Mt. Pleasant City Attorney resigns following Judicial Magistrate appointment

Mt. Pleasant City Attorney Pat Brau is resigning after being recently appointed to the position of Judicial Magistrate for the 8th Judicial District of Iowa. Lynch Dallas, a law firm out of Cedar Rapids, was approved as Brau's replacement.

Brau thanked the city council and city staff for their passion for making sure Mt. Pleasant is the best it can be. Brau served as city attorney for 18 years under two mayors, many city council members and city staff.

'It was a unique opportunity to see how the city works, the different types of projects, and I can testify that council members, mayors and staff people, while they may not agree on a particular project and may have their own opinions, those opinions are based on what they felt was in the best interest of the city,” Brau said during a Mt. Pleasant City Council meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 26. 'I don't see anyone's egos getting in the way of serving the city the best they can. I've really enjoyed being a part of it.”

In his resignation letter, Brau wrote that after being on the Judicial Magistrate bench for several weeks, he realized it was unfair to the other magistrates, the City of Mt. Pleasant, the Mt. Pleasant Police Department and the 8th Judicial District to continue serving as a magistrate and City Attorney.

Mayor Steve Brimhall said Brau's decision to become a magistrate was a wise one and thanked him for his years of service on the council.

Lynch Dallas, the attorney service that will take over the duties of City Attorney, is a firm the City of Mt. Pleasant has worked with in the past, specifically in union negotiations, City Administrator Brent Schleisman said. There are 18 attorneys at Lynch Dallas who specialize in different areas of public law.

While attorneys from Lynch Dallas will not regularly attend city council meetings, Schleisman said an attorney will be present if requested. Lynch Dallas represents 15 to 20 cities in Iowa. City department heads met with Lynch Dallas earlier Wednesday to discuss expectations.

'Legal stuff doesn't need to be settled instantaneously usually,” Brimhall said. 'We can defer decisions on legal issues. If a legal issue comes up we can say we need to get back to our attorney.”

During the city council meeting, the council also approved the following:

' A resolution authorizing the mayor to sign an agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation for the Jefferson Street Recreational trail projects, which will be constructed during the summer of 2019. The city was awarded a $250,000 competitive grant that will assist in getting Saunders Park and East Lake Park connected on the trail system.

' A construction contract awarded to Fox Valley Roofing out of Milton for Cottrell Gym, which has suffered some recent storm damage. Schleisman said they thought they had more time before repairs were needed, but when it rains maintenance has to put out swimming pools and trash cans to catch the leaks in the roof.

' Appointing Kim Davis to the Airport Advisory Committee, Chancelor Smith to the Community Development Committee; and John Boecker to the Henry County Landfill Commission.

' A public hearing date for the status of Jay Street Sanitary Sewer project since the city received a CDBG grant. The public hearing will be Oct. 10 at 5:30 p.m.

' A public hearing to amend the city's fiscal year 2019 budget to make room for several projects including the salt storage building, the roof on Cottrell gym, and adjusting the salary and contract line items at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. This public hearing was also set for Oct. 10.

The next Mt. Pleasant City Council meeting is Oct. 10.