Sheldon, Iowa — There’s a new motel coming to Sheldon. At Wednesday’s Council meeting it was announced that a 40-room, two-story Cobblestone Motel is being planned for the area near the event center. Developers reported that this will be a 3.5-million-dollar investment. Work on the project is expected to begin next year and be completed early in the year of 2022. The Council has set a November 4th public hearing for a TIF application related to the project.
During the Public Forum at the council meeting, Harold Postma came to the podium with a complaint about the way city officials handled a problem he had with a sign his wife had created pointing people to their garden produce. Postma said when the sign was stolen or vandalized, he did not get help from the police department, so he secured the sign to a city street stop sign with a chain, padlock and concrete block. City Manager Sam Kooiker has sent a letter to Postma pointing out that it would be easier for the city to protect the sign if it were a legal sign. The City Zoning Code states that “No signs, other than government signs shall encroach or extend over the public right-of-way.” Postma used the remainder of his allotted time to complain about the lack of action by Sheldon Police and the sheriff’s office on matters that occurred as long as four years ago.
In other business, Police Chief Scott Burtch explained his plan to have two officers appointed to the position of Sergeant. He said the move would improve communications between the officers and help with employee retention and recruitment. The plan will be considered at the next council meeting. Burtch said he felt confident that enough funds would be raised to add a dog trained in narcotics detection and pursuit to the force. One party has already donated $15,000 to the K-9 project that will have an estimated total cost of $40,000.
Public Works Director Todd Uhl told the council that his department does not have a lot of projects in progress at this time, but they have been busy planning for next year. The projects include improvements on part of the sewer system, and the street improvement project. He reported that they have found that the soil in some areas will be a problem and that will increase the cost to do it right. He says they hope to have the project ready for bids in December.
