Council Discusses Rental Inspection And Housing Study

July 20th, 2022

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Oskaloosa City Council met inside the city hall council chambers at 6:00 pm, July 18th, 2022.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, a landlord, Scott VerSteegh, spoke about the inspection process landlords go through to have their properties certified by the city of Oskaloosa.

“First, I’d like [you] to know, I’m not opposed to these inspections at all,” VerSteegh said. He had many positive remarks about the rental inspection team but added that “there’s always room for improvement on these programs.”

VerSteegh said that a meeting with landlords, city employees, and inspectors might help improve the inspection process, ultimately benefiting the community.

The annual report on the city’s rental housing inspection program was presented by Shawn Christ, Development Services, the city of Oskaloosa, and Jason VanAusdall, Iowa Inspections.

Christ said that the process, now just over five years old, was implemented to help protect the health and safety of residential rentals and those who use those spaces.

Christ said the program is also in place to protect those next to rental units.

Christ said there are 800 properties registered in the program, with 1700 dwelling units within those properties.

There was a slow down in inspections during the pandemic, but as things opened back up, the inspection team started back to the process, visiting the units that had been delayed.

The target was to have all rental units inspected within the program’s first three years, but that was pushed back by a year due to the pandemic.

Christ added that when the inspection program started, units passed at a rate of 55%, which has increased to 85% over the years. “That trend is still increasing.”

The top items that fail rental units include:

• Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
• Egress routes.
• A lack of GFI outlets near water sources.

Christ says that the inspection program doesn’t see the severe disrepair that marked the initial years of the inspection process.

Oskaloosa Fire Chief Scott Vaughan presented the 2022 2nd Quarter Code Enforcement report.

Vaughan said that there were 140 nuisance cases in the second quarter, and 123 have been closed so far.

Code enforcement has dealt with items such as dilapidated structures, hard surface parking, garbage, illegal burning, and lawn height.

An item of concern code enforcement has been tackling is brush growth over sidewalks, not giving pedestrians enough room.

Code enforcement did get the railroad to take care of nuisances associated with their properties this year, which has been challenging to address in past years.

One of the city council members asked if the parking lot of the local post office was being addressed.

Vaughan said he had held conversations with the postmaster about the situation. The building is owned by an out-of-state investment group, not the federal government.

In other action, the Council approved a resolution for special assessment against property located at 703 3rd Avenue East in Oskaloosa for cleanup to abate a nuisance existing according to Oskaloosa Municipal Code.

The Council also approved a resolution authorizing a professional services agreement between RDG Planning and Design and the city of Oskaloosa for a comprehensive housing needs analysis.

The cost to the city would be $17,000 for the study.

Councilmember Steve Burnett was frustrated by the fact that little headway had been made since the previous study and said that in business, the results so far would have equated to a D or F grade. “We’re busy, lots of busy work, but what do we have to show for it.”

“You wouldn’t stay in business,” Burnett added of the results to date. “So I do think there’s some concern in the community. I know there is. So I challenge us, me included, that we do something with it other than just have activity. We’ve got some results to show for it.”