Keosauqua to fill mayor’s seat by appointment

The Keosauqua City Council will announce its intention to fill the mayoral vacancy by appointment rather than election.

The decision was made at the last regular council meeting, October 9, which was chaired by mayor pro tem Larry Shipley.

Nasseem Hesler resigned as mayor effective October 1.

According to the city attorney, the council had two options; it could either announce its intention of appointment or call for a special city election to fill the vacancy. It had 60 days to make its decision.

'If Larry would be interested, I don't think we should wait 60 days,” said council member Carol Harlan.

The council could not appoint Shipley at this meeting, but the only thing it could do at this time was announce its intention to fill the vacancy by appointment or special election.

The cost for the last city election was about $500, according to council member Twyla Peacock. The cost for a special election would depend on if the state requires the city to have the votes hand counted or machine counted, she said.

If the mayor is appointed, that person will serve until the November 2019 regular city election and whoever was elected in 2019 would serve for two years to fill out the rest of the vacancy. Hesler was re-elected in 2017.

Citizens still have the right to petition the city for a special election no matter what the council does. It would take 40 electors in Keosauqua to petition, according to city administrator Joy Padget.

If the council appoints Shipley, that would create a council member vacancy, as Shipley is currently a council member.

The next step is for the city to publish the notice in the Van Buren County Register between four and 20 days prior to the meeting when the council will decide to appoint. The council won't make the actual appointment until after the notice is published and a public hearing is held.

According to the city's attorney, if the council was going to appoint the existing mayor pro tem, Larry Shipley, the council would just need at least three of remaining five council members to vote yes.

There was discussion on the process to appoint the council member, should there be a vacancy. A person attending the meeting asked the council what process they would use, if they would choose someone who had been on the ballot the previous election.

Council member Lazenby said it would be up to council to decide. 'I've heard some names bandied about,” Lazenby said.

In her resignation letter, Hesler cited the 'untenable” conditions of governance. She did not elaborate.

During the council meeting, a resident asked if the resignation 'had anything to do” with the city's annual financial exam that is being done.

City administrator Joy Padget said people doing the financial exam were at the city's office recently, but 'it had been scheduled and this is something that is done on an annual basis.”

According to the Iowa State Auditor's website, the City of Keosauqua is required to have an 'annual exam.” Larger cities undergo audits, smaller cities either have annual exams or periodic exams.

According to the 2017 financial report that the city published, the City of Keosauqua's total fund balance as of June 30, 2017, was $1,887,869. The beginning fund balance on July 1, 2016, was $1,752,625. The next financial report will be sent to the state by December 1.

Sheriff Dan Tedrow presented his quarterly report to the council. There was discussion of a resident's concern about the school stop on Highway 1. The city will contact the DOT about possibly putting better signage or lights at the corner.

Heaven Johnson, Client Advocacy Services Coordinator for Domestic Violence, announced a city proclamation proclaiming October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. She said that her office has assisted 14 people in the county, which is double from the prior year. Her office uses the Keosauqua United Methodist Church to meet with clients. Services provided include rental assistance for victims of domestic violence and cell phones to contact law enforcement. The council approved the proclamation.

Kris Rankin presented the SAFE coalition report. Meetings have been moved to 4:30 p.m., on the third Thursday of each month. It was hoped that this might be a more convenient time for members.

Julie Williams was present for the public forum and had a list of questions related to city finances, especially as it pertained to the new Ferguson Sports Complex.

She asked the process on paying bills, whether it was done before or after they were approved by the council. She asked for members on the sports complex commission and whether they fall under the open meetings law. Williams asked where the money came from for the sports complex and how the process began.

Most of the bills are paid upon approval by the council. There are some, like utilities, that are paid before.

'There are times when there are bills that were over what we had budgeted where we had to look for another area of the budget that we could use funds from that were balanced out,” said Shipley.

City administrator Joy Padget said she would provide a list of commission members and their meetings that are covered under the open meetings law. Meetings are held when the need arises and are posted. Notes are available.

Mayor pro teem Larry Shipley said a 'large check in 2015 got the ball rolling.”

City superintendent Jim Chambers said that the city began looking into preliminary designs and he presented estimates to the council.

'Shortly after that, it was not my project,” Chambers said.

Shipley said 'it was pretty well discussed.”

Padget and Shipley presented estimated figures. Including wages, it has cost an estimated $1.3 million, they said. The concession stand will cost $234,000 and the contract was just approved. The city would present figures to Williams.

'We still have dugouts and incidentals,” Shipley said.

Chambers thought it would be close to $100,000 for those expenses.

The city said about half of the funds came from donations and the rest from grants, including large foundation grants and the state CAT grant. Keosauqua Light and Power donated $200,000 and gave the city a loan to help complete the project.

The city will maintain and operate the complex. It has hired a parks and recreation employee to help with the maintenance.

The council approved its final payment to Cole Construction for its work on the project.

Council member Chuck Lazenby asked 'what do we do when the budget gets blown up, like last year, we have $369,000 over and then have a budget amendment. Seems like a cart and a horse thing.”

'The $369,000 comes back to a project that was approved and then the amendment was done,” Padget said.

'That makes sense.” Lazenby added.

Misty Crane asked about enforcement for no parking on First Street during the Fall Festival. There have been problems with people removing the barricades on Friday night and parking along the street. The cars have to be removed for the parade Saturday morning and the car show Sunday. The city will contact business owners along the street and post a sign warning of towing vehicles.

The council voted to provide necessary accessories for cell phone equipment, such as cases, that employees receive. The council voted to reimburse the city superintendent for his case. His phone was damaged. At the present time, city policy only paid for the cell phone and plan, but not an accessory like the case. Council member Twyla Peacock thought the cell phone benefit was a 'big perk,” however, city superintendent Chambers said it was a double-edge sword and meant that he was tethered to the phone 24/7, which made workers more readily available in an emergency. Mayor pro tem Shipley said it makes sense to provide the covers, due to the nature of work performed.

The council held a public hearing on the sale of real property at 201 Lucas Street. No bids had been received and it was extended to next meeting.

The council approved a building permit for River Bend for a temporary awning.

The city administrator reported that the leak at the pool had been fixed. Council member Carol Harlan asked for a revenue and expense report at the next meeting for the pool.

The council approved vacating an alley in the Pleasant Hill portion of the city. Council member Charles Lazenby asked about the per square feet cost and if that had been the policy in the past. There was no firm answer, but in this case, it was to correct the description.

The council discussed dog issues. According to Samantha Davolt, dog issues are a recurring problem that take several hours for each one. She mentioned that there was one dog last week that bit a city worker who was trying to get the dog which was loose. It took more than two hours to corral the animal. The Heaberlin family denied that the dog belonged to them. They said it was a stray that they had been feeding. There are other dog issues. The city attorney said the sheriff's office will not enforce city ordinances and that it was up to the council what they wanted to do for future issues, as there are several other dog issues. For example, at 601 Dodge Street, the city had an agreement with the owner to remove the dog, which is a dog breed not allowed. The owner states now that the dog is a therapy dog. The city attorney said the Americans with Disabilities Act only covers a service animal. A therapy dog is not protected under the ADA. The city has obtained at least one court order to obtain the vicious animal in the home, but the problem is getting someone to remove the dog. It is hard to find a person to enforce animal ordinances. The council's consensus was to continue having city employees and purchase necessary equipment.

City administrator Joy Padget updated the council on the sale and demolition of 607 and 611 First Street buildings. There have been no bids. Prospective contractor Virgil Morris told the council of the problems with the wording on the engineering specifications and said they would have to be changed for him to bid. The plans call for steel poles and plates in the River Bend building, but as it is currently worded, the business must be open during that time. Morris said the business needs to be closed during this time for insurance purposes. The wording changes will be made by the engineer and presented to the council.

The council received quotes for the Sunset Trail. They will be turned over to the trails commission for their decision. The commission currently has approximately $60,000 available and wanted to see how far that got them for the trail.

The council approved liquor licenses for the Vets Club, Tillie's Tap, Dollar General and the Villages of Van Buren.

The council reviewed plans and material for a new park shelter to replace the existing one. The new shelter will be about twice as big, or 36 feet by 24 feet. The concrete and materials will be donated by someone. The city will provide labor for a part of the project.

The council received an update on the sports complex concession stand building. All paperwork is done, the bond is in and it is ready for the contractor to start.