Snow Emergency: No On-Street Parking

The City of Oelwein has declared a Snow Emergency effective immediately January 17. Vehicles shall be moved from the street to comply with the city ordinance. Once the street is cleared, cars may return.

A petition with signatures was submitted to the City of Oelwein on January 6, 2020. The signatures were enough to require an election for the recently appointed council at large position.  The county has set the runoff election for February 11.
Nomination Papers are due to the county auditor by January 17 at 5:00 PM. and must have a minimum of 25 signatures.  

Papers can be accessed here: https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/candidates/nompetnonpartisan.pdf.

The City of Oelwein is providing forgivable loans for improving the downtown properties. These loans are five years in term and will be forgiven each year. Funding can range from $5,000 to$50,000. Any loan over $25,000 must include improvements for upper story housing. The city will have $75,000 to allocate annually. All downtown property owners are encouraged to apply. 

The City of Oelwein will be offering for sale the following properties by process of sealed bids. The properties will be sold for rehabilitation into single family, owner-occupied homes.

The properties will be open for inspection so interested parties can walk through. A reserve bid has been set for each property.

                             Address                                    Open for Viewing                                Minimum Bid

                    129 5th Avenue NE                      January 7, 2019 1:00 – 3:00 P.M.                 $7,500.00
                    608 1st Avenue SE                      January 9, 2019 1:00 – 3:00 P.M.                  $5,000.00
                    620 3rd Avenue SW                     January 10, 2019 1:00 – 3:00 P.M.                $5,000.00

The deadline to submit sealed bids along with proposals for property development and proof of attainable funds is January 22, 2019 at 11:00 A.M. Bids will be opened at 11:30 A.M. in the City Hall Council Chambers and presented to Council for action January 27, 2019 at 6:00 P.M. The Council will award properties to the highest bidder and/or best proposal submitted. The City reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

Once the property has been awarded, closing documents will be prepared. Sales will be subject to deed restrictions.

The new property owner(s) will be required to follow guidelines that have been set in place.

• The new owner/contractor will provide the City with a plan for rehabilitation/renovation
• Work on the property is to begin within 30 days of accepting the deed
• All work shall be completed within one year
• The property cannot be used as a rental or generate rental income for 7 years
• Property cannot be sold on contract for a minimum of 7 years

The Oelwein City Council may have additional requirements.

The City of Oelwein no longer collects leaves from the streets. Residents are advised it is illegal to deposit or rake leaves from private property into the streets. Residents are also advised it is illegal to burn in the city streets or alleys. The Yard Waste Disposal site located at 400 7th Avenue SW is open twenty-four hours a day seven days a week for disposal of natural yard waste.

The Oelwein City Council amended the fee schedule for the Rental Inspection Program on Monday, August 12, 2019. The updated schedule can be found here.