The Independence City Council sent more than two million dollars into the coffers of the city’s Urban Renewal District (URD) after councilors voted at their last meeting to allocate $2,054,608 to the URD and to loan a combined $200,000 to its projects fund, as well.

Councilor Marilyn Morton asked about repayment plans for the new loans; She was told that the URD fund is in a deficit. Current loans aren’t expected to be repaid any time soon, explained Gloria Butsch, the city’s finance director. However, incremental payments on existing URD debt are underway, Ms. Butsch said in a brief interview following the meeting.

In a resolution for fiscal year 2018-19, the city council approved a city budget sum of $26,793,646 with appropriations in the amount of $26,667,167.

Apparently alluding to the budget constraints, City Manager David Clyne announced the city’s planned pump-station upgrades will be postponed, the result of the bids exceeding the engineer’s estimate.  “We cancelled the bids,” Mr. Clyne said. Proposed contracts will be solicited again this winter – a time when costs may come down, he noted.

In light of recent city growth, a new transportation plan also is needed – the last one is more than a decade old, said Shawn Irvine, the city’s economic development director. However, it is hoped that the estimated cost of $150,000 largely will be paid by a future grant, he said, adding that he plans to apply for one in the next several months.

The councilors also passed the annual “ad valorem” property tax – essentially the same city tax of past years – a rate of nearly 4.6% per thousand dollars of assessed value. Last year, a survey of towns in Polk County showed the Independence “ad valorem” tax to be the highest of any city county-wide. The councilors also allocated $420,469 for debt service of general obligation bonds. [The Independent will take a fresh look at city indebtedness in the August issue.]

An impassioned plea by a local resident to allow vinyl fencing on her corner property convinced the city council to reconsider a coding change that essentially made the plastic fencing material unlawful inside city limits.

After Victoria Kruljac passed around renderings of her proposed enclosure, which showed a scalloped fence with crowned posts – the councilors decided a decision made a few years ago to bar vinyl might currently be outdated. “I think the quality probably has gotten much better,” said Councilor Tom Takacs, who was on the planning commission in 2012 when the ban was adopted. “I don’t see any problem with this,” observed Councilor Marilyn Morton.

Mayor John McArdle asked City Manager David Clyne to look into whether an exception could be legally granted and whether a staff report could be generated on the issue of vinyl fencing. Both pieces of information were requested to be presented at the next city council meeting.

By Anne Scheck

Coding changes aimed at increasing the visual appeal of houses in Independence have become a concern to both a homeowner and a developer in the city. Local homeowner Victoria Kruljac, who currently is barred from putting a vinyl fence on her property, plans to address the issue tonight at the City Council meeting, at 6:30 pm at the Civic Center.
 
In response to Ms. Kruljac’s  argument against prohibiting vinyl fencing, Zach Pelz, the contracted city planner for Independence, stated that the ban on vinyl fencing “is a standard in many cities and is in response to the perception that vinyl is a lower-quality and aesthetically inferior material compared to wood,” he said.
 
However, vinyl fencing is allowed in many towns identified in national rankings as model cities. Vinyl fences are allowed throughout residential areas of Corvallis, for example, with the possible exception of the city’s historic district. In Beverly Hills, vinyl fencing is considered versatile and weather-resistant for that California city.
 
If Ms. Kruljac presents her objections tonight, her views won’t be the first time this month the issue of code updates receives a public airing. At a recent Planning Commission meeting, developer Harvey Cummings, who plans to build 40 homes in a southeast part of Independence’s urban growth area, expressed unease over coding changes that many see as requiring upgrades to construction.
 
Mr. Cummings, a developer of the project known as “Brandy Meadows,” stressed he cannot yet forecast the effect of the city’s mandate for certain building materials and housing features. However, in an interview outside the meeting, he explained that he raised the question due to escalating buildings costs, which affect pricing and affordability.