Hillsboro Banner

By MICHELLE MCLEAN

At an hour-long meeting Monday, Hillsboro city commissioners amended the proposed assessment district for the Hwy. 200 reconstruction project.

Work on the north-south state road is set for this summer. It will be financed through state and federal grants and special assessments.

At the urging of several residents, commissioner Mike Lessard initiated the discussion prompting the change. 

Lessard had been questioned why PrairieView, the city’s newest residential development was not included in the assessment district when it was set at the February 19 meeting. The development was not included in the 2007 street project assessment district or the 2006 water improvement district because it didn’t exist at that time.

The exclusion in the 2008 project appeared to be an oversight. The new boundaries closely follow the boundaries of the developed areas within the city’s corporate limits.

Commissioners quickly amended the resolution and ordered publication of a revised map in the Hillsboro Banner for the next two issues.

The changes will delay a scheduled protest hearing from March 24 to April 7.

In other business, the commission:

■   Approved selling five old computers from city hall. City employees and city commissioners will have first choice of the equipment, valued at $70 each. Any unsold items will then be offered to the public.

Auditor Lesley Connelly said she would save one computer for an extra work station in her office. The machines were replaced with newer computers and the old hard drives have been stripped, Connelly noted. She had asked that the proceeds from the sale be put toward the purchase of a scanner for her office. She explained that the scanner would help with record retention and improve communication options. Commissioners did not approve or object to her plan.

■   Approved a two-year residential tax exemption for improvements to a duplex at 601 E. Caledonia Avenue. Owners Chad and Amy Hanson planned to remodel the building into a single family dwelling. The city offers a tax incentive for remodeling homes 25 years old or older if the work increases the home’s value by at least $10,000. The exemption is good for up to $75,000 of increased value.

■   Discussed disconnecting water to an apartment building because the owner has not been paying the utility bill. Tenants have been paying their share of the bill, including electricity.  Auditor Connelly would continue  attempts to contact the delinquent property owner and alert tenants to any possible disconnection.

■   Noted that a number of homes in Hillsboro lack house numbers or have numbers that do not fit their location. The problem was pointed out by new police officer LaVerne Aventi as she worked with police chief Ray Weber on patrol. Weber noted that houses without numbers can be difficult for emergency services to locate quickly — unless the responder is familiar with residents and their residences.

Commissioners suggested encouraging residents to post house numbers while exploring an ordinance that could force the issue if compliance isn’t voluntary.

■   Heard a question from commissioner Kyle Stern about the use of the city landfill. He asked how often the landfill is used and if there were any fees for use. City supt. of public works Jim Anderson noted that the city and contractors it has hired have used the landfill quite a bit the past couple years because of municipal improvement projects.

He also noted that several building contractors use the dump for disposing of shingles and demolished houses. Allowing direct access to the contractors is a “good neighbor policy” extended by the city. Less debris is dumped at the city refuse site and then hauled a second time to the dump, Anderson noted.

Anderson said access to the landfill is restricted to those with keys but the number of keys in circulation is hard to determine. He said that instead four locks are rotated at the gate to limit access as much as possible.

The dump site was manned at one time but it required too many man hours, Anderson said.

He suggested keeping the current procedures in place until new rules can be explored.