COLUMBUS JUNCTION, Iowa  — Construction of an assisted living facility in Columbus Junction is expected to move forward after the Columbus Junction City Council accepted the recommendation of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission to approve the replatting of the Colonial Heights Subdivision.

The Council approved the action during its regular meeting Wednesday.

Steve Sents, an attorney for Colonial Heights LC, said the replat of the original Colonial Heights First Addition involved shifting the location of Colonial Lane south and reducing the number of previously platted lots intended for duplexes and single-family homes.

The shift would allow the company to construct a nine-unit assisted living center that would be the first facility of its type built in Louisa County.

Council member Mark Huston, who serves on the board of directors of Colonial Heights LC, said the assisted living facility would be connected to the company’s Colonial Manor Nursing Home by a breezeway.

Although the vote for the replat was unanimous, council member Dave Duncan, who owns a house in the original Colonial Heights Subdivision, said prior to the vote that he was concerned about the potential effect of the new facility on sewer and water services in the area.

“I thinks it’s a needed project, but I have personal experience with that sewer and it does make me nervous,” Duncan said.

Huston acknowledged that no one could guarantee there would not be a future problem, but assured Duncan and the rest of the Council that engineers had studied the project and concluded there should not be a significant negative impact from the change.

Some street construction has already started on portions of the addition. Work on the building is expected to begin in a few weeks.

Water treatment plant

The Council accepted an $8,086 proposal from Wapsi Valley Archaeology of Anamosa to conduct a Phase 1 archaeological survey of the proposed site for a relocated water treatment plant and other facilities. The city is seeking federal funds to relocate the plant, which was inundated by flood waters last year.

Relocating the plant is expected to cost more than $3.5 million, with about $3.2 million projected to come from a U.S. Economic Development Administration grant. Before a final decision on the grant is made, the city must complete the archaeological survey.

The company expects to complete the survey of the project site and a planned water main corridor this fall.

In a related action, the Council also approved a policy on the prohibition of excessive force. The policy is a requirement for all recipients of the federal Community Development Block Grant program. The city was recently awarded a Community Development Block Grant  for the proposed water treatment plant relocation. The policy puts the city on record as prohibiting any use of excessive force on non-violent civil rights demonstrators.