Site plan for Southern Iowa Trucking approved by city council

A new site plan for Southern Iowa Trucking was approved by Osceola City Council during its meeting Sept. 20.

After initially having his site plan rejected by the city council, Eugene Zinchenko of Chariton came back to the council with an improved plan.

Originally, the site plan proposed a driveway off of Idaho Street, which is a secondary road jointly owned by the city and Clarke County. The city council rejected that plan because Idaho Street would not accommodate semi-truck traffic.

Zinchenko worked with Clarke County Economic Development Corporation to acquire a lot in the E Eddy Saylor Industrial Park, which is adjacent to his 40-acre parcel located at 1982 205th Ave.

“He will use that industrial park lot to build access onto E Eddy Saylor Parkway,” said Ty Wheeler, Osceola city administrator/clerk. “It’s far better for access to him because it’s a paved road and dumps you out onto Highway 34. It will allow him to tie into the city water and sewer system.”

There will be a 24-foot-wide drive constructed that will lead to the trucking facility.

“(The council) is happy to see new business coming to town and they think there’s a lot of promise for growth, especially given our location at the crossroads of Highway 34 and Interstate 35,” Wheeler said.

City Councilman Dave Walkup said he’s excited for Zinchenko, 22, to bring his business to Osceola.

“This young man, as I understand it, is a very bright young man,” Walkup said. “He has put a point down in Osceola as being where he wants to have his business. Hopefully the business will grow. It’s a win-win situation for the community and for him, I think.”

Safe Routes to School

The council also awarded the construction contract for the Safe Routes to School Phase II project to Country Concrete.

For the second year in a row, Osceola has been awarded a Wellmark Foundation grant for a Safe Routes to School project, which provides a sidewalk for children to use to walk to and from school.

This year’s grant is for a total of $75,000. In addition, Clarke County Development Corporation has given the city a $56,000 grant for the project.

Country Concrete, one of three construction companies to submit bids for the project, submitted a bid of $132,443.85 for the safe route and $59,078.80 for the safe route alternate route.

“We did one last year and it connected the downtown with the elementary and high school,” Wheeler said. “This year, we proposed another sidewalk project which would connect the east side of town to the elementary school.”

The project includes construction of approximately 5,300 linear feet of 6-foot-wide sidewalk.

Wheeler said feedback from last year’s Safe Routes to School project has been positive.

“At first, people said, ‘6-foot sidewalk, you’re going to pave a road in my front yard,’” he said. “But when the first one went in, everyone said it’s pretty nice. Everybody on the east side is excited to see they’ve been selected for a safe route corridor.”

The new project will begin at the intersection of East View Place and East Clay Street, traveling west down East Clay Street. The route will then turn south on Dewey Street before turning west again on East Jefferson Street.

The alternate route goes north on North East Street, turns west on Ayers Street and turns south on Dewey Street.

“I’ve heard nothing but positives about the 6-foot sidewalks,” Walkup said. “It does two things: it gives a safe walk for our kids, and also we’re trying to get people out walking more. The safety of our students is always our No. 1 priority. The other thing is that we have some sidewalks that are naturally narrower, but also they’re ready for rehab so they look nice and people can walk on them.”

In other city council news:

• Event permits were approved for Wine Walk and Trunk or Treat.

• Trick or Treat was scheduled for 6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 31.

• A professional service contract was awarded to Veenstra & Kimm Inc. to place signage throughout the community to direct visitors to the downtown area and high school.

• The council made an offer to purchase the property at 331 W. Clay St. The structure on the property is decayed beyond the point of fixing and the city plans to tear it down.