Public Warnings, Failing Conditions, and a Narrow Defeat

As early as 2016, city leaders publicly acknowledged the crumbling condition of Missouri Valley’s combined City Hall and Fire Station. In an interview with 3 News Now, Mayor Clint Sargent said the cost to bring the existing facility “up to code where it needs to be would cost $500,000.” He described the aging structure as a building long past its life expectancy, plagued by leaks, decay, and accessibility issues.

Fire Chief Shawn Kelly painted an even bleaker picture. Speaking from inside the station, Kelly pointed to ceiling mold and structural damage, telling reporters, “All that white stuff is old mold.” He said firefighters regularly found inches of water in their gear from roof leaks and noted that the department couldn’t upgrade to modern vehicles because “the department can’t get modern equipment because it won’t fit.” The facility’s location on Highway 30 also slowed emergency responses: “We have to wait a minute, two minutes, three minutes — even with the lights and sirens turned on.”

Those statements made it clear: both the mayor and fire chief knew years ago that the building was unsafe, inaccessible, and functionally obsolete. Yet the path toward a replacement would take a controversial turn.

2019–2020: A Rejected Solution

In 2019, the city hired Prochaska & Associates to study options for replacing or expanding the facility. The architectural firm’s report documented severe deterioration and recommended against rebuilding on the current site, citing flood-zone risk, ADA noncompliance, and inadequate lot size. The consultants urged construction of a new, modern facility elsewhere — contingent upon a bond election.

Following that advice, the city purchased land at 2213 Highway 30 for about $200,000 and placed a $1.5 million bond on the ballot for March 3, 2020. According to WHORadio, the measure failed by just two votes, falling short of the 60 percent supermajority required by Iowa law. Fire Department leaders at the time expressed disappointment but acknowledged that voters had spoken. The defeat meant the city could not legally issue debt for the new facility without another election.

2024–2025: A Foreseeable “Emergency”

Four years later, in 2024, the city purchased a new ambulance — one that did not fit inside the existing station bays, an issue firefighters had publicly warned about since at least 2016. Instead of seeking renewed voter approval, city leaders declared a “public emergency”, citing the oversized ambulance as justification to bypass an election and move forward with construction immediately.

Under Iowa Code § 384.40, emergency bonding is permitted only for sudden, unforeseen events threatening public health or safety. Yet the station’s limitations were neither sudden nor unforeseen. Officials had discussed the problem for nearly a decade, making the “emergency” a predictable outcome of deferred action — not a disaster demanding immediate debt issuance.

Building Where They Were Told Not To

Despite its consultants’ warnings and the failed bond tied to a new Highway 30 location, the city began construction in 2024 on an addition to the same downtown facility at 223 E Erie Street. P&A’s report had explicitly advised against any expansion on that site due to flood risk, inadequate lot geometry, and restricted access for modern apparatus.

The city proceeded constructing a new addition on the west side of the building with entry access on the south side, with no drive through entry and exit, a configuration P&A had specifically warned against due to safety and access concerns.

At the October 7, 2025, City Council meeting, officials acknowledged that the slope of the new bay’s entryway was not built correctly, creating drainage and access problems that P&A had cautioned about years earlier. The city’s decision to ignore professional design recommendations has now led to an additional $35,000 to $45,000 in corrective work—avoidable costs directly tied to their disregard of the original study.

Meanwhile, the $200,000 parcel at 2213 Highway 30, purchased specifically for relocation, remains unused.

Legal and Fiscal Fallout

By invoking emergency powers, Missouri Valley’s leaders bypassed the electorate and issued new debt despite the 2020 rejection. Taxpayers have paid and are now paying for both the unused property and the new construction on the old site.

Legal observers note that Iowa’s emergency bonding authority was intended for tornadoes, fires, and infrastructure collapse — not for projects long known to be needed. Declaring an emergency after a failed bond election undermines both the law’s intent and the community’s trust.

The Misinformation: “It’s All Paid for by Grants”

In recent weeks, multiple residents have stated their belief that the fire hall expansion was being fully funded by grants and that taxpayers “aren’t paying a dime.” This is not true.

City documents and council discussions confirm that while the City pursued certain grants and partial reimbursements, the majority of the project’s cost is being paid with taxpayer funds, financed through the emergency bonding measure that bypassed voter approval.

That false narrative has left many residents feeling deceived. As one longtime taxpayer said:

“We were told it was all grant money. Now we find out we’re footing the bill for bad planning and construction mistakes.”

The truth is, the “emergency” authorization opened the door for the City to spend taxpayer dollars without the safeguards of public vote or formal budget review.

Cost Overruns, Contractor Delays, and a Slope Failure

The project was awarded to Rogge General Contractors, Inc., who received a contract amendment on October 4, 2024, adding $57,006 for “revised alley concrete replacement.” Rogge originally committed to completing construction by July 4, 2025, but later requested an extension to August 22, 2025—which the City granted at no additional cost or penalty to the contractor.

It is now October 13, 2025, and the project remains incomplete. Recently, Rogge notified the City that a major error was made in the slope of the entryway, an issue discovered only after firefighters attempted to back trucks into the new bays. The fire trucks became stuck, their wheels sinking into the ditch due to the improper grading of the concrete approach.

P&A’s 2019 report had specifically warned about the topographical limitations of the site and the need for precision grading to avoid drainage and access problems—warnings the City ignored. The newly identified slope failure is now expected to cost taxpayers an additional $35,000 to $45,000 to correct.

A Pattern of Spending and Scope Creep

As if that weren’t enough, the City has now announced plans for City Hall employees to relocate to the Rand Center. Discussions during recent meetings reveal intentions to renovate and expand that space—adding larger private offices and additional bathrooms for staff.

The proposed improvements are expected to be funded with taxpayer dollars, adding yet another layer of expense to a chain of decisions that began with a single declared “emergency.”

Residents are questioning how, after years of citing financial limitations and the need to bypass a public vote, the City now has money to remodel office space for comfort and convenience.

Conclusion

Missouri Valley’s need for a safe, functional fire station is undisputed. But the means of achieving it have blurred the line between emergency response and political convenience.

After years of warnings, public statements, and a narrowly failed bond vote, city leaders chose to act unilaterally — declaring an emergency over a foreseeable problem and constructing on a site their own experts said to abandon.