Newest police officer sworn in at council meeting

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Derek Miller said he is excited to be a Charles City cop.

“I’m happy to be serving the community,” Miller said. “The people here in Charles City have been really great to my family and to me since we’ve moved here, and this is a great opportunity for me.”

Miller was sworn in as the Charles City Police Department’s newest hire at Monday’s Charles City Council meeting. Mayor Dean Andrews administered the oath and welcomed Miller to the force.

“We are very excited and pleased to have Derek Miller sworn in as the newest member of our team,” the CCPD stated in a social media release. “He is originally from California and has been living in Charles City for several years now.”

The “official” swearing in was merely a formality. Although Miller received his police uniform before the meeting, he actually has been on the job for a couple of weeks now. Miller previously worked as a reserve in the sheriff’s department.

“I love being a part of a team, and all the people I’ve worked with are really great,” he said. “I really truly wanted to join.”

Initially, it was wind turbines that brought Miller to Iowa. He grew up in Southern California, and lived there for about 30 years. He came to Iowa to work in the renewable energy field in 2013 and said, “We’ve loved it ever since.”

Married for 11 years, Miller and his wife live in Charles City and have a daughter and a son. Miller said that when he was growing up, he found himself in a situation where a police officer helped him out, and that is what attracted him to police work.

“That was something that has always stood out in my mind,” he said. “If there’s a way I can give back, that’s what I want to do.”

Miller will leave for his three-month state police academy training program at the end of the month.

In other business at Monday’s meeting, the council voted unanimously to release a 2012 deed restriction on property at 213 and 215 North Main Street.

In 2012, Dave Davidson approached the city with a plan to redevelop two properties (213 and 217 North Main) that are adjacent to a city-owned “pocket park” on Main Street. Davidson had interest in acquiring the park to use as a private seating area for one or both of the adjacent businesses that were going to be located there.

As part of the sale of the pocket park to Davidson, the council mandated in a redevelopment agreement that a “heavy vintage iron fencing” with gates on both ends be installed by July 1, 2013, although the fencing and gates were not installed and ultimately the proposed projects never came to fruition.

Davidson is now looking to sell the property at 213 North Main as well as the pocket park that is adjacent to it, so the fencing provision needed to be addressed in order to complete the sale.

Joanna Thompson was present at the meeting, as she is the one planning to purchase the building. Thompson told the council that she didn’t have a specific plan or tenant coming in, however the council agreed that the restriction that was tied to the deed should be released so that the sale could move forward, and the fencing and gating should be left to the discretion of the new owner.

At its June 23 meeting, the Charles City Area Development Corp. had agreed to provide a $25,000 loan from its revolving loan fund to COVET Properties LLC to go toward purchase and renovation of 213 N. Main St.

In other business Monday, the council:

— Approved a motion to set a public hearing for 6 p.m. on Aug. 16 on an application for the clear well tank option. The proposed clearwell tank project at the water plant is expected to be partially funded through a community development block grant. NIACOG has been selected as the grant administrator. Chris Diggins, NIACOG local assistance director, will be at the Aug. 16 city meeting to lead the public hearing.
— Approved a resolution accepting the 2021 House Demolition Project. The project included demolition of a house and detached garage on 806 North Grand and an acquired nuisance property at 312 15th Ave. Popp Excavating was the general contractor for the project. The project was completed at a total cost of $23,800.
— Approved change orders for the Ambulance Bay Remodel Project. The total dollar amount of change orders for the ambulance bay is estimated to be just under $20,000.
— Approved a change order for the WRRF project. The total cost increase for the WRRF change order is estimated at $42,930.