The public will not be able to come inside and communicate face to face at Fayette City Hall, the Fayette Police Department and the Fayette Community Library until Friday, May 1, 2020. At that time, we will re-evaluate the situation and extend the date if need be. We not only want to protect ourselves, but we want to protect YOU, from COVID-19. These facilities will not be closed. We encourage people to call or email to communicate with city employees and officials. City employees will still be working and assisting everyone through the telephone, email and mail.

GRASS, WEEDS, VINES AND BRUSH

The City of Fayette would like to remind residents in Fayette of the Fayette City Code regarding grass, weeds, vines and brush.  Fayette City Code Chapter 52 requires owners of residential and commercial property to cut their grass, weeds, vines and brush when it exceeds approximately eight inches in height or which are obnoxious or unsightly.  For the first violation of this chapter in each calendar year on a parcel of property, the City of Fayette shall notify the property owner by certified U.S. mail, return receipt requested, or served by personal service of a sworn Law Enforcement Official that a condition that violates the terms of Chapter 52 exists and shall notify the property owner of the actions that must be performed to correct the condition within five days from the date that the notice is received.  For subsequent violations on the same parcel of property owned by the same person in the same calendar year a written notice will not be sent.  If the property owner fails to maintain the property as required under Chapter 52 after notice was given, the City of Fayette shall order the work to be done by city employees or by a contractor.  The total cost of the expense of the work done, including any administrative fees, shall be paid by the property owner.  For more information, view Fayette City Code Chapter 52 at Fayette City Hall.

City Administrator/Clerk Kris McGrane

• KLOCK’S ISLAND CAMPGROUND CLOSED: The Governor signed a new proclamation yesterday that included closing down campgrounds. Klock’s Island Campground will be closed to campers until further notice. The play equipment is also closed until further notice. The park is still open for walkers, bikers and other recreational activities, however, please practice social distancing and other recommended guidelines to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. The recreational trails will also remain open.

• FAYETTE COMMUNITY LIBRARY STILL OFFERING CURB-SIDE PICK-UP: The Governor also closed libraries, however, with permission from the Iowa Governor’s office and the State Library of Iowa, we may continue to offer curb-side pick-up for library materials. The Fayette Community Library has many online resources on their newly updated website, fayettelibrary.lib.ia.us. You may also call them at 563-425-3344 to inquire about “curb-side” pick-up materials. Yes, you will still be able to check-out books and movies at this time. The library personnel have a special “disinfection” process they follow for all the materials that are returned to our library.

• WELCOME JOSHUA BARKER: At last night’s council meeting, the city council hired Joshua Barker as our new Fayette Police Officer. Joshua replaces Sgt. Brian Waid, who recently transitioned to another larger police department.  Joshua is 13-year veteran of the United States Army and started his career in the mental health field. Joshua has been attending Upper Iowa University. He will start working for the City of Fayette this week. Fayette Police Officer Stone Allen has accepted a position with a larger police department. It is always difficult to see great employees move on from Fayette, however, we wish him the best of luck.

• FAYETTE COUNTY RECYCLING BINS/LANDFILL: The Fayette County Transfer Station/Landfill (10275 Kornhill Road) is closed to the public until further notice. They will only be taking garbage from the garbage trucks and general contractors. The recycling bins located next to the U.S. Post Office will temporarily be removed until further notice to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. You may contact the Fayette County Transfer Station/Landfill at 563-425-3037 if you have any questions.

The Fayette Public Works Department will be flushing the fire hydrants on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 starting at 7AM (weather permitting - rain dates April 8 & 9). Residents may experience rusty water.

The City Yard Waste Site (located on Washington St., south of town) will be open to Fayette citizens starting Saturday, April 4, 2020, on Wednesdays from 2PM to 4PM and Saturdays from 8AM to 10AM.

Due to COVID-19, Fayette residents will not be able to check-out a key to the Yard Waste Site until further notice.  

For your convenience, in the month of April, the Yard Waste site will be open an extra hour on Wednesdays from 1PM to 4PM.

The Yard Waste Site is available to Fayette residents due to DNR regulations prohibiting bulk burning of yard waste by cities.  The city asks residents to please only drop off yard waste (leaves, sticks, etc.) and not garbage.  Please separate sticks and branches from leaves and grass.

Below is the Community Email that was sent out on 3/20/2020 at 5:00PM. Community Emails are randomly sent out to whomever signs up, at least on a monthly basis, and provides information about the City of Fayette including events and announcements. To sign-up, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

     Things continue to change quickly, and I want to let you know that my goal is to try and only pass along information that I feel is important on a local level.

     Since there are so many businesses and events that are making changes on short notice, I will not be able to share everything. I continue to encourage you to contact the business by phone, email or any other way, before you make a trip to make sure they are open and which services they are providing. We care about ALL our businesses and hope you will continue to support them in any way you possibly can during this difficult time. With the help of some Upper Iowa University staff, we have quickly put together the “Fayette Business List” and some of their contact information to make it easy for you. You may find this on our website, https://fayetteiowa.com/images/community/Fayette_Business_List_3-20-2020.pdf. If we forgot your business or have incorrect information, please do not take it personal and contact me right away and we will get it updated. Again, we put this together very quickly for your convenience.

Announcements:  

• News from City Hall: 
• FAYETTE EMS/AMBULANCE FUNDRAISER CANCELLED: The Fayette EMS/Ambulance “Dad’s Belgian Waffles” Fundraiser scheduled for April 9, 2020, has been cancelled. You may mail any donations to: Fayette Ambulance Service, PO Box 340, Fayette, IA 52142, or you may drop them off at the drop-box at City Hall (please make sure you label it “Fayette Ambulance Service”.  

• ASSESSORS IN TOWN: Last year the Fayette County Assessor’s office advised they will be contracting with Vanguard Appraisal to go door-to-door to get updated information on houses. They have been to many of our neighboring communities already and are now here in Fayette. The Vanguard employees should be driving a vehicle with a sign and be wearing a badge with proper identification. Visit this website, https://fayettecountyiowa.org/ASSESSOR.html, to see a picture and the names of all 4 of the Vanguard employees conducting the appraisals. You may or may not let them in your house to complete the appraisal, however, I encourage you to let them in. The visits are pretty short.
• NFV Emergency Feeding Plan: NFV Schools Nutritional Food Service program has qualified to extend the summer feeding program to serve student lunches during this COVID-19 shutdown. They have developed a series of drop off points for student lunch services. They will have sack lunches available for any student under the age of 18, with an optional breakfast snack for the following morning beginning Monday, March 23, 2020. Times are short because they have to get to multiple places. They may find the schedule has to be changed and will post on their website and/or Twitter feed any changes. See the locations and times below:

Location

• Other Financial Information related to COVID-19:
  • Temporarily suspended penalties and interest as it relates to the collection of property taxes.
  • Temporarily suspended some evictions in certain circumstances.
  • For more information and a list of other things listed, visit https://governor.iowa.gov/press-release/gov-reynolds-signs-additional-state-public-health-emergency-declaration-will-hold
• Property Taxes: Today, Iowa Governor Reynolds:

• Unemployment Assistance for Employees and Employers: Please visit the Iowa Workforce Development website for information on unemployment: https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/

• Gas & Electric Services: Many local gas and electric services have released Press Releases about their services and payments. If you have any concerns or questions with your gas or electric services, please reach out to them or look them up online. In the city of Fayette, we have Alliant Energy and Black Hills Energy.  

• Small Businesses: The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest federal disaster loans to small businesses who qualify. Contact Fayette City Hall at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 563-425-4316 for more information.
• 2020 Census: The 2020 Census information has been mailed out to everyone. I encourage you to please fill it out and submit it to the U.S. Census. You may complete the Census survey online, over the phone or by completing the form that is mailed to you. Again, I encourage you to get this completed as soon as you can. They estimate sometime in May the Census workers will be going door-to-door to those that have not completed the information to assist them in completing it.
• Reminders:
• REMINDER - CITY BUILDINGS: Fayette City Hall, the Fayette Police Department and the Fayette Community Library will be doing our part in helping to minimize the spread of COVID-19 by limiting face to face contact. The public will not be able to come inside and communicate face to face at these public facilities at least through Wednesday, April 1^st, 2020. At that time, we will re-evaluate the situation and extend the date if need be. We are going to do our BEST to make this process as easy as possible for you. We not only want to protect ourselves, but we want to protect YOU, too.

These facilities will not be closed. We encourage people to call or email to communicate with city employees and officials. City employees will still be working during their normal hours and assisting everyone through the telephone, email and mail.

Fayette Police Department: For non-emergency calls, please call 563-425-3500. Dial 911 for emergencies. Police officers will still be assisting the public and responding to calls, however, they will be utilizing “social distancing” (leaving at least six feet distance between them and other people) or utilizing personal protective equipment.

Fayette Community Library: They have many online resources on their website, fayettelibrary.lib.ia.us. You may also call them at 563-425-3344 to inquire about “curb-side” pick-up materials. Yes, you will still be able to check-out books and movies at this time. The library personnel will have a special “disinfection” process they will follow for all the materials that are returned to our library.

Fayette City Hall: You may email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 563-425-4316 during our office hours and we will help you. We encourage you to utilize all the resources on our website fayetteiowa.com (including permits, applications and online payments). If there are any questions or concerns, please contact us and we will do our best to help you or point you in the right direction.

Utility payments – We encourage everyone to please pay your utility bills online, sign up for FREE automatic ACH/Bank withdrawals, or drop off a check or money order in our Drop Box located right next to our front door. If you must pay by cash, we recommend the following process:

 1) Please call City Hall at 563-425-4316 and indicate: Your name, Your service address, How much cash you will be dropping off in our Drop Box at City Hall, & The date and time you will be dropping it off in the Drop Box at City Hall

 2) Please put your cash in an envelope (we will not be able to provide you change, so please put the exact amount you want applied to your account in the envelope), seal the envelope, write your name and service address on the envelope and drop it in our Drop Box.

 3) Two city employees will be taking all the payments in the Drop Box out together and counting the cash payments. A receipt will be written and mailed to the address we have on file at City Hall.

• HIRING FULL TIME POLICE OFFICER: Visit fayetteiowa.com/government/employment.html for more information. Interested applicants should e-mail a resume, cover letter and three references to Police Chief Ben Davis at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. subject "Police Officer Position" or via U.S. Mail to P.O. Box 28, Fayette, IA 52142. We will be accepting applications until April 8, 2020 at 4PM, or until the position is filled. The City of Fayette is an equal opportunity employer.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at City Hall if you have questions or need help finding something. We will do our best to help you.

Stay healthy, positive and safe,

Kris McGrane

City Administrator/Clerk

Below is the Community Email that was sent out on 3/17/2020 at 5:30PM. Community Emails are randomly sent out to whomever signs up, at least on a monthly basis, and provides information about the City of Fayette including events and announcements. To sign-up, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Here is additional information for Employees and Employers affected by COVID-19 related layoffs: https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/

Hello,

     As I’m sure everyone is aware, things are changing quickly as we continue to be impacted by the coronavirus or more specifically COVID-19.  It is hard for me to fully understand some of the actions that are being taken, however, I do understand that the goal is to protect ourselves, our community, but most importantly, the elderly and those with health concerns.  If everyone does their part and follows the recommendations and directives, hopefully there will be less of an impact on us.  We have to remember that these recommendations and directives are not to scare us or make life more difficult for us, they are to protect us and the ones we love. 

     I encourage everyone to take this time and challenge yourself with one or more of the following:

• Learn or try something new that you always wanted to do (painting/drawing/art, learn an instrument/sing/music, how to throw a football/pickleball/sport, cooking, etc.)
• Reach out to a friend or family member that you haven’t spoken to for a long time and catch up
• Work on a house project you’ve been putting off (painting a room, re-arranging a room, remodeling, de-cluttering your house, etc.)
• Dig out and play some old board games, card games, dominoes, etc.
• Start some in-home exercises, get out and walk/bike our beautiful trails and check out all the outdoor activities our community offers.
• Check out the wonderful resources the Fayette Community Library offers and check-out some books/DVDs (yes, you can do this online) fayettelibrary.lib.ia.us
• Stay positive and help those who are less fortunate than you (however, be careful of scams)

     As I mentioned in my last email, I will only highlight some local announcements.

Announcements:  

• News from City Hall: 
• CITY BUILDINGS: Fayette City Hall, the Fayette Police Department and the Fayette Community Library will be doing our part in helping to minimize the spread of COVID-19 by limiting face to face contact. The public will not be able to come inside and communicate face to face at these public facilities starting tomorrow (Wednesday, March 18^th, 2020) at least through Wednesday, April 1^st, 2020. At that time, we will re-evaluate the situation and extend the date if need be. We are going to do our BEST to make this process as easy as possible for you. We not only want to protect ourselves, but we want to protect YOU, too.

These facilities will not be closed. We encourage people to call or email to communicate with city employees and officials. City employees will still be working during their normal hours and assisting everyone through the telephone, email and mail.

Fayette Police Department: For non-emergency calls, please call 563-425-3500. Dial 911 for emergencies. Police officers will still be assisting the public and responding to calls, however, they will be utilizing “social distancing” (leaving at least six feet distance between them and other people) or utilizing personal protective equipment.

Fayette Community Library: They have many online resources on their website, fayettelibrary.lib.ia.us. You may also call them at 563-425-3344 to inquire about “curb-side” pick-up materials. Yes, you will still be able to check-out books and movies at this time. The library personnel will have a special “disinfection” process they will follow for all the materials that are returned to our library.

Fayette City Hall: You may email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 563-425-4316 during our office hours and we will help you. We encourage you to utilize all the resources on our website fayetteiowa.com (including permits, applications and online payments). If there are any questions or concerns, please contact us and we will do our best to help you or point you in the right direction.

Utility payments – We encourage everyone to please pay your utility bills online, sign up for FREE automatic ACH/Bank withdrawals, or drop off a check or money order in our Drop Box located right next to our front door. If you must pay by cash, we recommend the following process:

1) Please call City Hall at 563-425-4316 and indicate:

     a. Your name

     b. Your service address

     c. How much cash you will be dropping off in our Drop Box at City Hall

     d. The date and time you will be dropping it off in the Drop Box at City Hall

2) Please put your cash in an envelope (we will not be able to provide you change, so please put the exact amount you want applied to your account in the envelope), seal the envelope, write your name and service address on the envelope and drop it in our Drop Box.

3) Two city employees will be taking all the payments in the Drop Box out together and counting the cash payments. A receipt will be written and mailed to the address we have on file at City Hall.

• STATE OF PUBLIC HEALTH DISASTER EMERGENCY & PROCLAMATION: Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds issued a State of Public Health Disaster Emergency today which indicates all restaurants and bars are closed to the general public except for carry-outs, drive-throughs or deliveries. It also indicates all gatherings and events (such as parades, festivals, fundraisers, or community, social, religious, recreational, leisure and sporting gatherings/events)  of more than 10 people are prohibited. Click here to read more. Fayette Mayor Andrew Wenthe has signed a proclamation today determining a state of emergency or public danger exists.  Click here to read the Proclamation. Please do your part in helping us educate those around us of these directives if you see or hear of anything.

• THANK YOU FROM THE FAYETTE FIRE DEPT.: Thank you to everyone who was able to come to the Spaghetti Supper last weekend and for your donations. You may still mail a donation to the Fire Department at their mailing address, or to Fayette City Hall at PO Box 28, Fayette, IA 52142. Please mark your payment “Fayette Fire Department”.

• Other Local Announcements – There are too many things to list them all, so please contact local businesses to find out specific information. This is just a few:
  • UIU Rec Center - Closed for at least two weeks
  • UIU Carnival – Cancelled
  • UIU Fayette Appreciation Day – Cancelled
• UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY: The face to face classes will be going online for the Session 4. For updated UIU information, visit uiu.edu/coronavirus/index.html.
• RAINBOWLAND DAYCARE: Closed until further notice.

• Small Businesses: Please continue to support our local businesses, even through this difficult time. Contact them and find out what they have to offer.  Attached is a handout for Small Business Assistance.
• Reminders:
• SEEKING TREE BOARD MEMBER:  Volunteer and make a difference in Fayette by serving on the City Tree Board.  The City Council is seeking a volunteer to serve on the City Tree Board.  The Tree Board currently meets about once a quarter and helps plan for the care, preservation, pruning, planting, replanting, removal or disposition of trees and shrubs in parks, along streets and in other public areas. The Tree Board is made up of five volunteers, with the majority of the members being citizens and residents of the City of Fayette.  Some members may live outside the city. If you or someone you know may be interested, please contact me.

• HIRING FULL TIME POLICE OFFICER: Visit fayetteiowa.com/government/employment.html for more information. Interested applicants should e-mail a resume, cover letter and three references to Police Chief Ben Davis at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. subject "Police Officer Position" or via U.S. Mail to P.O. Box 28, Fayette, IA 52142. We will be accepting applications until April 8, 2020 at 4PM, or until the position is filled. The City of Fayette is an equal opportunity employer.

• FAYETTE REC BOARD: We do have to focus on some positive things and future Fayette events.
• The Fayette Recreation Board would like your help and ideas to identify types of events and activities you want to see in the City of Fayette. You may contact the Fayette Rec Board on their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Fayette-Rec-Board-2203229983336500/ or contact the City of Fayette by Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CityofFayetteIowa/ email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone: 563-425-4316.
• There has been some interest in forming a co-ed T-Ball Team in Fayette for kids who have not yet completed kindergarten. Children from Fayette and surrounding communities are welcome to participate. If you or someone you know may have a child interested, please contact the City of Fayette or the Fayette Recreation Board and let us know. We also ask that you please help us spread the word. If you would also be interested in volunteering to assist with the team, let us know.

Up-Coming Fayette Events

(I am not going to list events at this time because too many are cancelling with short notice. Please call ahead to make sure any event you are planning on attending has not been cancelled.)

     Fayette is a strong community and we will get through this together and come out stronger in the end. Please contact Fayette City Hall with any questions or concerns and we will do our best to help you or provide you with any resources.

Stay healthy and safe,

Kris McGrane

City Administrator/Clerk