The City Council of Webster City approved a request from LIFT WC to close a section of Second Street for an upcoming event planned for Aug. 24.
Lindsay Henderson, president of LIFT WC, asked that the 700 block of Second Street be closed from noon until midnight Saturday on Aug. 24 for an end of summer block party. The event will feature a cornhole tournament with both youth and adult divisions. Additionally, the American Legion will be serving a meal and beverages beginning at about 4 p.m.
Live music will also be a part of the event, with local artists performing beginning at 6:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by LIFT WC and Spangler Auto.
The council approved the request. The nonprofit also requested the 700 block of Second Street be closed on Oct. 6 from 2 to 10 p.m. for a community street dinner. That request was also approved.
Public hearings were set for three proposed property matters. The hearings concern a proposed purchase agreements for city owned property located in Brewer Creek Estates 5th and 6th additions, property in the Southeast Development Park and a proposed offer to buy city owned property located on Lot 13, Block 68, Original Webster City. All three hearings will be held during the Aug. 19 city council meeting.
A hearing on the proposed plans and specifications for the 207 East Dubuque St. demolition project will be held Sept. 16 following council action Monday night.
Paul Dahl, 1430 Kendall Young Rd., appeared before the council during the petitions, communication and requests, to ask for a review of his banishment from Fuller Hall and the outdoor swimming pool.
This marked the third time Dahl had requested the review. He told the council he believes he was denied due process.
“If the council is not willing to review this, you are also in some sense denying due process,” he said. “I have contacted a law firm in Ames. Depending on what you do tonight, this may be going to court.”
Dahl first approached the council on the matter at the July 1 meeting. He told the council members that Acting City Manager and Parks and Rec Director Kent Harfst and Police Chief Shiloh Mork called him to city hall where he was read a letter that stated he was banned from the recreation center and the outdoor pool due to “inappropriate acts.”
Harfst has declined to go into any details about the matter, but at the July 1 meeting, said that “as Park and Rec Director, my concern is the safety and well-being of both people who use Fuller Hall and the outdoor pool as well as the safety of our staff.” He added that the comments Dahl made were “very inappropriate and made the staff members uncomfortable.”
Dahl said Monday night that his name had been defamed.
“You’ve never shared with me what the inappropriate acts are. And of course, people talk,” he said.
The council took no action on the request during the meeting.
In other business, the council:
• approved Change Order No. 1 for the 2019 Street Improvement Project with Heartland Asphalt Inc. of Des Moines.
• approved a request from Harfst to seek bids for a dump truck for the Public Grounds Department.
• approved a request from the police chief to purchase three portable radios for the police department, switching from analog to digital radios.
• authorized that the Webster City Hazard Mitigation Plan for the City of Webster City become part of the Hamilton County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
View this article as it originally appeared in the Daily Freeman-Journal.
Last modified: August 8, 2019