Tagged: Fort Madison City Council

Fort Madison residents have several opportunities to weigh in on a proposed infrastructure improvement program.

Fort Madison is moving ahead with plans to extend city limits.

The city council has agreed to offer a series of annexation incentives to property owners near the Highway 2 interchange on Fort Madison’s west side.

The incentives include a reduction of utility connection fees by 50% if the connection is made within five years, a waiving of all administrative fees, and the grandfathering in of zoning designations as much as possible.

Local contractors will handle a majority of the upcoming improvements to downtown Fort Madison.

The city secured a $500,000 state grant to improve the facades of 13 buildings.  The property owners will contribute another $170,000 to the project.

The city chose to seek bids per category of work as opposed to going project by project so one contractor would handle all windows and doors while another would do the masonry, for example.

Fort Madison is considering a plan to borrow millions of dollars to improve its infrastructure.

City Manager Byron Smith says a citizens’ survey was conducted last year. 

He says the results showed that residents are not happy with the quality of Fort Madison’s streets.

Smith says the city can only afford to make a few, small repairs to streets each year, so he is proposing a multi-million dollar infrastructure improvement program.

The proposal looks at what could be done from the city’s five-year capital improvement plan with $6-million. 

Fort Madison continues to clear the way for Amtrak to move its operations across town to the former Santa Fe Depot in Riverview Park.

The North Lee County Historical Society has a lease in place, through 2040, that allows it to use the complex for display and storage.

That agreement has now been amended.

City Manager Byron Smith says the historical society has agreed to relinquish the eastern 2/3 of the main building.  He says the organization will also make more space available if requested by Amtrak in the future.