New officer sworn in at Fairfield City Council meeting

Fairfield Mayor Connie Boyer swore in a new officer on the Fairfield Police Department at the City Council’s meeting Monday night.

Boyer asked Glen Hackbarth to raise his right hand and swear to defend the state and federal constitutions. After swearing him in, Boyer handed him the microphone so he could tell a little about himself.

Hackbarth said he is from Spirit Lake, Iowa, and that he has a twin brother and twin sisters. He said that, after graduating from college, he worked in the Polk County Jail before accepting the job with the Fairfield Police Department.

“I look forward to serving the community and getting to know everybody here,” Hackbarth said.

Joining Hackbarth at the council meeting were his brother, mother, father and girlfriend.

Construction projects

Fairfield City Engineer Melanie Carlson gave an update on a number of construction projects in town. She said good progress has been made on reconstructing Merrill Avenue on the north side of town, which intersects with Highway 1. She said the contractor will now move onto repaving the street just north of Merrill, Carpenter Avenue. Merrill Avenue still has some work left to do on it such as cleaning up the driveways and doing some backfill.

Carlson also spoke about scheduling the first meeting of the task force that will study where to put a new fire station, whether the existing site on North Second Street should be remodeled or whether the fire station should be moved to a former Department of Transportation building on West Briggs Avenue.

The first meeting of the task force will review the makeup of the fire department, its equipment and future needs. A second meeting will be scheduled a month after that to tour the two buildings under consideration. Carlson said that, by that point, the structural analysis and asbestos testing will be complete and can be discussed as part of the review.