Daggett takes over

In the final city council meeting of the year, five city representatives were sworn in to their respective positions, three brand new to the role.

Ward 1 Representative Jocelyn Blazek, Ward 3 Representative Jen Worisek, Mayor Doug Daggett, At-Large Representative Toby Henry and Ward 5 Representative Jason Cook all took their oath of office Tuesday prior to the city council meeting.

The city council members, who were elected in November, will begin their terms Jan. 1, 2026, with the first city council meeting running Tuesday, Jan. 6. However, Daggett, who won the special mayoral election Dec. 9, began his term immediately, jumping into his first duty as mayor by running the city council meeting Tuesday. Daggett has taken over for Waylon Clayton’s term, which ends in two years.

Community members came to public forum to congratulate the new elected officials.

“I’d just like to congratulate you Doug, and thank you for putting in your heart to run for mayor, and to our new council members, Jason and Mr. Henry, I think it’s great,” Mike Eblen said. “We’re looking forward to a year of cooperation, and we know you can get it done.”

“Congratulations Mayor Daggett. Thank you for running for mayor, thank you for deciding to serve our community,” Loretta Harvey said. “Tonight we are back to say thank you to you for listening to the people and thank you for making a campaign based on leadership, communication, oversight and cooperation. These great folks here tonight with me, along with many other people, are ready, willing and able to help you grow Creston and make Creston great again.”

One community member brought suggestions alongside their congratulations.

“I want to congratulate Doug and Toby and Cookie [Jason Cook] for running for the council, and thank you council members. It’s a thankless job. Somebody has to do it, so thank you for doing it,” Russ Wood said. “The problems in this town, why it looks bad, three-fourths of them are homeowners, not landlords anymore. You guys need to take your attention somewhere else, big time, because it is the homeowners. And you might want to look at yourself too in this city.”

Councilmembers Richard Madison and Steve Wintermute were thanked for their many years of service to the city, presented with plaques from Creston City Administrator Mike Taylor. Both decided to retire from public service, leaving their seats open for new representation. Henry has taken Madison’s seat, while Cook has taken Wintermute’s.

In other council news...

The contract for the Palm Street reconstruction project has been awarded to TK Concrete, Inc of Pella for $302,989, about $30,000 less than the engineer’s original estimate. The goal is to complete the project at least a month before harvest season begins to give the material time to settle.

The council approved a compensation of $750 for Madison’s two-and-a-half months as mayor pro-tem. Iowa code allows compensation for mayor pro-tem if the position is held for fifteen days or more.

The Creston Fire Department received an Iowa DNR Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant of $4,490 for equipment, acceptance approved Tuesday by the council.