T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY From left to right, Marshall County Supervisors Steve Salasek, Jarret Heil and Carol Hibbs and County Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson listen to County Buildings and Grounds Director Lucas Baedke discuss the county’s lease with the Marshalltown Mall during Wednesday morning’s meeting.

During Wednesday morning’s regular meeting, the Marshall County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a recount of the results in the Marshalltown city council Second Ward race and discussed a potential course of action on what to do with court records stored at the Marshalltown Mall amidst ongoing concerns over the potential for frozen pipes as the owners have still not paid their outstanding utility bill.

County Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson reported that incumbent Councilor Gabe Isom — who, according to the initial results, lost his bid for re-election by a razor thin margin of two votes to challenger Mark Mitchell — submitted the request to her office, and a meeting was held with both candidates on Monday to help iron out the details.

“We’ve got the team in place and ready to go, but we need you all’s approval to hold the recount,” Benson said.

She added that her recommendation to the recount board was to conduct both a hand recount and one with the machine due to the relatively small number of votes cast in the race (around 650), but that decision ultimately lies with the three member board, which will be comprised of Noah Ridgway, Mark Eaton and Bethany Currie.

The current plan is to conduct the recount on Monday, Nov. 27 at 4 p.m. at the Marshall County Election Center located at 107 S. 1st Ave. A motion to move forward with the recount passed by a unanimous 3-0 vote. Mitchell told the T-R he looked forward to the recount and, obviously, hoped it came out in his favor.

“I understand why Gabe asked for a recount as I would have done the same thing had I been in his shoes,” he said. “We are fortunate to have excellent staff in our Auditor’s office to oversee the voting process. I have complete confidence in the process and want to say thank you to Nan Benson, Jessica Chizek and staff for all their extra work and help. Thank you to the recount committee for your time in serving. Thank you to my friends and neighbors in Ward 2 for getting out to vote. As we wait for the final outcome, I continue to look forward to serving on the City Council.”

Isom also indicated that he was grateful for the opportunity to know the outcome is accurate.

“I’m thankful to my designee and judge Bethany Currie for being a part of the process to review Ward 2 results,” he said. “As we follow the process as outlined by the state, it’s great to have the steps in place to ensure results are as is.”

He also shared his thoughts on the overall direction the city is heading in and the philosophical differences between himself and Mitchell, who made “roads and codes” the pillars of his campaign.

“I’m hopeful the community understands where we are going and the growth we are experiencing. It’s evident downtown, as you look at building permits or otherwise. Marshalltown is progressing, and stagnation is very much a concern,” Isom said. “To think someone can drastically change the direction of the streets more than the millions already committed is comical within the budget presented. To think someone who wants to drive code enforcement yet is unwilling to hold their neighbors accountable speaks to the inability to drive results. I will be curious what the next few years hold beside community apathy and an inability to think about our future. I will be engaged, whether at the council level or otherwise, and we will continue on the path we’ve set. Marshalltown Strong — a place I decide to live, work, and play. A place I want others to do the same and hope others don’t make decisions to alter those to decide otherwise.”

The other pressing issue of the morning was what to do with the court records currently being stored in a space at the Marshalltown Mall in light of the ongoing controversy over the Kohan Retail Investment Group, the New York-based owners of the mall, failing to pay utility bills for an extended period of time, resulting in an indefinite shutoff in both the parking lot and the common area.

While all of the businesses with exterior entrances have been allowed to stay open as they have their own meters — and the sprinkler system has been moved to TLC Associates — there is still a lingering concern over a pipe freezing when temperatures begin to dip.

County Buildings and Grounds Director Lucas Baedke explained that the files are in the process of being digitally scanned and said the project was “about two-thirds done.”

“The mall is a mess. The water is still on. The power is still off. They do have their monitoring system in place to where if a sprinkler head froze and then thawed and ran water, they would at least know it, which is an upside,” Baedke said. “But there’s still some concerns about just the logistics of the space. I don’t know that we have a lot of better options.”

Baedke spoke to Clerk of Court Carol Haney, who suggested moving the files somewhere else for the time being, but he noted that it would present its own set of logistical issues. The scanning work is done off site and most of the files are subsequently destroyed, but according to Baedke, there are some that must be kept like documents related to murder cases and some books.

The county used to utilize the annex building basement and the attic, but Baedke indicated that those were no longer options.

“As far as places that we have to store things that are accessible to them, it’s real minimal,” he said.

The county’s current lease agreement with the mall runs through March, and the rent is $1,800 a month. Marshall County 911 Communications Director Rhonda Braudis, who also owns Oliver Beene Designs (a former mall tenant that recently moved downtown), explained some of the more intricate details of the situation and the flooding of her former space that caused $60,000 in damages.

Because Oliver Beene was one of the four mall businesses that did not have its own exterior door, it was shut down at the order of the fire marshal shortly after Alliant Energy cut the mall’s power. In response to a question from Benson, Braudis said it was “her understanding” that all of the businesses except TLC were withholding their November rent checks as part of an effort to encourage the owners to pay their outstanding debt and rectify the situation.

Supervisor Steve Salasek sought clarification on whether the sprinkler system worked in the area the county is renting, and Baedke said that because the water is on, the fire suppression system is still in place.

“Without conditioning of the space, so if there are areas that are heated and get down below freezing, there is a potential of the water lines freezing. At that point, you’re not gonna have a lot of flow,” Baedke said. “But with the fire alarm system up and running, it is monitoring that flow, so as soon as you get water running through pipes, it will dial out to 911 and notify someone that there is an issue. So at the very least, Marshalltown Fire responds and then shuts off the sprinkler.”

Salasek also wondered if the sprinkler system would destroy the records being stored now, and Baedke didn’t believe it would be a problem because they still have heat. The concern, however, is that one of the two neighboring vacant suites could have a problem that would allow water to leak into the county’s space and flood it.

“I wouldn’t be overly concerned about this week, but I just don’t know what the temperatures are gonna do,” he said. “It would have to be a pretty major leak for an extended period of time, in my opinion, to cause a lot of damage.”

He wasn’t worried about water coming in from above, either. Board Chairman Jarret Heil said he would like to consult with County Attorney Jordan Gaffney on any potential legal questions, and Heil indicated a willingness to take a bit of risk for the time being and keep the records at the mall. Although they did not take official action, all three supervisors and Benson seemed to be in agreement about withholding the county’s rent until power is restored due to the owners violating the terms of the lease.

Baedke had “a couple of ideas” for temporary storage if the county wished to go that route in the future.

In other business, the board:

• Recognized James Gibson for 15 years of service as a detective/sergeant with the Sheriff’s Office and Bob Grimes for five years as a volunteer Veterans Affairs commissioner.

• Approved the consent agenda as listed.

• Approved Secondary Roads status changes from TD1 to TD2 for Isaiah Moore, Connor Reyes, Nicholas Ruhnke and Douglas Zobrosky with pay raises from $28.60 to $29.33 per hour.

• Approved the county farm bid packet for three year cash rent.

Approved the FY 2022-2023 annual urban renewal report.

• During the public comment period, Baedke reminded county employees to utilize the parking lot instead of using street spots and taking parking away from neighboring businesses.

• During the public comment period, Marshall County VA Director Kevin Huseboe was excited to report the first Home Base Iowa relocation assistance for a veteran moving here from Florida to work at JBS.

During the public comment period, Marshall County Emergency Management Coordinator provided an update on the siren project.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.