By Casey Jarmes | The News-Review
KEOTA – In 2023, Keota Police Chief Doug Conrad left the city’s department for the Washington County Sheriff’s Department. More than two years later, the city still hasn’t found a replacement for Conrad. Conrad spoke to the council during their Dec. 15 meeting, expressing his frustration that nothing had been done since he left.
He brought up State V. Allen, a 1997 Iowa Supreme Court Case that decided that cities must provide police services. Conrad explained that that case clearly stated that cities could not opt out of providing police coverage, arguing that, if they could, then counties could opt out of providing police coverage in favor of state police coverage, and the state could opt out of providing police coverage in favor of just having federal police coverage, which was absurd. Conrad stated that there was precedent for county supervisors personally being sued for a lack of police coverage and that he didn’t think it would be a stretch to sue city council members.
Conrad stated that at least one person had died because of lack of police coverage, who wouldn’t have died, if he had still been with the city. He explained that this person called the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, just wanting to talk, but he was unable to meet with them at the time, due to no longer being with the city. Thirty minutes later, the man was dead, because no one stopped to talk to him.
Conrad stated that he would not let this issue go, because it needed to be addressed. He stated that he had spoken with the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and Washington County Sheriff Jared Schneider, who was willing to try and get something set up, either with Keota partnering with Washington County, or Keota partnering with Sigourney and Richland.
“Sit back, and cross our fingers, and hope that something bad doesn’t happen, I don’t think is a good plan of action…This is a big deal. It’s a serious deal, and it deserves and mandates our consideration, our discussion in how to fix this,” said Conrad.
Councilman Mike Bender agreed this was a problem, saying it needed to be on the city’s radar until it was solved. He stated that they had done some due diligence, but that every option the city had tried in the past two years had either been something the city couldn’t afford or killed by there not being enough officers at another department. He stated that they had checked out four or five different candidates, but that all of them had either said no or requested an “outrageous” amount of money. Bender stated that they could try to negotiate with Schneider again. He stated that the idea of a specific time frame for police coverage was obsolete, and that they shouldn’t look at something like 40 hours a week of police coverage or 10 hours a week of patrol time, because it wasn’t enough. Bender stated that the new mayor and council members, who will take over at the next meeting, will need to look at new options and keep looking for coverage.
Mayor Tony Cansler stated that he had taken steps to get police coverage, including contacting “Sigourney,” who told him they would get back to him in two weeks. Then, two weeks later, they said it would take two more weeks. Cansler stated that they kept saying two more weeks and that the discussion went nowhere. It was unclear if Cansler meant that he had spoken to the City of Sigourney, or the Keokuk County Sheriff’s Department, located in Sigourney.
Cansler stated that they had placed ads in the paper and gotten two applicants. However, one asked for an extremely high salary the city couldn’t afford and the other had no experience, meaning the city would have had to pay to put him through police academy. Cansler stated that they were working with a police officer from northern Iowa to get rid of old evidence and that this officer had drawn up a 28e agreement for police coverage. Cansler stated that they had sent the agreement to the Keokuk County Sheriff’s Department, so they could make changes, but that it hadn’t been sent back yet. Conrad stated that Keokuk County doesn’t have enough people and is also struggling to keep officers. He stated that, in the last three years, three or four different officers had been hired and then left. Conrad stated that he didn’t see this changing until the department’s administration changes.
Conrad stated that, if small towns in Washington County like West Chester (population 144), Crawfordsville (population 277) and Ainsworth (population 511) can get police coverage, Keota (population 897) should be able to. Bender stated that, when they talked to Washington County, they wanted Keota to pay enough for a full-time officer, including salary, vehicle and gear costs, for 40 hours of coverage. Bender stated that they couldn’t go off coverage time, because it includes court time, when the officer is not covering the city. Conrad stated that they could negotiate 40 hours of response time.
Conrad brought up an incident where Washington County deputies arrived in Keota 25 minutes after a call, followed by state patrol officers arriving after 35 minutes, then followed by Keokuk County deputies. He stated that that incident turned out to be nothing, but that future incidents wouldn’t be.
“Something bad’s going to happen, and the people who sit in this room, will be the ones that pay,” warned Conrad. “To me, if I was sitting in your seats, that would not be acceptable.”
Earlier in the Monday meeting, Councilman Heath McDonald explained that he had received concerns from people around town about people not shoveling snow off the sidewalks in front of their homes following the previous snowstorm. He stated that, two days after the snow storm, he had counted 40 houses with un-shoveled sidewalks west of Davis Street, with many more east of Davis. He stated that he was unsure how to go about this, noting that, if the city scoops sidewalks, everyone will expect the city to do it for them, similarly to the problem with people not picking up sticks. McDonald estimated that, if they paid someone to clear sidewalks, at around 60 sidewalks per storm, that could end up costing $10-12,000 per storm. He stated that they could assess this cost to people’s taxes, but that this would result in them waiting months for that payment.
Public Works Director Micah Harmsen stated that he has a hard enough time keeping the streets clear and wouldn’t have time for sidewalks, meaning they would probably need to hire someone. He stated that they didn’t currently have money for this in the budget and would have to pay for it out of the general fund. Harmsen stated he wasn’t sure how to go about dealing with sidewalks. Councilman Keith Conrad stated that the ordinances say people have 24 hours to clear their sidewalks and that, if someone slips and breaks their leg, they can sue the property owner. Councilman Matt Greiner asked if not clearing snow could be listed as a problem on the code enforcement notices left on doors. City Clerk Hunter stated it could. McDonald stated he would be happy to leave notices on doors for not scooping snow and that some people might scoop snow if notified; he noted that, with overgrown lawns, most people will mow if given a tag or a phone call.
Greiner stated that, with heavy snow storms, it can be hard to clear within 24 hours, especially if the homeowner is elderly. He asked where they should draw the line between people being too old to clear snow and people just not wanting to. Councilwoman Patty Tinnes also raised concerns about people not being physically able or financially able to clear snow. Bender stated he was glad that the new council, not him, would have to decide on this issue. Discussion was tabled, with the council planning to discuss this more with the new council and new mayor next month.
The council approved yearly wage increases for city employees, including: a raise from $62,000 to $64,170 for Harmsen; a raise from $63,000 to $67,410 for Public Works Director Kevin Slaubaugh; a raise from to $52,000 to $53,800 for City Clerk Hunter Bruns; and a raise from $17 per hour to $20 per hour for Assistant Clerk Kristen Clarke. These raises will go in effect on July 1, 2026. The council approved spending $390 for blower parts and $2584.70 for two new motors for the water plant. The council approved setting the Fiscal Year 2027 Revenue Workshop for Jan. 12 and the Expenditures Workshop for Jan. 26; times for these meetings were not decided.
During the public comment time, former member of the city council Danielle Imhoff stated that, as someone who works in government and works with budget, she was confused as to how the council could vote on FY27 salaries, before doing the budget workshops. She stated that she was not aware of any government entity that does this and called the timing suspicious. Imhoff also stated that a lot of the problems the council discussed stemmed from a lack of law enforcement presence. She stated that they can make excuses, but the council had shown that night, when voting on salaries months ahead of when typically done, that they can get things done if they want to. Imhoff claimed that, if getting police coverage was a priority, it would get done. She claimed that she knew, from her time on the council, that the council did not treat it as a priority. She stated that this does not reflect the opinions of most citizens and that this had been partially reflected in the election results.
“Like Doug said, it’s only a matter of time until something really bad happens. And you’re going to be the ones responsible,” Imhoff said.
A library employee stated she had concerns with parking during the Christmas in Keota event on the 6th, stating that there wasn’t enough parking and that it was a safety issue due to children crossing the street. She stated that the library doesn’t have events all the time, and that some people don’t think it warrants extra parking, but that she thinks it should be looked into.
Another concerned citizen claimed that, after the snow storm a few weeks ago, the sidewalk in front of city hall wasn’t shoveled. He stated that he knew Harmsen was busy, but that the city needs to lead by example if they want everyone else to clean up snow.
Ryan Carr, who will take over as Mayor of Keota in January, used his public comment time to thank the leaving council for their passion and sacrifice, saying he appreciated all they had done and looked forward to working with those staying. He suggested offering silver cord volunteer hours to get local high schoolers to shovel snow. He stated that they might not get any volunteers, but that this would be free. At the end of the meeting, Carr and newly elected councilmen John Mather and Chad Greiner were sworn in.
During council comments at the end of the meeting, Keith Conrad stated that it had been a pleasure working with Tinnes, Bender and Cansler and congratulated Carr, Mather and Chad Greiner on being elected. Matt Greiner echoed Conrad’s comments, thanking Cansler, Tinnes and Bender for all they had done, and stated he looked forward to the new ideas the newly elected officials would bring. McDonald stated he felt the same and that he looked forward to working with the new guys during budget time. Bender said his eight-year run had been enjoyable, that he appreciated the friendships outside of the city council, and that he was excited to see what the new guys did. Tinnes stated she was grateful to have been on the council, that she had gained opportunity, knowledge and experience she will never forget, and the certainty that she wants to be on the council and will run again. She stated that she was excited for what the new guys would bring and that, as a city and a community, they should support each other and work together to solve problems. She encouraged the public to attend council meetings and make their opinions known. She stated she didn’t need a title to be part of the community and would continue volunteering and attending meetings, as a member of the public.
Cansler, who is leaving office after 23 years, stated that he would take blame for things that hadn’t been accomplished, but that everything positive that had happened in his time came from the city council and the citizens of Keota. He gave the work to build the new pool as an example, stating that the community had come together and worked hard to fundraise the pool’s construction. He gave specific praise to Slaubaugh, Doug Conrad, Harmsen, Clarke, Bruns and various other city clerks for the work they had done over the years, and to the community for keeping him in office for many years. He stated that the new council would learn that some decisions are easy, but some decisions are tough to know what the right decision is. He stated things often weren’t cut and dry and took time to figure out.
“It had been an honor,” said Cansler. “It is my honor. It hasn’t always been easy, but, we’ve always made it through it…If didn’t love the community, I wouldn’t have stuck around, I sure as hell wouldn’t have run for mayor, all these times. The community is what makes Keota what it is.”
