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Golf cart ban fails on second reading

T-R PHOTOS BY JOE FISHER — On Monday night, Councilman Gary Thompson voted against a ban on golf carts after voting in favor of the ban during its first reading at a previous meeting.

The ordinance to ban golf carts on public streets had its second reading during Monday’s Marshalltown city council meeting, but the issue changed direction after a successful first reading.

A change of heart from councilor Gary Thompson ultimately changed the fate of the ordinance for the time being.

“After we had the last reading, I reached out to some people on both sides of this issue,” Thompson said. “I was convinced that, in spite of some concerns, that there have not been the issues we thought there would be. I work for the citizens of Marshalltown. I’m listening to the public on this one.”

A majority of those citizens, according to Thompson, were against prohibiting golf carts. Thompson joined Jeff Schneider and Dex Walker in voting against the ban. The vote tied 3-3 and the ordinance failed as Councilman Gabe Isom was absent.

Thompson said he also considered the possibility of revisiting a ban if issues would arise.

Capt. Chris Jones said the police department made progress on a new pawn dealers ordinance with the help of several business owners.

The golf cart ordinance was not the only ongoing item to pivot during the meeting as the Marshalltown Police Department’s secondhand dealers and pawnbrokers ordinance was again brought forward. The MPD has been working on refining it for several months after bringing it to council twice over the summer.

During both of those meetings, business owners spoke strongly against the requirements they felt added an undue burden onto them. According to Capt. Chris Jones, some common ground has been found since then. Jones said members of the department, along with council members Barry Kell and Mike Ladehoff, met with some of those business owners on Sept. 13 to work together.

“During that meeting we were able to come to a consensus on our needs, in my opinion — and also balance that with the business owners’ need to have timely, easy service,” Jones said.

Several changes to the proposed ordinance came out of the meeting. Businesses will not need to report secondhand clothing, albums, music, video games and computer software. The requirement to report fashion accessories is triggered by a $100 minimum value. The requirement to provide a photo of each item in reporting was removed, and more changes were also made to ease requirements for business owners.

Kell applauded the effort by the police department to compromise with businesses and revise the ordinance.

“A robust discussion was had, and in the end, they came to a good conclusion,” he said.

The council approved bringing the new ordinance back to the Oct. 24 meeting for a first reading.

In other business

• The council directed staff to request proposals from contractors for rental housing inspections, along with a schedule to incorporate the contractors and adopt a new code. The schedule proposed would see the new ordinance in effect in January.

• The council approved accepting a bid and awarding a contract to Con-Struct for the South Seventh Ave. extension project. Of the winning bid amount of $764,476, the city will fund an estimated $671,776 through local option sales tax, road-use tax, sanitary sewer and storm sewer funding.

• A resolution to approve plans, cost and form of contract for a generator for the Veterans Memorial Coliseum was approved. The city received an estimated $135,000 in grant funding through FEMA for the project. The total estimated cost of the project is about $260,000. Public Works Director Heather Thomas said the city plans to apply for more grants, but needs to have plans finalized before it is eligible.

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