Keota Council Establishes Committee to Oversee Rehabilitation of Run-Down House

KEOTA – During the Dec. 2 meeting of the Keota City Council, the Council approved creating a Rehabilitated Housing Program Committee to oversee the work at 108 W. Keokuk, a run-down house the city intends to fix up and sell in hopes of bringing a family to town. The committee will be allowed to approve smaller purchases for the project without waiting for council approval, to speed up work on the project. Councilman Curt Burroughs stated it would look good for the public to have a council member on the committee, for oversight. Councilmen Keith Conrad and Heath McDonald both volunteered; they were appointed, alongside City Administrator Alycia Horras and Public Works Director Micah Harmsen. The budget and spending limits for the committee will be discussed at a work session and approved during the next meeting.

The council approved applying for a Keep Iowa Beautiful Grant, which if awarded would give free paint to be used on city projects. Horras stated this could be used to repaint streets, for work on 108 W. Keokuk, at the pavilion by the pool, and potentially for a mural painted by students.

The council discussed renting space in City Hall to Levi Lyle, a Keota resident who wishes to use it to record a podcast. This was previously discussed in December of last year. Horras discussed letting Lyle rent the room formerly used by the athletic boosters for storage. Lyle would not be given a key and only be allowed to use city hall during business hours, to relieve security concerns discussed last year. Burroughs asked how Lyle would get in if Horras was sick or absent; Horras stated they had not discussed it, but that Lyle could be let in by another city employee, and that this would be less of an issue when the city hired an assistant clerk. Burroughs stated that, if the city began renting space in city hall, it could create problems with things in the museum being stolen or damaged, and that it would be a good idea to get cameras. Councilmen Conrad and Mike Bender agreed, with Bender noting that city hall should have a camera anyway. Conrad stated that, when 4-H groups use city hall, there are clear written guidelines stating they need to put rooms back to how they were before being used, and that something similar should be done for rentals. The council tabled the idea to give time to consider rental price and rules.

Harmsen stated that he had begun snowplowing, and that there was a problem with kids getting too close to the snowplow’s blindspots, which is unsafe. He also stated that the police truck does not fit at the garage the city intended to store it at, and that it would instead be stored at the cold storage building. Later in the meeting, Mayor Tony Cansler stated that he would contact Sheriff Casey Hinnah, who is interested in purchasing the city’s police truck. He stated that he would also talk to Cansler about the cost for part-time police coverage and give an update at the next meeting.