The city has seen some recent break-in issues at a few of the buildings at the Southeast Iowa Development Center.
The buildings behind the main portion of the property, which houses the businesses, are a former rectory and laundry facility. They are the yellowish-colored buildings. The city has seen people break windows and enter the buildings. The Public Works department sent a request to the Keokuk City Council early this month to have coverings put over all the windows of that building.
The council discussed the issue at its Thursday, April 4 regular meeting. The council approved a bid for $30,800 from DANSCO, which will be paid out of tax increment financing funds. There was some discussion before the vote was held, however.
Council Member Roslyn Garcia asked what the coverings look like.
“Is this something we would allow a resident to do on a vacant property?” she asked.
Council Member Shelley Oltmans said the steel coverings are basically the same color as the walls of the building and protect the glass from being broken. She said they will look nice.
“The issue right now is the windows are all broken out,” she said.
Council Member Tyler Walker asked if the rectory building was being used for anything at the moment. Oltmans said not right now, but there had been a plan to turn that building into two one-bedroom apartments.
“It would be a very viable property, we just haven’t put it out there,” she said.
The bid also would cover removal of the AC unit and the fence that people have been using to climb on to get into the building.
Walker asked if there’s any discussion on tearing building down, and could the city do that with the requirements of the grant the city received to get the development center up and running.
Oltmans said the rectory building does not have anything to do with the grant.
“However, I think it would be a shame to tear a building down that doesn’t have anything wrong with it. It’s in pretty decent shape,” she said.
She said it could use some tuck pointing in places but it is a solid building. There has not been the effort to get a project going for the building, as yet, she said.
Walker asked if there was any need for more parking, as the building is getting used more by more entities recently.
Oltmans said the parking lot across 14th street is also owned by the city, so there is ample parking at the moment.
Fire truck purchase
The Keokuk Fire Department will have a used truck to use while it is waiting for a new truck. Interim City Administrator Dave Hinton said the $72,500 2002 Spartan Rescue Pumper will be paid for by the city’s insurance company.
The truck the city is waiting on has a three-year lead time, so the fire department needs the equipment while waiting for the new vehicle. A truck was lost in a flooding incident and is being replaced with the new truck.
The insurance company would cover up to $100,000 to lease a truck, but that amount would not cover the next three years.
“So the fire chief worked with the city’s insurance company and they agreed to purchase this vehicle. It actually saves them money,” he said.
This truck will come with a one-year warranty and will be inspected before the purchase is finalized.
The fire truck was damaged late on Aug. 4 or early on Aug. 5, while responding to a call.
There had been a storm, power was out and about seven inches of rain had fallen. The driver of the truck did not see the flooded Johnson Street intersection until it was too late and water was forced into the engine through the truck’s turbo system.
