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Council approves consent agenda, votes on parking, alley vacation and sewer rate changes
Summary
The council approved a consent agenda and several routine measures: it approved the consent agenda (including scheduling multiple public hearings), passed a first reading to designate city vehicle parking spaces in a municipal lot, denied a requested alley vacation adjacent to 204 North C Street (planning recommended denial), and carried a second-reading sewage ordinance increasing user charges (4% increase; new minimum $26.04; $10.85 per 100 cu ft; 9¢/gal sludge fee).
The Oskaloosa City Council took several formal actions on routine and regulatory matters at the meeting.
Consent agenda: Council approved the consent agenda by motion and roll-call vote; items included resolutions scheduling public hearings for March 16, 2026 (zoning amendments and a special assessment) and the third-reading bicycle registration ordinance (chapter 10.68).
Municipal parking ordinance (first reading): Staff presented a first reading to amend chapter 10.56 to clarify municipal parking lot designations and add section 10.5607 to mark five of nine spaces north of City Hall for properly marked city vehicles. Council approved the first reading and staff will bring the ordinance forward per the code process.
Alley vacation request (denial): The council held a public hearing on a request from property owner Kai Bol Chawan to vacate and sell a 60-foot by 16.5-foot segment of an east–west alley adjacent to 204 North C Street. Planning & Zoning had recommended denial (6–0). No neighbors spoke at the hearing; council moved to deny the vacation request and the motion passed on roll call. Staff noted Mediacom and Lumen have aerial infrastructure in the alley and the city has a 15-inch sanitary sewer main running through the center of the alley.
Sewage system ordinance (second reading approved): Council approved a second-reading ordinance to amend chapter 13.0.08 to update user charges: a new minimum charge of $26.04 plus $10.85 per 100 cubic feet (a 4% increase), and revisions to sludge-hauling fees including an added 9¢ per gallon charge for sludge deliveries and clarifications about sampling and rejection authority. The ordinance passed on second reading.
Votes (summary): Each motion was adopted by roll-call vote as recorded in meeting minutes; recorded votes were affirmative on the consent agenda, on the parking-ordinance first reading, on denying the alley vacation, and on the sewage ordinance second reading.
What this means: The council approved the routine items and set multiple public hearings for March 16. The alley vacation denial preserves public utility access and the city retained regulatory control over waste handling while adopting the updated sewer-fee structure.
