West Point looking for next administrator

WEST POINT – West Point City Administrator Randy Welding said he planned on serving for about five years - four and half years ago.
So at the end of the year, he is planning on retiring, and the West Point City Council said Monday night it’s time to start looking for his replacement.
Welding said he’s enjoyed his time with the city, but there was more to the work than he had anticipated.
“I basically got thrown into this,” he said. “I had two weeks of training and that wasn’t enough. There’s a lot to know in this job, so there were a lot of calls to attorneys and the Iowa League of Cities, and that’s where I got the most help.”
West Point Mayor Gary Peitz said the time to start looking was now so they could get at least 30 days of training.
Councilman Larry Buchholz said it would be better if the city could get more than 30 days of training for the position.
The city also approved a 28E agreement with the Lee County Sheriff’s Department for law enforcement services for the city. The agreement calls for preventive patrol, response to calls for service, criminal investigations, traffic enforcement, code enforcement, community policing, assistance during emergencies or disasters, court-ordered duties, and patrol for city-sponsored events including West Point Sweet Corn Festival.
David Doyle, a deputy with the sheriff’s department, said the department spent 85 hours on calls and patrol in the city in July.
The city entered into the month-by-month 28E after talks broke down with Donnellson to continue the 28E agreement that had been in place before Brad Roberts retired earlier this year. Roberts served as police chief in both cities.
Welding said he believed talks would resume after newly hired Donnellson Police Chief Jamie Carle has some time under his belt as chief for that city.
In other action, the city approved a new ordinance amending City code 308-26 pertaining to poultry, livestock, and bees. The new language permits only six chickens in a confined area, but does not include roosters. It also bans bees inside city limits without authorization of the council.