Open for business at last, this is the corner of J. Brady Court and Harmony Lane in the heart of what one day may be a neighborhood of new single-family homes east of Van Diest Medical Center.

By Robert E. Oliver

Last week, very quietly, something unexpected happened in southeast Webster City: the full length of Harmony Lane, J. Brady Court and Fair Meadow Drive were finally opened to traffic.

Portions of the roads built by property developer Kenyon Hill Ridge LLC, of Polk City, as part of its Lynx Development residential subdivision have remained closed for nearly five years after their construction.

The City Council of Webster City approved the final plat of Lynx Development at its April 14, 2020, meeting, acting on recommendations of the city’s planning and zoning commission. In its recommendation, that commission cited five requirements Kenyon Hill Ridge needed to complete before work on the project could proceed:

1. A $50,000 performance bond, or check, deposited in an escrow account.

2. A signed easement regarding property owned by Bob Van Diest.

3. Acknowledgement from the Iowa Department of Transportation for what the commission

referred to as “participation in water issues.”

4. A fully-executed stormwater management facility, maintenance covenant and permanent easement agreement.

5. Compliant test results as per the City Engineer.

The commission wouldn’t accept dedication (ie. conveyance of infrastructure built by the developer, to the City of Webster City) in connection with the project. Subsequently, a number of disagreements between Kenyon Hill Ridge and the city resulted in Kenyon Hill Ridge stopping development on the project altogether.

That is where things stood until last week.

In an agenda statement to the Council, City Manager John Harrenstein wrote: “Since the time of adoption of the final plat, the infrastructure has not been dedicated to the city, the roads of the development were not opened, and no additional development has taken place, as a result of a dispute between the developer and the city, over various matters. City staff met with the developer last week in an attempt to resolve the matters that are in dispute. Based on that meeting, the action of the developer to open the roads of the development this week, and a legal and engineering review, staff is comfortable moving forward with adoption of the plat.”

Readers may recall there were questions about the soundness of infrastructure built by Kenyon Hill Ridge. Harrenstein told The Daily Freeman Journal inspections by John Haldeman, P.E., Snyder Engineering, confirmed the roads and sewers put in by Kenyon Hill Ridge can be certified for safe use by the public.

Harrenstein noted: “There are several cracks in the storm sewer and sanitary sewer pipe, but we’ve been advised they’re not getting worse over time. These can be repaired without adding to our approved maintenance budgets. The roads, built five years ago, are not heaving.”

Haldeman, who addressed the Council on these topics, agreed with Harrenstein.

When pressed by Councilman Matt McKinney as to his confidence taxpayers wouldn’t be faced with a large repair bill in future to accept the infrastructure built by Kenyon Hill Ridge, Haldeman said none of the irregularities he discovered in his inspection were serious.

These included what Haldeman described as “four to five spot repairs” needed to the storm sewers, and “sagging of the sanitary sewer line of less than one-half inch,” which he termed “manageable.”

Referring to the street paving he said, “If there was any compaction it would be visible by now.”

When McKinney asked if accepting the infrastructure amounted to a “low risk” for the city, Haldeman agreed it was.

Kenyon Hill Ridge was never paid for any of the infrastructure construction due to the fact it never submitted receipts.

Harrenstein said, “We’ll need to address that going forward.”

Also, Kenyon Hill was never paid a $1,000 per apartment development incentive for the two 30-unit buildings of The Allure at River’s Edge, which was part of its contract with the city. The Council unanimously voted to pay the developer as required in the agreement.

After Kenyon Hill Ridge opened the streets, Harrenstein directed city staff “to put up the street signs, remove the barricades, and turn on the street lights.”

The plat for the rest of the development contains at least 34 lots suitable for single-family home construction located along Harmony Lane, Fair Meadow Drive and J. Brady Court to the south and west of The Allure at River’s Edge Apartments, and east of Van Diest Medical Center.

In other action, the Council:

— Approved two farm leases, one each for Brock Miller and Travis Wearda, both of Webster City, for three-year cash rent terms. In both leases, half of the annual rent is payable March 1, and half December 1, each year.

— Heard a review of the audit of the City of Webster City’s finances by auditors Williams & Company, of Le Mars. Iowa Code requires all cities with a population of more than 2,000 to complete an annual financial audit. The Daily Freeman Journal plans a detailed article on findings of the audit for a future edition of the newspaper.

— Approved permanent and temporary easement agreements for construction of a sanitary sewer across the property of Kendra and Zachary Chizek of Webster City. The sewer line will serve the 212-unit Wilson Estates development.

— Authorized City Manager John Harrenstein to enter into a wastewater service agreement with Webster City Custom Meats. The agreement sets limits for discharge of effluents from the company’s meat-packing operations, helping the city better manage the load on both the existing and proposed wastewater treatment plants.

— Agreed Street Supervisor Brandon Bahrenfuss should seek and proceed with the lowest bid, not to exceed $60,000, to fund the city’s 2025 concrete and asphalt crushing program. The city collects broken concrete and asphalt from sidewalks, driveways, patios, parking lots and streets at the far south end of its 100 East Ohio Street facility. The material is crushed into one-half-inch rock that’s reused for street construction and reconstruction projects, which, according to Bahrenfuss, “saves the city thousands of dollars a year.”