By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa City Council held a regular meeting last night and authorized a 28E joint public service agreement with Mahaska County for the Southeast Connector Project. The 28E agreement that was approved last night confirms the city’s agreement to pay their portion of the project costs, which amounts to 17.5% of the total cost. That’s the same percentage of the bill that the county will pay, with most of the funding for the project being covered by a RISE grant. The 28E agreement was approved unanimously by the council.

The council also accepted the city’s new Downtown Master Plan and design standards for the city square commercial district in Oskaloosa. Development Services Director Shawn Christ explained that the city had been working in cooperation with students from the University of Iowa for the past 9 months on the updated standards. The council accepted the Master Plan unanimously.

And the council approved a resolution authorizing a loan from the Oskaloosa Housing Trust Fund for the Jefferson School Lofts senior housing project. According to city staff, developer North Arrow Partners notified the city that there is now a $1.4 million gap in the $13 million project and without additional funding, the project could not proceed. They proposed for the $1.4 million to be covered by several different loans, including $250,000 from the Oskaloosa Housing Trust Fund that is non-amortizing, has 5% interest, and a 15-year term. A representative from North Arrow Partners said that the construction timeline would last approximately 15 months. Ultimately, the loan was authorized unanimously by the council.

The next regular meeting for the Oskaloosa City Council is scheduled for May 19.