Rink to step down from council Feb. 1

RESIGNING

I was on the fence about this for a while, but I have to make this decision for the betterment of my family.”

Kevin Rink, Fort Madison At-Large Councilman

FORT MADISON – Long time City Council member Kevin Rink will be vacating his at-large council spot in February.
Rink said on Wednesday that he will be announcing his resignation at the next council meeting and will most likely be resigning his seat on Feb. 1.
The moves comes as a result of needing to be closer to his family.
“I was on the fence about this for a while, but I have to make this decision for the betterment of my family.”
Rink will maintain a residence within the city limits until closings on sales and purchases of real estate take place and he estimated that to take a few months.
Rink has served close to two decades on the City Council and has volunteered for many civic organizations and committees throughout the community since moving here in 1990.
Rink has gone through three city managers going back to Byron Smith, through David Varley, and now Laura Leigois and he’s served with three mayors; Steve Ireland, Brad Randolph, and Matt Mohrfeld.
He was first elected in 2007 to the at-large seat and his current position was set to expire in 2027. If the council decides to appoint someone, that seat will be up for election at the next city election in 2025, or special municipal election if one were to be needed. The council would have 60 days from Rink’s official resignation to make the appointment or schedule a special election.
With past vacancies, the city has chosen to fill the spots by appointment and not have special elections.
Rink said he has been contemplating the resignation for the past month.
“It’s just become an issue where we decided to make the move now rather than later.”
Kevin and his wife LeAnn will be moving about an hour from Fort Madison so he said he will still be visible around the community when time and weather allow, but the move puts them closer to family.