an effective statewide public transit system within Iowa’s multi-modal transportation system.

A key part of the plan update is collecting public input. Stakeholder and public feedback have been considered throughout the planning process and is being sought once more to help refine the final draft of the Iowa Public Transit Long-Range Plan.

A copy of the Plan can be reviewed at https://iowadot.gov/iowainmotion/Modal-Plans/Public-Transit-Plan. Any comments, feedback, or input can be submitted by following the instructions found at the top of the webpage. The public comment period is open now through Wednesday, July 1.

Once the public comment period concludes, the feedback will be considered and incorporated into the plan. The plan will then be presented to the Iowa Transportation Commission prior to its final publication. For questions, please contact the Systems Planning Bureau, Iowa Department of Transportation, 800 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010, telephone 515-239-1520, email Iowa.Motion@iowadot.us.