Area residents are showing their support for bond election

HARTINGTON — Hartington city residents are one step closer to being able to vote on a pair of city bond proposals.

The City Council held a town hall meeting last week to share projected costs and plans with local residents for a new city maintenance building, and for moving the Skylon Ballroom and turning it into a community center.

Hartington Mayor Mark Becker said preliminary estimates indicate it would cost about $1.5 million to move, renovate and expand the Skylon into a community center.

Building a new seven-bay city shop would cost about $1.1 million.

The city would take out two 20-year bonds to pay for the projects.

In order to get the proposals on the May 14 primary election ballot, the city first had to gather enough signatures to petition for the election.

Hartington City Clerk Brittni Benscoter said she turned the city maintenance building petition with 128 signatures on it into Cedar County Clerk Jessica Schmit early Tuesday morning.

The Skylon petition, with 117 signatures on it, was turned in at the same time, Benscoter said.

Schmit was expected to verify the signatures Tuesday or Wednesday to ensure the petitions contained the required number of signatures from registered voters living within the city limits of Hartington.

In order to get the issue on the May ballot, the petition must have the valid signatures of at least 94 registered voters residing within the Hartington city limits. That amount is equal to 10 percent of the city residents who voted in the last statewide election.

The City Council is expected to vote to place the issues on the May ballot at their Monday, Feb. 26, meeting.

It will then be up to the voters to determine the fate of the projects.

'This will only go forward if you want it, though,' Becker told about 120 people gathered for last week's town hall meeting. 'That's what this is all about. We want to hear what you are thinking. We want to know if you think this is a good idea and if you want us to go forward with it or not.'

Current estimates indicate city residents would pay an additional $111 per $100,000 of assessed valuation to pay for the community center bond. That means, someone with a $200,000 home would pay an additional $222 per year in property taxes in order to pay off the bond.

The bond for the new city maintenance building would cost taxpayers $90 a year, Becker said.

The project comes at a good time, since the city is close to paying off an old bond, Becker said.

There are only two payments left on the bond that was taken out to build the Hartington Community Complex in 2004, he said.