By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa City Council held a regular meeting last night and rejected a resolution calling for a special city election on the proposition of starting a capital improvements reserve fund and levying an annual tax for that fund.

The resolution was rejected on a 5-2 vote. Council members Abu Ibrahim and Bob Drost voted “yes,” while the remaining council members voted “no.”

In a memo, city staff told the council that the fund would be used for the purpose of pavement and street improvement projects, including the construction, reconstruction, and repair of streets, as well as related lighting, traffic control devices, sidewalks, and utilities. The levy would have been in the amount of $0.675 per $1,000 of taxable valuation over the course of 10 years, and the special election would have been held in either fall 2026 or spring 2027.

Multiple council members expressed concerns over the necessity of a special election, saying that it would be more financially responsible to place this proposition on a general election ballot. Council member Ronda Almond shared that sentiment, and added that city residents already voted down a similar proposition just last year.

Council member Bob Drost said that the proposal on the table was different from the proposal that was voted down, pointing out that this time around, the revenue would be used for road improvements only, instead of more broad usage; and it would have a 10-year lifespan instead of having no sunset.

The next opportunity for the city to add this, or a similar proposition to a general ballot is the city/school election in fall 2027.

OSKALOOSA — When Oskaloosa firefighters return from a call, getting a truck ready for the next emergency can depend on something simple: enough hose that can be trusted to hold pressure.

For the Oskaloosa Fire Department, that need had become harder to meet as portions of its hose inventory continued to age. Some of the department’s hoses are 25 to 40 years old, and more of them have failed annual testing in recent years, Oskaloosa Fire Chief Scott Vaughan said.

Each year, fire hose is tested by being pressurized to a required level and holding that pressure for five minutes. Vaughan said the department had identified its 2 1/2-inch hose as a growing concern. The hose is not used as often as the smaller attack lines firefighters regularly pull, but sitting on a truck for long periods can create its own wear.

“We just consistently saw more and more failing every year to the point where it was time to make this switch and make sure that these guys had the equipment they needed to obviously work safely and get the job done,” Vaughan said.

A $25,000 donation from Clow Valve Co. will help the department replace that aging hose, strengthening firefighter safety while also easing pressure on the department’s budget.

Vaughan said the need reflects a broader challenge for fire departments as equipment costs rise and public budgets remain tight.

“What we’re seeing is a trend of our needs outpacing the money that’s coming in,” Vaughan said. “Budgets are tight everywhere. It’s not just here, but it’s everywhere. So it’s great to be able to reach out to community partners like Clow.”

The partnership between Clow and the fire department is not new. Vaughan said the department has used Clow facilities for confined space training, and Clow employees have also served with the department.

Mark Willett, vice president and general manager of Clow Valve Co., said the donation began with Austin Glandon, a Machine Tech Specialist and a reserve firefighter with the Oskaloosa Fire Department. Glandon helped identify the need and brought the opportunity forward.

“He brought this opportunity to us, identified a need within the fire department they were able to address,” Willett said.

Willett said the gift also reflects the company’s broader commitment to the people and community around it.

“We demonstrate that through obviously caring for our employees, but also caring for our community that does business in and supports us,” Willett said.

Glandon said Clow has consistently supported his role as a reserve firefighter, which helped to make the connection between the company and the department’s equipment needs.

“Clow’s always had a great working relationship with the fire department,” Glandon said. “This latest extension of that support aims to serve not only the department, but also the needs of the community by ensuring the necessary equipment is in place and ready to go..”

As a reserve firefighter, Glandon said he responds during larger incidents, covers shifts when full-time firefighters are out, and helps cover the city when crews are called out of town. He said the hose shortage became clear when crews returned from calls and needed to prepare trucks for the next response.

“If we need to replace hose on one of the trucks, we just didn’t have enough hose to fully replace it and get a truck back in service,” Glandon said. “We had enough hose fail that that was identified as a critical item for us.”

Vaughan said newer hoses add confidence on emergency scenes. In his 30 years in the fire service, he has seen hoses fail during calls. When a hose fails it can cause injury, even when firefighters are wearing protective gear.

“Just knowing that we’ve got new hose that is going to meet those NFPA requirements for testing just makes it that much easier to put these guys on the front lines,” Vaughan said.

The donation also allows the department to use its existing budget for other needs, Vaughan said. More importantly, he said, it shows firefighters that the community recognizes the seriousness of their work.

“The fire department is a proud group of guys,” Vaughan said. “We take very seriously what we do. When we get help to make sure that what we’re doing is being done safely through our community partners, it’s just invaluable.”

For Clow, Willett said the message is simple: The company is committed to supporting the community that has supported it.

“It just reinforces our commitment to this community,” Willett said.