MUSCATINE, Iowa — The Muscatine City Council unanimously approved Thursday night the first reading of a pair of ordinances transferring city property to Grain Processing Corp. Second Ward Councilwoman Marie Press did not attend the meeting.

The city plans call for selling a portion of Oregon Street, Kemper Avenue, Walton Street and the alley east of the 1700 block of Stewart Road to GPC for the city’s standard rate of $1.05 per square foot. The total purchase price would be $126,000.

Steve Boka, director of planning, zoning and building safety, said GPC has been leasing the property from the city for the past year.

The city also plans to sell some small parcels of land to GPC for $1. Boka said the parcels are entirely surrounded by GPC property and should have been transferred to GPC years ago, but the real estate transactions were apparently not recorded properly.

“What we’re doing is just trying to clear that up,” he said. “For whatever reason, we missed a couple of small pieces in there that were intended to be conveyed.“

No one spoke during the public hearing for the ordinances. However, later in the meeting, Bob Weatherman questioned how much GPC will pay for the property and whether it will assume responsibility for the underground utilities.

Weatherman, a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 86D, took early retirement from GPC after the company locked out the union in August 2008 after failed contract negotiations.

Boka reported Qwest will retain access to facilities it has on the property and the city will continue to maintain the sewer system. However, GPC will take responsibility for the roads.