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Council decides against airport advisory board By Jamee A. Pierson Newton Daily News
Jason W. Brooks/Daily News Jack Suttek speaks at Monday’s Newton Community School District regular Board of Education meeting. Suttek gave a supervisors report about his maintenance department, which is helping reconfigure several district schools before the upcoming Aug. 23 school start date.
Reconfiguration projects all on track, supervisor says
A city council consensus found it is not in favor of moving forward with an airport advisory board. The council discussed the topic at a special meeting on Monday. “I have learned a lot in the last week or two by talking to citizens and airport staff, and the one thing I was really taken aback by was I didn’t know anything about our airport,” councilwoman Lin Chapé said. “As we move forward, I think we should have quarterly updates and would like to do that to keep us informed, and as issues arise, we can at least feel fairly intelligent and informed.” Prior to the discussion, Johnson Aviation President and Airport Manager Ethan Nasalroad addressed the council about the airport’s recent history and plans for the future. “In 2005, the city completed a $2.2 million renovation of the airport and facilities,” Nasalroad said. “As the following years unfolded, the importance of the facilities as an economic tool became even more paramount.” Nasalroad spoke about the loss of Maytag as the largest customer of the airport but through the city’s determination to market what Newton has to offer and the addition COUNCIL | 3A
NCSD board proceeds with culture survey By Jason W. Brooks Newton Daily News After much hard work from maintenance staff, teachers, campus and district staff, part-time workers and even inmates from Newton Correctional Facility, reconfiguration is finally coming together for the Newton Community School District. Maintenance supervisor Jack Suttek spoke at Monday’s Newton Community School District regular Board of Education meeting, praising many people who have helped complete specific
projects related to reconfiguring several district schools before the upcoming Aug. 23 school start date. “We’re going to be ready to rock and roll, come the 23rd,” Suttek said. “The prisoners are still working out, and we might even find a way they can do stadium work in the fall when no one else is there. We couldn’t have done this reconfiguration without them, and I really appreciate their help.” Suttek listed a series of facility improvements or changes being made
and progress on each one, including playground installations and improvements, flooring and painting projects in various buildings, lockers and the HVAC system at Emerson Hough Elementary School and “Bart,” the heating system at the Berg Complex. The bulk of Monday’s meeting was devoted to a discussion about the Denison Culture Survey, which was recently given to the district’s 15-member administrative team, and which will go out soon to certified staff. Chris Pierson of the
Heartland Area Education Agency and Superintendent Bob Callaghan led the discussion. A timeline was discussed — such as an early October ending date for the survey and a proposed Jan. 9 date for presenting all final data — along with the way the board, teachers, Denison and NCSD administrators will go over the results. The board’s next regular meeting is Aug. 22. That’s one day before the first official day of school, and at the start of a week NCSD | 3A
Jamee A. Pierson/Daily News Johnson Aviation President and Airport Manager Ethan Nasalroad presented to city council work that has been accomplished in recent years along with plans for future infrastructure expansion at the Newton Municipal Airport.
First Avenue property purchased for D&D program Crumbling foundation reason for purchase By Jamee A. Pierson Newton Daily News A highly visible property on First Avenue East was approved for purchase through the Dangerous and Dilapidated (D&D) program. City council approved 512 First Ave. E. for purchase after discovering the renovation on the house would no longer continue. “About one half of the foundation has collapsed and is unstable,” director of Planning and Zoning Erin Chambers said. “At this point, the building would not be
Jamee A. Pierson/Daily News The property at 512 First Ave. E. had been going under renovations until the owner discovered about half of the foundation had collapsed and is unstable. The property was approved for purchase by the city for $23,000 through the D&D program.
a financially sound decision to continue with the renovation of it.” Councilwoman Evelyn George said she was surprised to see the property on deck for the
D&D program before learning about the foundation issues. “There has been work done on the property to improve it,” George said. “We had seen steady
progress and all of a sudden it had stopped.” City Administrator Bob Knabel said in his report to the council the property is in low-condition and has been a
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continues the city’s efforts to improve the looks of the community through the D&D program, and First Avenue in particular for this project. This property is the latest to be purchased through the D&D program. To date, the city has addressed more than 50 properties since starting almost three years ago. It has become one of the most visible examples of the efforts the city is making to clean up problem areas. After the purchase and estimated demolition costs are assessed, the D&D program funds remaining will be at approximately $51,000. The program started with $1 million to be used for purchase and demolition costs. Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com
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source of complaints for the past several years. “It is unfortunate that further investigation was not done before the gentleman went through all of the work,” mayor Mike Hansen said. “I think that nobody would be willing to finance it because the property wouldn’t be worth what you would have to put in it at the end of the day.” A purchase price of $23,000 for the property was negotiated with owner Cameron Wickliff. That price is about $10,000 less than the total assessed value for the property at $33,380. Wickliff is planning to salvage the new windows recently installed, Chambers said, but is required to have the property secured, including the windows, when it is turned over to the city. Chambers said purchasing the property
Comics & Puzzles...........6A Dear Abby........................6A Local News......................2A
Obituaries.......................5A Opinion............................4A State News......................7A
Iowa DNR investigates fish kill
Three incidents occurred in same week / 2A
Volume No. 115 No. 57 2 sections 14 pages
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