Jan. 5—MITCHELL — Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson is bringing three proposals before the city council on Monday, Jan. 6.
The council will consider repeal of the $10 garbage removal fee during spring cleanup week and discuss the option of adding a $325,000 glow-in-the-dark bike path to connect the city’s bike paths and also discussion three options ranging from $435,000 to $472,000 for replacing seats at the Corn Palace.
“I’m only bringing to council what people are asking for,” Hanson said.
Hanson, who took office in July, said the ideas come from suggestions he’s fielded from citizens. He believes it’s a better use of the city’s funds and resources.
The Mitchell City Council meets for its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at Mitchell City Hall.
The council will vote on Hanson’s proposal to repeal the $10 garbage removal fee that residents pay to have bulk garbage removed from their curb during the city-wide spring clean up held the third week of April.
“While I was campaigning, 200-300 people asked me to get rid of it,” Hanson told the Mitchell Republic. “It used to be free. People told me, ‘We don’t have means or a truck to take things to the dump. Every $10 counts.'”
Hanson indicated that most people are unsure of the fee itself, whether it was $10 per item on the curb or per curb pick-up event or by weight. Residents have bulk items like couches, refrigerators or washers they feel like they can’t get rid of.
The landfill is free of charge for residents during the week of spring clean up. Residents can bring pickup-sized loads of their unwanted items. The city restricts tires, special wastes and waste from commercial vehicles.
The council will discuss Hanson’s proposal of a 2.25-mile glow-in-the-dark bike path that would connect the town bike paths with the lake bike paths. It could become a landmark as the longest glow-in-the-dark trail in the United States, a title now held by the city of Vinton, Iowa, at two miles.
The Northwest Railroad Shared Use Path is a roughly 2.25-mile gravel trail located just west of the 23rd Avenue and Ohlman Street intersection and follows the railroad tracks northwest to West Harmon Drive.
The total cost would be $325,000, with the glow rocks being $125,000 of that cost. The total price has a $60,000 contingency for unplanned expenses. If the council moves forward with asphalting the 9-foot wide trail, but with no glow rocks, it will be a minimum of $140,000.
Hanson assisted in the renegotiation with the Randall Community Water District to save the city $34,000 per month to bring fresh water to Mitchell, which amounts to more than $12 million in savings over the next 30 years.
“We eliminated some unnecessary expenses and now we can reward ourselves with a project,” Hanson said, referring to the proposed glow-in-the-dark trail.
The current gravel trail is not favored by local bicyclists, according to Hanson. The new trail will be ADA accessible.
“About 40 people have asked to pave that path, about 20-25 people have asked for a fancy glow rock trail, and hundreds have asked to connect paths. I figured this could be a cool way to achieve all those and have a nationally-recognized landmark,” Hanson said, who ran a survey among residents.
The project comes with a 20-year warranty on glow rocks.
The timeline for the path depends on council approval. It could be completed in 2025 with proper approval if unspent funds are available from the 2024 budget. Otherwise, bicyclists and pedestrians can hope to see progress on the path in 2026.
The council will discuss possible options to replace the Corn Palace soft seats.
The current seats are three decades old, the fabric is hard to clean, officials say, and they are past their life expectancy.
“My office is next to the Corn Palace,” Hanson said, “and when I’m at the Corn Palace the first thing people say to me is how awful the seats are.”
The council has three options to consider.
The first option is to replace existing seats with the same seats. This is a one-for-one replacement, which is 1,772 seats for a total of $472,000, which averages to about $266.36 per chair.
Option two is to install wider seats made for an arena and an added handicap rail, but it would mean losing 160 seats. There will be cupholders on all 1,612 seats. There would be additional leg room in the rows, and it would make the central walkways on the stairs code compliant. The total for chairs is $435,000, which averages to about $269.85 per chair.
The third option would be the same as option two, but with an even bigger seat in the front seven to 10 rows, which would lose more seats. The drawback is less leg room. It would also mean about 1,580 total seats in the Corn Palace. The total for both kinds of chairs comes out to $455,000, which averages about $287.97 per chair.
All options include the cost of chair and cupholder installation. The quote does not account for removal of existing chairs, patching of holes and cement, and fabrication and installation of handrails, which would be an additional cost.
Hanson suggests the council go with the second option. This is also the cheapest option for chair replacements.
Hanson is hopeful that the council will make a final decision about the Corn Palace chairs at the council meeting on Jan. 21 since Monday’s meeting on the topic is only for discussion.
After placing an order, it will take five and a half months for new seats to arrive, and another three to four weeks to install the seats. Hanson’s goal is to get seats changed out before the Corn Palace Festival in August. They will replace the seats section by section to continue holding events at the Corn Palace.
Citizens who would like to express their opinions or concerns can do so at the city council meeting at 612 N. Main Street.