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Waverly council authorizes property reviews, continues talks on special-assessment demolition; approves temporary liquor license for retirement party
Summary
Council authorized a city planner review of vacant lots including the Wave Lot, agreed to continue negotiations on a special-assessment demolition agreement with owner Dan Ward (with a $10,000 down payment and two-year assessment period as recorded), and approved a temporary liquor license and food purchases for Municipal Liquor Store Manager Wanda Tussing’s retirement party on June 28.
The Waverly City Council on April 22 authorized several administrative steps: it asked City Planner Robin Caufman to review all city-owned vacant lots and recommend next steps, and agreed to move forward on discussions with developer Paul Greenhagen before marketing the Wave Lot.
Council also discussed hazardous-building enforcement and a proposed demolition arrangement with property owner Dan Ward. City Attorney Rhonda Pagel reported Mr. Ward acknowledged the financial burden of demolition; bids ranged from about $20,000 to $40,000. Pagel described a special-assessment option in which the city would front demolition costs, the owner would make a $10,000 down payment and the remainder would be assessed against the property over future tax years with firm timelines and provisions allowing the city to complete the work and assess costs back to the property if the owner failed to perform. The council expressed cautious support and authorized continued negotiations on those terms. (The minutes record the assessment period as two years and note an interest rate in the text; the transcript did not provide a clear percentage for the interest rate.)
On stormwater maintenance, Krienke said at least one pond is currently overflowing and that City Engineer Sheila Khrose was asked to gather pricing and prioritize dredging candidates to inform future CIP planning. Krienke also reported a resident complaint about sudden changes to PO box access hours at the Waverly post office and proposed outreach to USPS with mayoral help given the regulatory nature of postal operations.
The council approved a temporary liquor license and the purchase of food items for Municipal Liquor Store Manager Wanda Tussing’s retirement party tentatively scheduled for Sunday, June 28. Staff said Tussing’s family would provide additional items and that the council suggested a start time of approximately 3:00 p.m. to follow the Howard Lake parade.
Why it matters: The planner review and potential sale or repurposing of city-owned lots affect local land use and revenue options; a special-assessment demolition agreement would allow the city to address hazardous properties while shifting costs to the property via assessment, and pond maintenance has infrastructure and CIP implications.
Next steps: City Planner Robin Caufman will review city-owned lots and report recommendations; Pagel will continue negotiations with Dan Ward and return with terms; City Engineer will report pond-dredging cost estimates.
