Mahaska County Supervisors Discuss How Best To Communicate 911 Payment

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors met on Monday morning in the 3rd-floor conference room of the Mahaska County Courthouse.

The Supervisors approved the appointments of John Jacobs, Ron Groenendyk, Susie Keller-McCain, and Elizabeth Christopher to the Pioneer Cemetery Commission.

Supervisors approved the appointments of Jay Kaiser and Joe Warrick to the Oskaloosa Planning & Zoning with Chuck Webb to the Board of Adjustments.

Groenendyk discussed with fellow Supervisors a request from a 911 Board member to have the Oskaloosa City Manager join them for a meeting to explain why the City of Oskaloosa is in default in paying its bill to the 911 Board rather than having conversations with individual board members.

911 Board Chairman Russ Van Renterghem said he believes in that capacity, the 911 Board as a whole needs to resolve the issue or try to resolve it and is still trying to determine why the City of Oskaloosa has yet to pay its obligation.

Van Renterghem said that one of the City of Oskaloosa’s requests has been an audit of the 911 operations. The group has contacted more than three firms for that audit, but it has been declined so far.

Webb said more than ten thousand people live in Oskaloosa and could contact the Oskaloosa City Manager “because it’s their safety.”

Van Renterghem said he believed the 911 Board could get more answers if Oskaloosa City Manager Amal Eltahir or Oskaloosa Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt attended to answer questions about the lack of payment to date.

“Anything that could encourage Oskaloosa to pay,” is a good thing, Van Renterghem said of the open dialog.

Mahaska County Supervisor Chair Mark Groenendyk said he spoke with an Oskaloosa City Council member and asked if the city would pay its debt for 911 by June 30th, 2024. The answer was that the City of Oskaloosa would be up to date on its debt to 911 by then.