Council holding work session on various topics

Jan. 8—OTTUMWA — The Ottumwa City Council is scheduled to hold a work session Tuesday, weather permitting, to discuss four items that could have ranging significance over various parts of the city.

One of the items up for discussion is rolling back the mayor's position from a four-year term to a two-year term, the way it was before 2017.

The mayor's term was changed in June 2015 and had arguments both ways on whether to change the term. According to city council minutes from the time, Robert LaPoint, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2017 and 2021, came before the council at the time and said there needed to be more public input on any kind of change, and that other options existed, including making the mayor a full-time position and eliminating the city administrator role.

It was noted that seats in the state legislature are only two years, but former council member Matt Dalbey said there was a petition process if residents did not want the change. He also said a two-year term was too short, that "by the time the mayor gets acclimated to the position, it's election time again."

Former council member Bob Meyers said he had heard no feedback from the public despite multiple media reports about the possibility of changing the mayor's term to four years.

The city changed its ordinance on a 4-1 vote to make the mayor's seat a four-year term, with Tom Lazio serving the first four-year term after winning the seat in the 2017 election.

The council will also be discussing potential changes to election proceedings; the city has a primary system in place, but the cost to hold a primary election has exceeded $10,000 in odd-numbered years since 2015, with fewer than 2,000 voters turning out each primary.

In October's primary, only 1,256 votes were cast for five council candidates; the city had not yet been invoiced for the cost of either the primary for the general election.

The council also will discuss amending to the 2021 International Fire Code, which has caused headaches in the progress of some projects in the downtown area.

During the council's Dec. 5 meeting, interim fire chief Pat Short said changes in the ordinance made "significant" impacts for Main Street Iowa projects. Fred Zesiger, director of Main Street Ottumwa, was one of three individuals who all said the stringent guidelines in the newest version of the fire code hinder economic development in the area.

Former council member Marc Roe said the council "wouldn't risk progression of economic develop over public safety" and encouraged city staff to compare what similar-sized cities were adopting in their fire codes.

Any changes to the code would require a public hearing.

The council also will discuss the city's boards and commissions, including council representation on various boards and commissions, and any proposed changes to them, such as term limits.

The work session, which is open to the public, begins at 5:30 p.m. in Room 8B at the Amtrak Depot. As of now, there are no plans to record the meeting and upload it to the city's YouTube page.

— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury