SOLON — The City of Solon officially welcomed its newest team member at last week’s city council meeting. City Administrator Cami Rasmussen introduced Brady Robertson as the city’s new Public Works Specialist, noting that he began his role Monday, June 16.
“We’re glad to have him on board,” Rasmussen said. Rasmussen also provided an update on the city’s ongoing tree replacement initiative, which has been spearheaded by Public Works Superintendent Kris Richardson. While some newly planted trees have struggled to take root, Rasmussen emphasized that setbacks were expected and are being addressed.
“This project has been such a great part of our spring,” she said. “It’s encouraging to see the community and staff working together to improve our parks.”
One major boost came from the Solon Area Community Foundation, which donated $4,000 toward trees for Randall Park and shelter. One tree has already been planted, and several more are expected to be planted soon.
“We really appreciate the Foundation’s support,” Rasmussen added. “We love hearing about all the improvements being made in that area.”
In other updates, Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan thanked Solon residents and the Solon Fire Department for their feedback on the safety concerns at the intersections along 140th Street. As a result of the community’s input, the county has decided to install rumble strips at the intersections with Ely Road and Highway 1 to improve driver awareness. “We’ve found that many of the accidents there were due to distracted driving,” Sullivan said. “These changes should help prevent future incidents.”
Sullivan also briefed the council on the county’s participation in a major groundwater study, led by USGS hydrologist Jude Thomas. The study examines the Silurian aquifer—an essential water source for Johnson County and surrounding areas—and projects groundwater flow trends through 2045.
“This research will give us valuable insight into future water availability,” Sullivan said. “When the study is finalized, we’ll work with cities like Solon to determine next steps and invite residents to participate.”
Finally, Sullivan noted an unresolved zoning issue in the city-county fringe area and encouraged Solon leaders to revisit and update the current fringe area agreement to prevent future jurisdictional confusion.
“Per the sort of odd zoning thing that has come up in our fringe area that wasn’t covered by the fringe area agreement that we have. I know Cami has talked about updating the fringe area so that doesn’t happen again, and we are obviously happy to talk about that whenever we get around to it.”
A clarification
Through a misunderstanding, it was stated in the 6/19 edition of the Economist the City was going to recommend a conditional use permit for the construction of the Jordan Creek Church.
In actuality the Council approved Resolution 25-26, which denies a conditional use permit application by Robert Upmeyer and/or the Jordan Creek Church within the two-mile fringe area.
The City, while expressing support for the church, disagrees with Johnson County’s approach – issuing a conditional use permit for construction, and feels the project should instead go through the Fringe Area Agreement. Being outside the city limits, the County has jurisdiction over the parcel, which is located less than one quarter of a mile from the current western city limits of Solon along Iowa Hwy. 382.
According to the Resolution, the City feels the sale by the Upmeyer Family of land to the church for the purpose of building a church violates the Fringe Area Agreement between the City and Johnson County, that the conditional use permit applied for by Robert Upmeyer is void and any new applications should be submitted by Jordan Creek Church, Inc., and that the County’s Planning, Development, and Sustainability (PDS) Department and Board of Supervisors have disregarded the City’s requests and attempts to ensure the orderly growth and development of the Upmeyer property. In addition the City maintains PDS has “knowingly” advised Upmeyer toward a Conditional Use Permit process with, “the intended result being to bypass the terms of the Fringe Area Agreement and annexation process, and to avoid the City of Solon design standards and site plan requirements.”
With an expected 250 parishioners, the City feels the church will create a significant impact on Solon and sees allowing the project to proceed under the Conditional Use Permit process as “irresponsible development and sprawl creating negative planning and financial impacts to the City of Solon for decades to come.” In addition the Resolution states, “The Solon City Council cannot support this Conditional Use Permit application because the process does not allow the City of Solon to have the authority needed to ensure the proposed church project meets the necessary design requirements for orderly growth within the 2-Mile Fringe area of Solon and to meet the required design standards (water, sewer, storm water management, traffic impacts to Hwy. 382, future street extension, site plan review and approval by the City, and a Development Agreement with the City).
Reminder – Public information meeting Saturday on wastewater plant alternatives
The City of Solon will host a public information meeting Saturday, June 28 at 9:00 a.m. at City Hall regarding the new wastewater treatment facility. City engineers will give a presentation on the alternatives analysis for the new facility.