Lund resigns as police chief, LaBarge appointed interim chief

GREENFIELD — Greenfield Police Chief Jesse Lund’s resignation was accepted at Tuesday night’s city council meeting and the city will immediately search for an additional officer for the department.

Lund’s resignation letter, which was shown to the newspaper, offered no reasons for his resignation.

The Adair County Free Press reached out to Lund after the meeting and he shared a statement with the newspaper as to why he resigned.

“I’ve just decided to explore new career paths,” Lund said. “I’m very thankful for having been able to serve the community. I enjoyed it a lot, I’ve just decided to move on.”

Lund had been with the police department for seven years and was promoted to chief in 2015.

Jeff LaBarge, one of the GPD’s two officers — the other is Brennen Leonard, who was sworn in March 2 — was appointed by the council to take over as interim chief after Lund leaves the department.

The council agreed, upon receiving and accepting Lund’s resignation, that the citizens will need to step up looking out for each other while the police department is shorter staffed.

Other action

In other action Tuesday night, the council:

- Completed work with the Southern Iowa Council of Governments to move forward with the CDBG Housing Grant for the rehabbing of up to six houses in town.

- Heard a report from Michael Schildberg who would like to build a 50-by-50 aircraft hangar at the airport. He shared his preliminary plans with the council and plans of another possible hangar at the airport were relayed to Schildberg. The council gave Schildberg their preliminary support of his endeavor pending more discussion that will take place later.

- Paid an invoice to the Franks Design Group PC for the final design guidelines for the CLG Grant from the Greenfield Historic Preservation Commission in the amount of $12,611. Sheri Blair, a member of the group, was in attendance to give feedback to the council on the process, which will give current and future business/building owners in the historic district guidance on updating their structures.

- Discussed moving forward with allowing parking on only one side of the street on SE Fifth St. in town. The fire department frequently uses SE Fifth to respond to and from the station quickly and it is often crowded.

Only allowing parking on one side of the street would make conditions safer for first responders. Councilman Rod McMorran, a former firefighter, said that crews can often pick and choose how they return to the station after an emergency, but when the call comes in, time is of the essence and SE Fifth is often the best route for the department to utilize.

- David Grappentine resigned as city attorney. The council approved his resignation and has options on the table as suitable replacements.

- City Hall has received word from Godberson-Smith, the contractor working on the streets, that the concrete on E. Iowa St. will likely be removed next week and new concrete poured slightly thereafter. After that, work will transition to SW Second and SW Mills.