Building Local Community Through Arts, Cultural, and Recreational Events, and the Exchange of Goods and Services
Retirement Open House for Rick Bohr
There will be an Open House for Rick at City Hall on April 12th from 1:00pm-3:00pm. We invite the public to City Hall Council Chambers for refreshments to celebrate Rick on his 39 years of service to the City of Decorah.
Decorah, IA (April 5, 2024) – The City of Decorah will be offering several opportunities for free loading of compost and wood chips at the City’s Yard Waste Disposal Site located on Trout Run Road. The City will have an end loader at the Yard Waste Site on Friday, April 12th from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM and on Saturday, April 13th from 7:30 AM to 12 noon.
The City will also have an end loader at the Yard Waste Site on Friday, April 19th from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM and Saturday, April 20th from 7:30 AM to 12 noon.
The giveaway is available to residents and non-residents of the City of Decorah.
Please contact Sam Hogenson at 563-277-5153 with any questions.
This is an official city press release. Modifications of any kind are prohibited without express written consent of the author. Any reprint or broadcast of this information must include this entire communication.
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Yard Waste Site Keys Available at City Hall Starting April 5th
Decorah, IA (March 29, 2024) – The City of Decorah is announcing that starting on Friday, April 5th, keys will be available for residents who want to access the City’s Yard Waste Site. Keys must be checked out from City Hall. City Hall is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM.
The City is expecting to have set open hours for the Yard Waste Site starting sometime within the next few weeks.
A couple of reminders: no garbage in any capacity is allowed to be deposited at the Yard Waste Site and only yard waste that originates from within the Decorah City Limits may be deposited.
This is an official city press release. Modifications of any kind are prohibited without express written consent of the author. Any reprint or broadcast of this information must include this entire communication.
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The City of Decorah Will Issue Water and Sewer Credits for Residents
Decorah, IA (March 21, 2024)
The City of Decorah residents will be receiving credit on their water and sewer billing due to Ordinance 1314 and Ordinance 1315 not published. These ordinances increased the water rates by 12% and the sewer rates by 6%. The credit will appear on residents’ future billings to correct this error. The timeframe that the credit covers will be from July 1, 2023, through February 29, 2024. If residents no longer have water and sewer service in Decorah, a check will be issued. The increase in rates will go into effect for the April billing. If you have any questions regarding this credit, please contact Decorah City Hall at 563-382-3651 or email ksand@decorah.iowa.gov.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Decorah Street Department
Press Contact: Jesse Kuennen, Assistant City Engineer, 563-382-2157
Decorah, IA (March 21, 2024) – The City of Decorah is notifying residents that a snow emergency will be in effect starting at midnight tonight and will remain in effect until Monday, March 25th at Noon.
The City’s snow emergency parking policy requires that on even-numbered calendar days, all vehicles shall be parked on the side of the street where buildings have even numbers. On odd-numbered calendar days, all vehicles shall be parked on the side of the street where buildings have odd numbers. All vehicles need to be parked on the correct side of the street by 12:01 AM. Sometime between 8:00 PM and midnight, residents can move their vehicles to the other side of the street in anticipation of the following day’s parking requirement.
The City is also reminding residents that snow must be removed from sidewalks within 24 hours after a snow event.
Snow from driveways, sidewalks, and/or parking lots cannot be deposited into City streets or alleys unless prior approval is received from the City.
Please contact the Street Department at 382-2157 with any questions.
This is an official city press release. Modifications of any kind are prohibited without express written consent of the author. Any reprint or broadcast of this information must include this entire communication.
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Decorah Public Library
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jon Pankow, Technology Coordinator
Decorah Public Library
563.382.3717
DECORAH, IA — Decorah Public Library has been selected as one of 310 libraries nationwide to participate in round two of Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative that provides community engagement and accessibility resources to small and rural libraries to help them better serve people with disabilities.
The competitive award comes with a $10,000 grant that will help the library update existing automatic door openers at public entrances and add additional automatic openers to lower-level restrooms.
“We are pleased to be chosen for this amazing opportunity, thanks to a successful grant application written by Technology & Facilities Manager Jon Pankow” said Library Director Kristin Torresdal. “This grant will allow our library to get to know residents with disabilities better. It will help us improve library access and ensure that our space feels welcoming and comfortable to all.”
As part of the grant, Decorah Public Library staff will take an online course in how to facilitate conversations, a skill vital to library work today. Staff will then host a community conversation with residents about accessibility to library facilities and services and use the grant funds to install automatic door openers.
If you are interested in taking part in the community conversation, please contact Jon Pankow by emailing jpankow@decorahlibrary.org or calling 563-382-3717.
Since 2014, ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative has re-imagined the role libraries play in supporting communities. Libraries of all types have utilized free dialogue and deliberation training and resources to lead community and campus forums; take part in anti-violence activities; provide a space for residents to come together and discuss challenging topics; and have productive conversations with civic leaders, library trustees and staff.
“Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).”
The City Council will conduct a public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year City property tax levy as follows:
Meeting Date: April 1, 2024
Meeting Time: 5:00pm
Meeting Location: Decorah Council Chambers
At the public hearing any resident or taxpayer may present objections to, or arguments in favor of the proposed tax levy. After the hearing of the proposed tax levy, the City Council will publish notice and hold a hearing on the proposed city budget.
Click here to view the Proposed Property Tax Levy Sheet.
The Decorah Sustainability Commission invites the community to review the current Sustainability Plan and provide input into updating the plan in 2024. The meetings will be on Wednesday, April 3rd, from 5:00-7:00 p.m., and on Saturday, April 6th, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the Pulpit Rock Brewery event room.
There will also be additional opportunities to provide input online or via written response. The City’s website, www.decorahia.org, will provide further information on this planning process and how community members can participate.
The Decorah Sustainability Commission was established in July 2020 after a community-driven process in 2019 to create a Sustainability Plan for Decorah. The Decorah City Council adopted a multi-prong approach to sustainability that views economic prosperity, environmental integrity, and community resilience as essential ingredients to our vision for Decorah – one that is healthy, resilient, adaptable, and safe.
The plan includes the following areas of focus: Transportation; Energy; Economic Development; Waste; Land Use; Communications & Outreach; Social Sustainability – Equity & Well-Being; and Air & Water.
These eight interconnected systems have a big impact on creating the type of community we want for current and future residents. They are meant to help Decorah thrive in the face of outside threats and rapid social and environmental pressures.
The City of Decorah’s Sustainability Plan has helped and will continue to help local officials and community members make decisions regarding growth, management, and community preservation.
At its most basic level, the plan has done this by outlining a series of specific policies, infrastructure improvements, communication tools, and educational programs that will reduce our carbon footprint, mitigate our vulnerability to floods, strengthen our local economy, and cultivate a more connected and welcoming community.
The Decorah Sustainability Commission is focused on updating the Plan in 2024. The process will include reflecting on the work that’s been accomplished and outlining goals for the coming years. As in 2019, this process will include a robust public process to get input for the development of an updated Plan.
Please join the City of Decorah and the Decorah Tree Board on April 27, 2024, as we celebrate Arbor Day by planting 25 trees on various boulevards throughout the city. Before we begin planting, the City Forester and Decorah Tree Board will give a planting demonstration outlining property planting techniques and how to care for a tree after it is planted. This planting, along with several others that will be carried out by the City of Decorah and Decorah Tree Board throughout the year, has been made possible through a grant received from the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program and the Arbor Day Foundation.
What: Arbor Day celebration – planting 25 trees
When: April 27 at 8:00 AM
Where: Begins at City of Decorah Street Department located at 108 Railroad Avenue
For more information, please contact Sam Hogenson, City Forester, at (563)277-5153 or by email at: cityforester@decorah.iowa.gov