T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ Youth & Shelter Services of Marshall County has been operating out of the basement of the Marshalltown Police Department followng the July 19 tornado. At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, its director David Hicks told the board the agency has placed a bid to purchase the building to expand its operation.

Youth & Shelter Services of Marshall County has placed a bid to purchase the building currently housing the Marshalltown Police Department.

YSS of Marshall County was displaced following the July 19 tornado. Since Aug. 10 it has been headquartered in the basement of the Marshalltown Police Department, 22 N. Center St. David Hicks, who serves as director, told the Marshall County Board of Supervisors Tuesday the bid to purchase the building will be up for further discussion at the Nov. 12 city council meeting.

“We’ve already passed the initial stages of the application. We were the only agency who had a proposal to bid on the building,” Hicks said.

If successful, the local YSS would take control of the building only after police department personnel relocated to the new combined police/fire building, which is projected to be ready to occupy by March 1, 2019.

“(The current police department building) is move-in ready for what we need, but we can make it better for the services we provide,” he said.

Hicks presented to the supervisors with an overview of what his agency does day-to-day, and thanked the board for its continued support.

“They (the Board of Supervisors) were the first and most consistent funders of some of our programs back in 1983,” Hick said.

Today, the BOS allocates around $11,000 a year to YSS of Marshall County’s budget.

“Our annual budget is around $825,000 total, so what they give is a small amount, but it provides a huge impact because it helps to cover those who walk in with no insurance or little insurance. It provides that quick impact for someone who comes in and wants services but has no ability to pay,” Hicks said.

Hicks also told the supervisors about how his staff has rallied to aid those negatively impacted by the tornado.

“We continue to do business as usual, but we had so many crisis calls coming in,” he said. “We were just taking calls and helping people immediately needing shelter — all the basics.”

Hicks, who has worked for YSS of Marshall County for 23 years, is its longest serving director and employee.

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Contact Sara Jordan-Heintz at

(641) 753-6611 or

sjordan@timesrepublican.com