LeeCo Supervisor Ron Fedler Withdraws FM County Seat Ordinance; Residents Tell Board to Slow Down

With several hundred people looking on in the Central Lee Middle School gym, Lee County Supervisor Ron Fedler “did a 180” last(Thur) night on his proposed ordinance to give Ft. Madison the sole title of county seat.

 

The board had included public input in the process and a number of residents took advantage. Michael Connor and some others suggested that small service centers be placed throughout the county.  Sandy Iverson recommended a central location, such as Donnellson, if consolidation is chosen as the best route. Others made the case for Keokuk, with its historic courthouse, and still others just wanted to be sure that driver’s license services, now offered in Ft. Madison and Keokuk, be retained, even though the state doesn’t require it. Several residents simply urged the county board to be more open and deliberative in its dealings with the public.

One supervisor cautioned the crowd that the consolidation issue is not dead, even though the most recent proposal was withdrawn, but the board will regroup, with Supervisors Fedler, who represents the West Point area, and Matt Pflug, whose district covers Keokuk, pledging to work together on a better solution.

Lee County has had two county seats since 1847, the only county in Iowa that can make that claim.