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DECORAH — In the latest Decorah City Council meeting, held on Monday, May 20, council members approved the Decorah Municipal Airport Hangar and Terminal Project, Solar Array Project and multiple grant applications for the Airport Commission. The Council also approved a C-3 design application for Rebound Partners and discussed establishing a Water Street Closure Policy. Decorah Airport Projects to Proceed The Decorah City Council approved resolutions to advance two major projects at the Decorah Airport, contingent on federal funding. The first resolution paved the way for the construction of a new corporate hangar with an attached terminal building. City Manager Travis Goedken outlined the project. "The proposed project is to demolish the existing corporate hangar up at the airport. That is the building immediately east of the fuel station there on the apron. In its place would be the construction of an 80-by-80 foot conventional hangar with an attached 30-by-60 foot terminal building in that place. This would allow the public to enter the terminal building on the north side of the fence without having to cross the apron," Goedken said The council also approved a resolution to install a 38.6 kilowatt (DC) photovoltaic solar array on the airport hangar roof. This project, identified as FAA 3-19-0025-017 (SD22), also awaits FAA funding approval. Eagle Point Solar LLC., also from Dubuque, emerged as the lowest responsive bidder with an $83,205 bid. The contract will be finalized once FAA approval is secured. Additionally, the council unanimously approved applications for the FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and the Iowa Department of Transportation General Aviation Vertical Infrastructure Program (IDOT GAVI) grants. The AIP provides grants for public-use airport development listed in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS), while the IDOT GAVI supports vertical infrastructure projects at general aviation airports. Decorah's application for the IDOT GAVI seeks $300,000, with a local match of $116,067. Both grant applications aim to enhance the airport's infrastructure and were unanimously approved by the council. C-3 Design Plan Application for Rebound Partners The historic Anundsen Building complex, a notable part of the city's Commercial Historic District, is set for significant renovations under a new proposal by Rebound Properties. The Rebound Properties proposal includes creating ten second-story apartments within the Anundsen complex. The plans emphasize preserving some historic elements, such as original flooring, ceilings, doors and windows. Exterior renovations will focus on restoring and replacing brickwork, expanding windows and doors to their original sizes and updating a south-facing wooden overhang with brick facing and a metal access stairway. The Decorah Historic Preservation Commission (DHPC) expressed support for these changes. They noted that while some elements — like the 1938 Piggly Wiggly building — may appear out of place between its 19th-century neighbors, the proposed restorations adhere to preservation standards. The DHPC also suggested a more sensitive rehabilitation for the 1955 second-story addition on 105 E. Water St. Councilman Ross Hadley noted in the documentation provided that the "Decorah Newspapers" engraving would remain on the facade of one of the buildings in question according to the plan. He also expressed that although the engraving was technically "historical" in a relatively short term sense (comparing it to the since-removed "Happy Joe's" logo), he questioned why the decision was made to keep it. Scott Koester of Rebound Partners was in attendance and answered Hadley's question. "With the historic preservation piece it, it dates back to a 'period of significance.' That's the primary reason why it's going to remain and that's what we needed to submit to the state historic preservation office." The design plan was unanimously approved by the Council. Water Street Closure Policy Discussion The Decorah City Council discussed a resolution outlining a new policy for considering the closure of Water Street for special events. According to the resolution, the City Council would only entertain requests to close Water Street for Nordic Fest. This decision is in accordance with Chapter 5.26 of the Decorah Municipal Code. While Nordic Fest would be given special consideration, the event would still have to comply with all other applicable provisions of the code, including submitting an application to the Council. Councilman Kirsten Olson noted that he had conversations with members of the Chamber of Commerce and downtown business owners, suggesting that the people he spoke to were not in favor of a "blanket solution," like the one presented in this resolution. Councilwoman Emily Neal supported the idea of putting a policy in place to avoid complications like the ones that arose from the recent "Cops and Rodders" event. "We were in the middle of Cops and Rodders, and then all of a sudden, we thought we had a great compromise that then wasn't a great compromise for some. I feel like last year, we were totally in the middle when it came to ridiculous days because we literally had two groups of downtown businesses telling us they wanted two different things. I think it's just important to have a policy when other new people come to say, 'We'd like to have this event on Water Street.'" Neal said. Neal relayed two ideas that were proposed to her by members of the community. The first was for the council to simply officially propose days that Water Street would not be closed. The second, rather than closing the entirety of the street down, events could be on specific blocks of the street. Those blocks could be closed down instead. After discussing the resolution, the council unanimously decided to table the item until a calendar could be made to identify non-closure weekends. Feed your curiosity! Subscribe to the free newsletter and indulge in all that's local. Your friends will be impressed.

Support your local businesses

Airport and Historical Preservation Projects See Council Approval