Mason City council to consider development of plans for bike trail

MASON CITY — The City Council in Mason City tonight will consider a number of items at their regular meeting:

 

== The council will consider approving a professional services agreement with WHKS for the city’s Destination Iowa project.

The city and Cerro Gordo County were recently awarded $4.5 million for a bike park that would be specifically designed for off-road and mountain biking activities. The city will initiate the project with the development of plans for several subcomponents, including the High Line Trail, Murphy Park Trail and Bridge, Prairieland Trail Connector, Scrip Road Conversion and Illinois Bridge improvements, as well as crossing safety improvements.

The agreement the council will consider is for the preparation of preliminary plans and project estimates to assist the city in project planning, bundling and budgeting purposes. Those projects will be reviewed and brought forward for positioning in the Fiscal Year 2024 and 2025 budgets.

 

== The council will also consider approving a letter of interest to establish a partnership between Mason City and a city in Kosovo.

Mayor Bill Schickel says in a memo to the council that councilman Joshua Masson has been exploring the idea of establishing a sister-city partnership. Schickel says Iowa already has a long-standing and mutually beneficial sister state relationship with Kosovo. He says the next step in the potential Mason City partnership is submitting a letter of interest to the Kosovo Consulate in Des Moines.

A delegation of 17 mayors and municipal leadership teams from Kosovo will be in Iowa November 14th through the 16th, with the delegation exchanging information with Iowa community leaders about improving quality of life and opportunities for young people.

The council meets tonight at 7 o’clock in the Mason City Room of the Public Library.