City Council looks at nuisance properties, emergency sirens, Hebron dam, Complex sign

The Hebron City Council looked at several issues during the Sept. 12 meeting, held a week later than the traditional first Monday of the month due to the Labor Day holiday.

Turning immediately to nuisance properties following the budget hearing reported in this newspaper two weeks ago, the council reviewed the property at 340 S. 6th St., and determined that the owner, James Dwerlkotte, had been cleaning, painting, mowing and fixing the property as asked by the city.

The council then declared the property at 210 S. 6th St., a nuisance. The owner Christy Harrison, will receive a letter from the city. According to the city’s nuisance ordinance, anybody  possessing a nuisance property will be served notice and have five days to request a hearing or take care of the situation. If there is no action taken, the city can enforce a $100 per hour clean-up fee.

Councilman Kurk Wiedel said the City would have to inspect for asbestos before cleanup can be done should the City move in to do the job. The price tag to clean up the asbestos should some be found could run as high as $5,750 and would be assessed to the owner, he said.

HVFD fire chief B.J. Linton updated council members about the new warning sirens expected later this year. The project has been ongoing for three years. The department secured an $80,000 grant from SENDD about a year ago for the purchase of five new rotating sirens. In February of this year, Linton said the equipment would run approximately $61,000, while installation would be approximately $33,000. The City is responsible for a 25 percent match, or about $23,500 which will come from sales tax.

The sirens will be located at the fire hall; at the city Quonset on Jefferson Ave., by the intersection of Second St. and Duffield Ave., near the water tower, and at the airport. Installation is expected to begin in December or January.

Council members then voted to enter into an interlocal agreement between the City of Hebron, Thayer County, and the Little Blue NRD for payment of a new Hebron Dam flood inundation and evacuation.

Earlier this summer, Thayer County Emergency Manager Bill McPherson told the council that the Department of Natural Resources required the city to update its emergency evacuation plan due to the dam’s high risk nature for its proximity to the city.

Although flooding of Hebron has not been a major concern since the dam was built, the spillway poses a particular “weak spot” in the structure, enough so that an evacuation plan is necessary.

The new plan will cost $6,850; half will be paid by the County who is, in fact, the owners of the dam, while Little Blue NRD and Hebron will pay 25 percent each.

And finally, the city was made aware that a new Hebron Sports Complex and parks sign that will replace the old one located at 6th St. and Lincoln Ave., blocks traffic on Lincoln Ave., and installation will have to be postponed until either a new site is located or the sign is fixed to accommodate the vision issues.

The next City Council meeting will be held Monday, Oct. 3.