Jewell is the latest community to be a part of the Hamilton County Economic Growth Partnership program. The program is through the work of the Ames Regional Economic Alliance. Hamilton, Boone and Story counties are a part of the alliance that was started last year in 2024. The Jewell City Council approved the participation during its meeting this week.
The council met with Dave Trask of the South Hamilton Youth Sports requesting a $3,000 donation and asked permission to use the baseball/softball fields at the city park this summer. Trask requested maintenance to a door and no smoking signs be added to the fields. The council will consider the requests at a future meeting.
A Property Tax Levy hearing for the city of Jewell will be held Monday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m. prior to the regular city council meeting. There was a discussion of the Jewell city budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Items that would be levied for via property taxes were reviewed. These items include the consolidated general fund levy, liability insurance costs, a portion of the employees FICA, IPERS, Medicare and health insurance, as well as a debt service levy.
In another matter, the Jewell City Council reviewed the city’s sidewalk ordinance. A discussion regarding the possibility of having sidewalk sales on Main Street was a part of the meeting, The council requested that they touch base with the city engineer to see how other cities have handled this. The issue will be revisited at a future city council meeting.