MASON CITY – There used to be just some wooden sticks to look at, painted pink, so anyone interested could see where the re-routed 1st Street SW, just north of the Mercy campus, would be going.
Now, as Mercy moves along on its expansion and re-organization of its south side, it has erected a wooden wall or barrier so people can see the boundary of its property.
This wall, which Mercy says in a city hall memo is now 12 feet high, was intended by Mercy to show neighbors what a fence would look like at various heights. The fence will be built just south of the homes on West State Street. The existing homes on 1st Street SW, all owned by Mercy, will be demolished, NIT is told. Mercy said part of its plan is to build a barrier between its property and the homes that border it on its south side.
According to the city hall memo, neighbors recently met with Mercy and indicated they want a 12 foot height fence at the east end of the property which decreases to 10 feet high as it extends west. Mercy wants a fence 8-10 feet high.
The Mercy expansion project passed the Mason City Council with unanimous votes. NIT is told no council member nor city staff investigated whether Mercy’s energy center could be placed elsewhere in order to save the Forest Park neighborhood from massive changes that the project will bring. The city brought no substantive alternative plans nor ideas to Mercy to consider as the project was passed along towards approval.
The project could start as early as Spring of 2013 and wrap up by the end of 2014, in two phases. Basically, the process would be to install utilities, re-route and build the road system, install green space, and then build.
