NIT – After Tuesday night’s city council vote to take on $18.75 million in general obligation bonds, our city leaders have determined that our downtown fits the criteria for “blight” as defined in Iowa code 403:
5. “Blighted area” means an area of a municipality within which the local governing body of the municipality determines that the presence of a substantial number of slum, deteriorated, or deteriorating structures; defective or inadequate street layout; faulty lot layout in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility, or usefulness; insanitary or unsafe conditions; deterioration of site or other improvements; diversity of ownership, tax or special assessment delinquency exceeding the fair value of the land; defective or unusual conditions of title; or the existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes; or any combination of these factors; substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of a municipality, retards the provision of housing accommodations, or constitutes an economic or social liability and is a menace to the public health, safety, or welfare in its present condition and use.
It’s been two long years since the city declared a hotel would be built here. Not a speck of dust has been moved in construction since, even though the Globe Gazette and KIMT reported ground would be broken in April of 2014.
