Tagged: Burlington

Burlington will need to take out a very short-term loan to get through the current fiscal year, which ends June 30th.

The city council has authorized the borrowing of up to $2-million to cover payroll and operations through the end of the month.

City Manager Jim Ferneau says the city will need about $700,000 to cover the final payroll of the year, so he does not anticipate needing to borrow the full amount.

He says it is good to have the authority to do so, though, in case an ongoing capital project runs into trouble.

The Burlington School District is looking into a note left on multiple cars following the recent high school graduation ceremony.

It’s been reported that the note mentioned bullying, intimidation and miscommunication by teachers towards students at the high school.

The signature was from the “Graduating Class of 2012.”

Superintendent Jane Evans says similar concerns were recently raised by a student during a meeting of the School Improvement Advisory Committee.

She plans to meet with the high school administrative team about both incidents.

An expansion and renovation of the Burlington Animal Shelter could get underway this summer.

The city council voted 3-2 to hire Myers Construction to do the work.  The $820,000 bid from the firm out of Sperry, Iowa was the lowest of the three received by the city.

Burlington will split the cost of the project with the Des Moines County Humane Society.  The organization has raised more than $500,000 for the shelter since its fundraising campaign began in 2010.

Burlington could soon have a better idea of what to do with Cascade Bridge.  The bridge, which is about 115 years old, has been closed to vehicular traffic for about 4 years.

The city was ready to spend several million dollars to tear it down and build a new one.  It even had received a $1-million grant to help cover the cost.

The state stepped in, though, to make sure Burlington considered restoring the structure.

The city council has agreed to have Shuck-Britson, Inc. out of Des Moines study the bridge.