The Carroll City Council convenes Monday evening with road reconstruction projects, continuing budget discussions, and expansion plans at the Kuemper Catholic campus. The meeting begins at 5:15 p.m., and the council’s first item of business is a request from the parochial school for the feasibility of the city vacating East Street to make room for an addition to Holy Spirit Elementary. According to City Manager Aaron Kooiker, Kuemper is developing a master facilities plan, and growing enrollment trends may necessitate expansion to the east toward the convent. The main challenge is a city-owned water main that runs along East Street that would need to be moved; however, Kuemper staff is aware of the issue and wishes to continue moving forward. In other street-related projects, Kooiker says the council will need to make a final decision on how wide 12th Street will be as the city prepares to take the estimated $4.5 million reconstruction project to bid.
The council could choose to go as narrow as 28′ or as wide as 34′. The difference in price for this portion of the project ranges from $873,000 to $1.16 million. City staff recommends 28′ with one-side parking and new sidewalks on both sides of the roadway. Kooiker says the council will close out their meeting with what is expected to be the final Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget work session.
The FY26 proposed levy rate is increasing by 0.012 percent to $12.16190 per $1,000 of taxable assessed valuation. Other items on Monday’s agenda include a $254,000 heavy-duty truck from Ascendance Truck Center for the Public Works Department, a nearly $5,000 reduction change order for the central business district (CBD) street resurfacing project that was completed this past summer, and a closed session under Iowa Code 21.5(1)(j), “To discuss the purchase or sale of particular real estate only where premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price the governmental body would have to pay for that property or reduce the price the governmental body would receive for that property.” Monday’s meeting is open to the public, excluding the closed session, and will be live-streamed via the city’s YouTube channel. Links to the agenda and video are included below.
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