Spring 2017 Newsletter

Fire Department’s Pancake Supper

Alton’s Fire Department will be hosting their annual pancake supper April 20 from 5:00-7:00 P.M. at the Alton Community Building. All proceeds will go towards personal protective equipment. Free will donation. APPETITES WANTED!

Summer Recreation Programs

Registration for the summer recreation program will be held on April 20 from 5:00-7:00 P.M. at the Alton Community Building. Registrations will continue to be accepted at the City Office. After May 1, there will be a fee for late registration.
Summer recreation programs include softball, baseball, golf, dance, baton, volleyball, flag football, reading program, and Bible school program. Due to lack of available certified staff, swimming lessons will be held in Orange City.

Lifeguards

The Alton and Orange City pools will be jointly managed. Please contact Mitch Aalbers at the City of Orange City with inquiries. 712-707-4885, prdir@orangecityiowa.com

Building Permits Required

A reminder that building permits must be obtained prior to beginning construction of new building or an addition to an existing building. Permits can be obtained at the City office. This applies to all properties in Alton city limits.

Call Before You Dig

As construction and landscaping projects get underway this spring, please remember you are required by law to call for utility locates at least 48 hours prior to digging. Iowa One Call phone number is 811.

Sidewalk Replacement Program

The City of Alton offers a sidewalk replacement program to assist with the cost of replacing deteriorated sidewalks.
A portion of the costs will be reimbursed by the City of Alton. Please contact the Alton City Office at 756-4314 for more details.

Spring Cleanup

Alton’s Annual Spring Clean-Up Day, sponsored by the City of Alton and Orange City Sanitation is planned for Monday, May 1.
Alton residents must purchase a $10 lawn flag (one for each household), at the Alton City Office or from Orange City Sanitation. Crews will only remove items that have a special lawn flag displayed nearby.
Allowable Items: garage and home items, furniture/wood items, mattresses/carpets.
Non-Allowable Items: all appliances/white goods, building-remodeling materials, wood chips, auto parts (tires, batteries, etc.), concrete, steel/iron, yard waste, tree branches, oil, yard chemicals or wet paints. Special pickup arrangements may be made available from OC Sanitation (737-2645).

E-Recycling

The Cities of Alton and Orange City are co-sponsoring a FREE recycling program that will accept computer monitors, CPU’s, keyboards and mouse(s), laptops, printers, servers, cell phones, TV’s, small batteries, sound equipment, banking equipment, VCR’s, fax machines, and AC adapters. Sorry, car batteries and light bulbs are not allowed. Items can be dropped off at the Alton City Hall, 905 3rd Ave., on Friday, May 5th from 4:00-7:00 P.M. and Saturday, May 6th from 9:00-12:00 noon.

Storm Ready

State and local emergency management officials, along with the National Weather Service, stress the continued need and importance of education and preparedness for severe weather that may affect Iowans. Citizens should remember that a little planning can prevent unnecessary panic and confusion if a severe storm or tornado does strike. Citizens should learn the warning signals used for their community and put together an emergency storm kit that includes candles, matches, a transistor radio, flashlight and simple first aid kit.
During the months of April-September, the Sioux County Communications Center will also begin our testing program on the first Friday of the month at 9:30AM.

Notice to Utility Customers

As customers of the City of Alton, help is available to you in resolving possible complaints about your electric or gas service. You can contact a utility representative at the following address:

The City of Alton
905 3rd Ave. P O Box 910
Alton, IA. 51003-0910

If your complaint is related to service disconnection, safety, or renewable energy and the City of Alton does not resolve your complaint, you may request assistance from the Iowa Utilities Board by writing to 1375 E Court Ave., Room 69, Des Moines, IA. 50319-0069 or calling (515)725-7300 or toll-free (877)565-4450 or by E-mail to: customer@iub.iowa.gov.

Alton municipal utilities after hours and emergency phone number: 712-756-5500

Tree and Grass Disposal

The City of Alton has a disposal site for residents to dispose of yard waste. The site is located at 1100 East 8th Avenue, which is north of the athletic field. There is no charge for this service. This is a self-delivery disposal site and provides an area for vegetative waste and an area designated for tree disposal. Signs are posted to show where vegetative waste must be disposed, and where branches must be disposed. Building lumber, Garbage and CONCRETE disposal are NOT allowed. Due to an increasing number of violators security cameras have been installed. Violators will be prosecuted. If the site continues to be abused the City will be forced to lock the site and residents will have to check out a key at the City Office during business hours to use the site. Please contact the City Office at 756-4314 to report violations. CONCRETE can be disposed of at Cleveringa Excavating, 4451 Kennedy Ave, Alton.

Grass Ordinance

The City Council Passed an Ordinance in December in regards to the upkeep of lawns. Below is a brief summarization of the Ordinance. A copy of the Complete Ordinance can be acquired at the City Office. Any property which is found to be in violation of this chapter may be mowed by the City or their agent. All associated costs for such mowing, plus a surcharge of $100.00, will be charged to the property owner.
Each owner and each person in the possession or control of any land within the city limits of the City of Alton, Iowa, shall cut or otherwise destroy all noxious weeds thereon and shall keep said lands free of such growth.
Each owner and each person in possession or control of any property within the city limits of the City of Alton, Iowa, shall be responsible to:

Keep said property, along with parking adjacent thereto, alleys, public ways or areas up to the centerline of said ways free of any noxious weeds.
Keep grasses and weeds on said property mowed so that grass and weeds are less than eight inches (8″) in height.
Refrain from blowing grass clippings and raking leaves into the streets.

Animal Ordinance 719

10.06: It shall be unlawful for any owner to allow dogs, cats, cattle, horses, swine, sheep, farm deer, ostriches, rheas, emus or other similar animals or fowl to run at large within the corporate limits of the City.

10.10: It shall be unlawful for an person to keep, shelter, or harbor any dangerous or vicious animal as a pet, or act as custodian, temporary or otherwise, for such animal, or keep such animal for any other purpose or in any other capacity within the City of Alton except as provided in Sections 10.10(1) and 10.10(2).

10.12: It shall be prohibited for any animal owner to permit or allow any animal, when at large, or under the control of the owner or under the control of anyone authorized by the owner, to deposit or to leave any animal wastes or excrement without removing the offensive material by any reasonable method without delay.

Municipal Reminders

The City Office will be closed Monday, May 29th for Memorial Day.
City utility bills are due on or before the close of business on the 20th of each month. City Hall is open Monday – Friday 7:30 A.M. – 4:30 P.M. Payments may be dropped off at City Hall during business hours, in the drop box located on the north side of City Hall or via mail. To help ensure your payment is on time, and to avoid any potential late fees, you may sign up for ACH. You can choose to have ACH payments withdrawn from your account on the 10th or 20th of each month. If you wish to sign up for ACH please stop by or call City Hall at 712-756-4314 to receive the proper paperwork.
The curfew for minors is as follows: Under the age of 16 – 10:00 P.M. Ages 16 and 17 – 12:00 midnight.
We ask that you refrain from blowing grass clippings and raking leaves into the streets. This debris prevents us from doing an efficient job of street sweeping and also obstructs the flow of water into the storm water system. Thank you for your cooperation.

Add a “PS”…To help a Neighbor

“PS” is Project Share – a program that assists needy households in paying their winter energy bills. You can help by adding a Project Share contribution to your utility payment, or by making a direct donation. A local social service agency carefully identifies those residents who qualify, and a local committee oversees Project Share to guarantee that all contributions are handled equitably and efficiently.