Council hears plans for new housing development south of VSHS; cost study next

South of Vinton-Shellsburg High School, between 2nd Avenue and Highway 218, Dusty Druschel envisions a housing development that up to 70 families will eventually call home.

Work could begin as soon as this year.

The first step toward this vision took place Thursday when Druschel and Vinton Unlimited Business Opportunity Group (BOG) member Rich Hainstock asked the Vinton Council to fund a study of the cost of infrastructure required for such a development.

“The Druschels are ready to move ahead this year, if the estimates come in at a reasonable number,” Hainstock said. Dusty’s parents, Larry and Linda, would be working with him on the development.

The key question now, says Hainstock, is “How much will installation of sewer and water service cost?”

Hainstock asked the council to approve spending the money for an engineer’s “guestimate” of those expenses.

The project, he told the city leaders, is planned as in two phases, with 35 houses per phase.

Most of the houses will be larger structures. Druschel said most will be $200,000 or more; Hainstock said most of those 35 houses will be above the $200,000 level.

“There is a pent-up demand for houses in that price range in Vinton,” Hainstock explained.

The council directed City Administrator Chris Ward to find out what an engineer would charge for such an estimate. The council will address this issue again in the near future.

BOG has been working with the city council on housing issues for the past few years. A housing survey designed to identify the types of housing needed most in Vinton is scheduled to begin soon.

The property is currently not within city limits, so the council would have to annex the property. Also, if the development includes access to Highway 218, the city would have to work with the Iowa DOT on the street and intersection with the highway.

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DS February 26, 2016, 10:08 am So BOG would like the city to invest in these properties which are outside the city limits? Does the BOG have a list of 70 families, or even half that, that are willing to build out here? And why should the city spend millions of dollars on this project when it would leave us with nothing to protect us during the next wind storm or flood? Seems like a big gamble to me.

BE February 26, 2016, 11:27 am I agree there is a need for more housing but I think we need to focus on the existing \"infrastructure crisis\" before we look to expand.

MF February 26, 2016, 11:37 am Is this BIG investment going to raise our property taxes??

DS February 26, 2016, 11:50 am And why are we worried about upscale housing when the city should be more focused on bringing jobs to town. Bringing industry to town will increase the need for housing. There is no reason why we can\'t draw those kinds of business here. Take a drive on Highway 20 and look at all of the small towns on the way to Dubuque. Every single one is littered with industry. Hundreds or even thousands of jobs. The people of Vinton should want more jobs in town that will draw people into town who will in turn spend their money here. The only thing our citizens will see with a new upscale housing development is higher taxes on all of our properties to offset the cost of the new infrastructure. Sounds like a simple choice to me.

MF February 26, 2016, 11:57 am I\'m all about expanding our community, but I totally agree with Drew!

LD February 26, 2016, 12:58 pm I agree....money could better be spent elsewhere, it\'s of no value to most in town for a high end housing district and I would bet our taxes would go up. Fix the streets in town first.

MF February 26, 2016, 1:10 pm If the city invests the money to fund this development does this not open the door to any other developer to receive the same type of arrangement. There is already a property located within city limits, already platted and engineered that requested assistance to begin work and was denied as the City felt it was not in their best interest financially to do so. The proposal seems to be a no risk situation for the developer as it is all paid by the tax payers of Vinton. If it fails he has no loss but the city of Vinton taxpayers will continue to pay for years to come.
At the open forum during the elections all the people seated in front stated that the infrastructure of Vinton should be a top priority. If this goes thru Vinton will be at its borrowing limit. Any recovery from the next natural disaster will need to come from a massive rate increase in taxes. At this rate Vinton will have the highest tax rate of the surrounding counties which will be detrimental to having anyone relocate here. Clean up the infrastructure, clean up the city, find ways to encourage businesses to come here. You can\'t build anything without a strong foundation.

DS February 26, 2016, 2:11 pm Well put Marcia! I agree, we would definitely be opening up a can of worms,and we certainly don\'t want to be at our borrowing limit. Let the developers take the risk, not the taxpayers.

BE February 26, 2016, 2:19 pm Completely agree Drew, but more businesses means more competition and history shows some may not want that in this community.....

DC February 26, 2016, 4:50 pm What\'s the status of the land within city limits east of Vinton that a builder was going to build high end houses and so infrastructure was built and lots of money was spent in anticipation?

JZ February 26, 2016, 5:24 pm smaller plan with more mixed housing. Little bites. But I\'d think new housing doesn\'t put the squeeze on our existing property tax payers, because if those houses are sold, new owners are paying property tax too - it spreads out the load.Always hard to say what comes first, the jobs or the places to live. Chicken and egg situation. Speaking for senior citizens, we might have a use for a few one, two and three bedroom condos.

DS February 26, 2016, 8:16 pm That is a very good point Julie. And exactly why we need a housing study before we commit to a specific desire.

jm February 26, 2016, 9:08 pm I don\'t understand why the City would need to spend money for an engineers estimate. We have plenty of contractors locally that can tell us a rough guess of everything we need and I bet the price would be close to zero if we do some legwork

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