Staff writer
Hillsboro City Council members approved a planning commission recommendation at their meeting Tuesday to rezone an unoccupied area in Carriage Hills from single family residential to multi-family residential.
City Administrator Larry Paine said Darrell Driggers, property owner who submitted the change request, planned to build condominiums or townhouses in the housing subdivision on the southeast side of Hillsboro.
“If you look at our zoning map of Hillsboro, we really have a lot of R2 properties in that area already,” Paine said. “They just haven’t been developed that way.”
Council member Marlene Fast asked if drainage would be a problem with added housing pressure in the area.
“That is always the story there,” Mayor Delores Dalke said. “I don’t mean to be sarcastic, but people just cannot forget the water standing around when Willow Glen was under construction. There have been no problems whatsoever since that was all finished.”
Paine said Driggers planned to elevate some of the land between the Carriage Hills and Willow Glen additions to get the proper drainage.
“He has designs,” Paine said. “It is not fully engineered and projected yet, but he will be pushing drainage toward the two ponds already established in Carriage Hills.”
Paine added that a good representation of residents attended the planning commission meeting and seemed to approve of the zoning change.
Council member Bob Watson questioned when construction would begin, but Paine did not have an estimate.
“We have to go through a platting process that will take us a while,” Paine said.
It did not take council members long to approve Paine’s vehicle purchase recommendations for two new trucks for the city.
“We need one truck for Dale Dalke and the street department, and we need the other one to replace one stolen in April or May from our city electrical department,” Paine said.
Hillsboro Ford Motor Company submitted the low bid on both trucks, and the council approved spending $19,000 for the first F250 pickup and $21,000 for the second F250.
“The cost for the second pickup is higher because we have to pay sales tax on that one because it is a public utility vehicle,” Paine said.
Marion National Bank was the only financial institution of five requested to submit a finance proposal for the city’s truck purchases.
“We need to spread the cost of these vehicles out over a period of three or four years to comply with the 41 budget mills we set,” Paine said. “I wanted to see what differences in financing people would provide for us, but since Marion National was the only one that responded, and their numbers look reasonable, I recommend we go with their four-year financing plan.”
In other business:
- Council members approved a proposal to address sewer and lagoon odors endured by citizens during recent months. The engineering contract will provide data on oxygen introduction and explain the effects of ozone technology in dealing with the problem.
- Members approved annual updates to the Uniform Public Offence Code and adopted ordinances that deal with civil rights and traffic violations.