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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2023 02-FebruarySister Cities: Riverdale, New Jersey, Meet Riverdale, Iowa January 15, 2023 “We’re probably one of the youngest cities in the state,” says Riverdale, Iowa mayor, Antho- ny Heddlesten. “Before we existed, most of the land that is now Riverdale was a huge dairy farm owned by a guy named Colonel French. It was called the Iowana Dairy, and I think they were pretty well spread across the country.” If you drive into Riverdale, Iowa, you’ll find friendly people, and according to Heddlesten, one restaurant and one bar. “The Duck Creek Pancake House is our restaurant of choice. Duck Creek Pancake House is on Duck Creek, and they’re open for breakfast and lunch. Obviously, pan- cakes are the thing, but I’m always going to go for the biscuits and gravy – that’s just the kind of person I am. But it’s a great little place.” Crepes, omelets, waffles, and a variety of other breakfast items are available. Also in the same building on State Street is My Place The Pub and Deli. “You can get some sandwiches there or a pizza. We’ve got breakfast and lunch on one side and then dinner on the other side,” Heddlesten says. Kelly Krell is Riverdale, Iowa Town Clerk. “I think the best thing about our town is the people, our residents who live here,” Krell says. “We are such a tight knit community, that I really do feel like people feel that way. They really do feel like they are part of something important. They are appreciated and loved. So, I think our people are our biggest asset.” “The fire department was founded at the same time as the city,” says Chris Bernard, Riverdale, Iowa Fire Chief. “All the members for the most part were all people that lived in Riverdale. But once again, it’s a small town, so at this point, actually it’s kind of gone in the other direction. We’ve got 21 members in the fire department, which is actually pretty impressive for around here.” To read the full article, please scan this QR Code: From the City of RIVERDALE, Iowa www.riverdaleia.org | 110 Manor Drive | (563) 355-2511 | deputyclerk@riverdaleia.org | February 2023 On this day : Feb 10, 1953 Riverdale won its independence after a long battle through the courts. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the original incorporation stands! Hometown Life Features Riverdale, Iowa, as Sister City to Riverdale, New Jersey. New Jersey Publication (Hometown Life) picked us for their January Sister City. Here is just a snippet of the article: 6 - RFD Training 6:30p 10 - Riverdale Independence Day 13 - RFD Training 6:30p 14 - Valentine’s Day Budget Meeting 5:30p Council Meeting 7p 20 - Presidents Day (City Hall offices open) RFD Training 6:30p 26 - Mayor’s Town Hall 2p 27 - RFD Training 6:30p 28 - Council Meeting 7p *All events at City Hall unless otherwise noted Back by popular demand! As winter continues, please remember: *Park in your driveway, if possible, during snowfall to allow the plows to properly remove snow *Keep garbage and recycling bins at the edge of your driveway and not in the street *Clear snow surrounding fire hydrants and mailboxes *Don’t blow your snow into the roadway Thank you “Why is my tap water cloudy?” Recently, Iowa American Water put out a public service announcement regarding this very question! They gave some great information: “Cloudy or milky-looking” water is caused by dissolved air (oxygen) and poses no health problem or risk. Iowa American Water provides its customers with water that meets or surpasses all Iowa Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Safe Drinking Water Act regulations. Dissolved oxygen in water is most evident during winter months when the water temperature is the coldest. Cold water absorbs more air out of the atmosphere than warm water. Since the water temperature remains cold as it travels from the treatment plant to the customer, it remains saturated with dissolved oxygen until it enters the customer’s home or business. When cold water enters the internal plumbing system of a home or building, it warms up to room temperature. This warmer water physically cannot hold as much dissolved air, but because the water is under pressure within the plumbing system’s pipes, the excess dissolved air cannot escape until the water flows from the faucet. The result is cloudy water when the faucet is initially turned on. Hot water from the water heater is typically cloudier than cold water. If cloudy water does not clear up within a few minutes, please call Iowa American Water at 563-322-8814, ext. 6. It’s that time of the year when Iowa American Water experiences one of its most common custom- er inquiries, “Why does my tap water sometimes appear cloudy or milky looking?” Cloudy or milky-looking water is not a health concern. Tiny air bubbles in the water can create a cloudy or milky appearance as water is released from the tap. Mayor’s Question: City councilmembers currently earn $3,000 each per year (for a combined total of $15,000 annually) and are classified as employees. This salary has been in place by ordinance since 2013. It's been a decade since their salaries were adjusted! Do you believe it's time to:  Reduce councilmember salaries  Leave councilmember salaries as-is  Increase councilmember salaries  What is the ideal salary: $___________/year Any changes implemented by ordinance would take effect after re-election of each individual councilmember. Email your response to mayor@riverdaleia.org Do you know how many interesting people live in Riverdale? Even as a newbie in this office, I can tell you that there are a lot! With the recent expansion of Woods Estates, as well as all of the new faces around here, I figured it would be perfect to start a little section of our newsletter called: Get to know your Neighbor! Maybe you have a funny life story to share, perhaps you have lived in Riverdale a significant amount of time, maybe you have told me something interesting about yourself, or perhaps you just would love to be a friendly familiar face in Riverdale! I will be reaching out to those I have met. If you would like to be featured, please email me (Sabryna) at deputyclerk@riverdaleia.org. Without further ado, please Get to Know Your Neighbor: Teri Stickler You may have seen Teri and Kaia out walking the neighborhood, helping your city staff deliver the 2023 calendars, or attending city events. Teri is a very familiar face for me in the short time I have worked in the office. In fact, Teri was the first resident to stop in and welcome me to Riverdale! I thought she would be the perfect choice for this first edition of Get to Know Your Neighbor. How long have you lived in Riverdale? Would it be fair to say, I’ve lived in Riverdale nearly all my life? We moved to Riverdale when I was 6 years old and in first grade at Riverdale School. My parents built the third home in Pleasant Hills Addition. I lived there until I completed college, then I moved to Bettendorf for several years, but my parents were still in Riverdale, and I was in Riverdale every day. Dropped the dog off in the morning before I went to work. Picked the dog up after work. (Usually enjoyed both breakfast and supper with my parents with this schedule.) Eventually, a home came up for sale across the street from my parents. I bought that home, and have lived in Riverdale ever since. Outside of Woods Estates, what is the biggest change you have seen in the City over the years? Well first, in the beginning, we were called the Town of Riverdale. That is, until the state came along and wanted towns to be referred to as cities. So that name change took a little getting used to! But seriously, you pose an interesting question. Interesting because I believe what is special, what is the heart of Riverdale, is the lack of change. The continuity. The feeling, the reality of community, of neighborliness, of caring and assisting, and being there for one another. Riverdale, even with the structural changes, has managed to retain the characteristics that make it such a wonderful place to live. How many dogs do you have? Any information to share about them? I have two dogs. Kaia and Sasha. Kaia is a Samoyed and is my fourth Samoyed. Guess I am destined to always have a bit of white hair on my clothing. I am so fortunate that I grew up having a dog to ram around with. I’m an only child, and my dogs have always been my constant companion, my walking, hiking, camping, buddies My sounding board and my best listener and friend. They’ve taught me to stop and look and how to listen. We’ve laughed and learned. We’ve explored and we’ve always been there for each other through all the fun times, but also to survive life’s challenges and to help each other through the saddest of moments too. Teri has been blogging monthly for ORA Orthopedics over the last 2 years! Her blog is called “Let’s Move Quad-Cities!”. How did you get involved in this? All the ‘credit’ goes to Mike Bawden and his business partner, Liz Lareau. Their company, Bawden & Lareau Public Relations, produces the webpage for ORA. Mike, knowing my dog, Kaia, and knowing how we were always going for walks and hikes, thought I could write a piece about our adventures. We could highlight an area nearby, (our first blog was at Smith’s Island, Pleasant Valley.) Highlight an area that might encourage others to get out and explore some new places. Liz called me to discuss the idea. I agreed to ‘give it a try,’ thinking it was a one-time article. The rest is history. If you would like to check out Teri’s blog, please scan this QR code: ® ANNUAL REPORT ©2022 The Dollywood Foundation 20221122 Rev 0 ImaginationLibrary.com DWF welcomes Howard Clinton asthe new Finance Coordinator. MAY: Statewide expansion launches in Oklahoma. JULY: Dolly addresses the National Governors Association with 29 states represented and 19 governors in attendance. Dolly visits Delaware to celebrate Full Statewide Coverage. Dolly visits Arkansas to celebrate Full Statewide Coverage. AUGUST:Dolly visits Ohio to celebrate Full Statewide Coverage. Dolly visits West Virginia to celebrate Full Statewide Coverage. APRIL: DPIL reaches milestone of2 Million Books gifted each month. Tennessee launches Drive with Dolly Campaign resulting in over $20k additional funds in Q3 2022 vs. Q3 2021 for local TN programs. SEPTEMBER: Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is chosen as this year's Carle Honors Angel. California Governor, Gavin Newsom, signs bill to expand statewide in Summer 2023. OCTOBER: Dolly receives the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy Award in NYC. DECEMBER: UK reaches milestone of 5 million books gifted since inception. FEBRUARY:Canada launches province-wide expansion in Newfoundland & Labrador! Australia -9 to 5 Musical premiere raises $56,000. UK reaches 50,000th child enrollment milestone! MARCH: Statewide expansion launches in Washington State! The Council of Chief State School Officers presents Dolly with the 2022 Distinguished Service Award for her childhood literacy work. Bilingual (English/Spanish) Website & BOS launches allowing equitable access to all Spanish-speaking families. JANUARY: Dolly Parton's Imagination Library kicks off its 27th year! The Dollywood Foundation moves to new headquarters in downtown Sevierville. CHILDRENENROLLED 20 22 UNITED STATES CANADA UNITED KINGDOM AUSTRALIA REPUBLIC OF IRELAND23,362,946 Books 11.11% Growth 19.39% Growth 10.27% Growth 79.76% Growth 4.73% Growth An 11.56% increase over 2021 • Total of over 197,460,315 Million books gifted since inception.• The number of books gifted in 2022 was 24,708,008.• Equates to 1 book mailed every 1.27 seconds! 2,336,331 Additional Books 72,910 Books203,999 Books604,963 Books463,190 Books 75,241 Additional Books 56,369 Additional Books 90,517 Additional Books 3,295 Additional Books Total Books Gifted in 2022 OVER 24 MILLION