By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa City Council held a regular meeting last night and discussed a potential partnership with the Oskaloosa Community School District for the district’s Building Trades Program. The council previously discussed negotiating an agreement with the district in a meeting last month, in which superintendent Mike Fisher told the council that the building trades program constructs one new single family home each year, but is running out of buildable lots.

Oskaloosa city staff initially developed a plan that would give the OCSD approximately 16 buildable lots; as part of the agreement, the city would incur a cost of roughly $945,000, and in return, the city would receive the district’s 3rd Avenue West parcel and a contribution of $400,000 for an estimated total value of $585,000. However, the city requested additional contributions from the school district to bridge the valuation gap. No action was taken at last night’s meeting, but the council directed city staff to continue to look into alternatives that could bring the valuation on both sides of the agreement closer together.

The council also held two proclamation signings last night: one proclaimed May as Mental Health Awareness Month, and the other proclaimed this week as Tardive Dyskinesia (“TD”) Awareness Week.

The next regular meeting for the Oskaloosa City Council is scheduled for May 18.