Kewanee Mayor Gary Moore joined Wake Up Tri-Counties to discuss the October 15, 2024, city council meeting. The Kewanee Police Department swore in a new Sergeant among their ranks at the beginning of the meeting. Kellen Daniels was promoted to Sergeant Daniels after years of dedication to the Kewanee Police Department and the Black Hawk Area Task Force. Congratulations, Sergeant Daniels. Sergeant Daniels was 21 years old when he was sworn into the Kewanee Police Department in 2019 and was previously an officer in the Galva Police Department. The council approved all agenda items. Chenoweth Construction was approved to complete the construction of a new shelter house and pavilion at Francis Park. The council indicated to City Manager Gary Bradley that they prefer the name of the industrial park on Kentville Road to be “Kewanee Industrial Park” and the street to be named after Benny Kuster. FEMA and the Small Business Administration gave a presentation to the city council regarding the services they provide to survivors of areas declared disaster areas. The council discussed at length how to approach the issue of the almost $200,000 water bill that is owed to the City of Kewanee for the three trailer parks in Kewanee. The mayor and council members indicated they don’t think the taxpayers should pay any entity’s water bill. City Manager Gary Bradley said the only reason they haven’t shut off the water supply is because there are residents living in the trailer parks who are paying rent, water, and trash. There will be a discussion item on the agenda for the first meeting of each month to discuss options for the trailer parks. The city has legal options to clean up the properties and foreclose on those properties if necessary to help the residents living in limbo while the properties continuously change hands.
The M Shapiro Real Estate Group has hired a contractor to remove the weeds from all three trailer park locations. Keith Edwards said the contractor hired by M Shapiro Real Estate Group has received the down payment and will begin working on removing the weeds on Saturday, October 19, 2024. The trash hadn’t been collected in weeks but was picked up on Friday, October 11th. The properties are financed with First Secure Community Bank and were defaulted on by at least the last two owners. The property is in receivership, and the M Shapiro Real Estate Group out of Farmington Hill, Michigan, was hired to manage the properties. Katie Weber has been working on a grant to clean up the trailer parks, but Keith Edwards said they don’t know how long it will take to get a response or how much the grant will be for. First Secure Community Bank said they can’t make the sale affordable with the nearly $200k water bill. Mayor Gary Moore said, “The city did not assume the responsibility of the loan.” City Attorney Zac Lessards said the city can put a lein on the property, then foreclose on that lein, and once they own the property, the city can clean up the properties and find a responsible buyer. The process would take months to foreclose or for a nuisance claim. There will be a discussion item on the agenda of the first meeting of every month to discuss the status of the properties and options for the city to take. Gary Bradley asked, How do you tell people they have to leave their homes? Gary Bradley said they would attempt to find out the number of tenants legally living within the three properties.
