By Dave Fish, Belle Plaine Mayor

Dear Citizens of Belle Plaine:

I’d like to wish everyone a fantastic Fourth of July and I hope everyone gets to enjoy the city celebration. As long as the weather cooperates it should be a great two days, starting with the car show including a variety of food & beverage experiences and concluding with the Zachary Freedom Band at the street dance. It carries over on the 4th with the parade, all the great activities for everyone at the park & concluding with the fireworks show at night. Enjoy the celebration & please everyone be safe with whatever activities you do!

It is better to be safe than sorry. We want no tragedies.

Also thank you to the Belle Plaine 4th of July Committee, the Lions Club, BPCDC, & all other groups and individuals who give up their time to make this a fun filled two days.

LET’S HAVE A SAFE AND FUN FILLED FOURTH!

It should be noted that with the passage of City Ordinance 87 the water rates for the city of Belle Plaine will go up $.60 per thousand gallons of water. With the passage of Ordinance 99 sewage rates will go up 3% which is $.30 per one thousand gallons of water. The cost increase in the water department deals with the fact that this department continues to operate in the red due to water main breaks and the purchase of 57 acres of land to protect & expand the well fields. The sewage rate increase is a standard CPI rate of inflation and deals with a number of old pumps, valves, etc. that need to be the replaced because the plant is getting old. Yes, we just put 3.1 million dollars into the plant but that was for all the new items we had to install as required by the Department of Natural Resources. That was covered last year. But we have a plant that was built in 1984 so it has a number of moving parts that simply wear out so they eventually have to be replaced. Some of these items have never been budgeted for replacement.

We are not the only city or town or village that is going thru this whole sewer addition problem. In fact most of the Mayors I have talked to did not use a usage fee, their council simply added an additional fee to the total water bill. The smallest I was told was $20 and the largest was $45. I remind everyone that all the members of the council pay the same water and sewer rates that you pay. They don’t like raising their rates and several of those people are retired so they live on fixed incomes. The cost of running a city gov’t goes up every year. If you have a logical idea on how to cut the cost of operation I’m sure the council would be glad to hear from you.

It should also be noted that the major water leak on 8th avenue used almost $50,000 on concrete alone, that is charged against the water department, and that does not include the other items that were involved in that project. If you have concerns with the passage of these rate changes please contact your council representative and ask them to vote no!

A big Thank You to the group from Genesis Development who helped weed and tended to the Celebration of Life Perennial Garden at Box Park. Thank you so much Dylan Plotz, Michelle Moyer, Michelle Flynn, Dan Wilson, Dale Coleman, Lauren Schafer, Bill Coleman, & Adam Herzberger plus a huge thanks to all who helped Morgan take care of the bio-cells on Main Street last week. I would have been there to encourage but does the word root canal scare you? Try having one and see how you feel. Sorry – Mayor Fish

I know it is Fourth of July time and that means fireworks. In the number of trips I have made to Cedar Rapids in the past month I can probably tell you where every fireworks stand is located. Here are the rules as determined by your city council concerning fireworks in Belle Plaine.

“41.14 FIREWORKS.

1. Permits. The City may, upon application in writing, grant a permit for the display of fireworks by a City agency, fair association, amusement parks and other organizations or groups of individuals approved by City authorities when such fireworks display will be handled by a competent operator. No permit shall be granted hereunder unless the operator or sponsoring organization filed with the City evidence of insurance in the following amounts:

A. Personal Injury: $250,000.00 per person

B. Property Damage: $50,000.00

C. Total Exposure: $1,000,000.00

2. Possession and Use of Fireworks.

A. It is unlawful for any person to possess, store, ignite or explode any fireworks not permitted by State law, within the City limits, unless the person is the holder of a valid permit or license therefore or an employee of such permittee or licensee.

B. In addition to the restrictions imposed by Subsection 1, it is unlawful for any person to use, ignite, or explode any fireworks except for those items defined as a novelty in the American Pyrotechnics Association Standard 87-1 Chapter 3.2, within the City limits.

1.13 GENERAL STANDARDS FOR ACTION.  Whenever this Code of Ordinances grants any discretionary power to the Council or any commission, board, or officer or employee of the City and does not specify standards to govern the exercise of the power, the power shall be exercised in light of the following standard: The discretionary power to grant, deny, or revoke any matter shall be considered in light of the facts and circumstances then existing and as may be reasonably foreseeable, and due consideration shall be given to the impact upon the public health, safety and welfare, and the decision shall be that of a reasonably prudent person under similar circumstances in the exercise of the police power.

1.14 STANDARD PENALTY.  Unless another penalty is expressly provided by this Code of Ordinances for violation of any particular provision, section, or chapter, any person failing to perform a duty required by this Code of Ordinances or otherwise violating any provision of this Code of Ordinances or any rule or regulation adopted herein by reference shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of at least $65.00 but not to exceed $625.00.†

(Code of Iowa, Sec. 364.3[2] and 903.1[1a])

It should also be noted that this is a city election year with the first district, one at large position, and the Mayor’s job all coming up for re-election. If you are interested in being in city gov’t stop by city hall and pick up the candidates information.

ALSO GOOD LUCK TO BOTH THE GIRLS SOFTBALL TEAM & THE BOYS BASEBALL TEAM AS THEY HEAD INTO TOURNAMENT PLAY.

As always “Go Plainsmen.” Remember it is up to all of us to make

Belle Plaine the best hometown in Iowa!

Mayor Dave Fish – July 2019