SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
June 24, 2025
Sullivan’s Salvos 6/26/25
In this edition:
*RIP John Stimmel
*Good Job, Hills!
*Scary High Nitrate Levels!
*A Bad Decision for Kids
*Did You Know?
*RIP John Stimmel
My old friend John Stimmel passed away recently. I am going to talk much more about John and his story in the next edition of Salvos. For now, I’ll just tease John posthumously about dying to avoid walking in the Coralville 4th of July parade!
There will be a remembrance Sunday, June 29 at 5:30 pm at Mercer Park Aquatic Center.
*Good Job, Hills!
I just thought it was worth mentioning that there are a lot of really good things going on in Hills! A new songbird park, a new mural, new playground equipment, music in the park, food trucks… the list goes on! And that is on top of a well-managed city with good city services.
Congrats to Mayor Tim Kemp, the Hills Council, and the Hills staff for doing such good work!
*Scary High Nitrate Levels!
Bad news on the local front – the scary high nitrate levels that plague Des Moines (and cost them millions of dollars to mitigate) are here in Iowa City. Our water is running at just below the level to trigger the Safe Drinking Water Act, which will cost us millions to address.
The influence of Big Ag in Des Moines and DC does this to us. Let’s work to change that in 2026!
*A Bad Decision for Kids
The Board of Supervisors recently made a decision that will hurt kids and cost taxpayers more money. It has to do with our contract with Linn County for juvenile detention beds. And I am steaming mad about it!
A bit of background… Johnson County has never had a juvenile detention center, having always partnered with Linn County. Linn County built a new center in the 1980s, specifically putting it very close to Johnson County as an enticement. (It is just north of Swisher, just across the county line.) The relationship has been excellent my whole time in office. Linn County provides the best juvenile detention care in the state – there is no question in my mind.
Under our current agreement, Johnson County pays for 3 beds every day. If we need more, we can have them – but only if they are available. More and more, these beds are *not* available. When a bed is not available, we are forced to find a bed wherever we can, whatever the cost.
This has led to Johnson County taking kids as far away as Cherokee - 5 hours one way. It has led to more of our kids staying in less than desirable facilities. And it has led to more juveniles being forced to stay in adult jails.
There is a certain amount of irony here. Johnson County helped to lead the charge to get the state law changed regarding juveniles in adult jails. The law now says that they must be served in juvenile detention centers. That is, of course, unless no beds exist.
So, in part because of our own advocacy, Johnson County has seen an increase in the kids in juvenile detention. So when our group of local experts met, they recommended that Johnson County contract with Linn County for 4 beds rather than 3. This should help alleviate some of the statewide trips, poor service, and high costs.
But that was not to be. When it came time to vote on Thursday, June 12, we found out that Supervisors Remington and Fixmer Oraiz were going to oppose the contract. Supervisor Green Douglass and myself were going to support it. So we were stuck.
Here are just a few of the reasons voting no was a really bad decision:
1. It is worse for our kids. Claim to care about our kids? You just sentenced them to longer stays, farther from home. You sentenced them to worse conditions. And you sentenced many of them to adult jail.
2. It is not only worse for our kids, but for our families, our Juvenile Court staff, our County Attorney’s Office, our Sheriff’s Office, defense attorneys, and more. Basically, if you live in Johnson County and have anything to do with one of these kids, we just made it worse for you.
3. It is worse for our taxpayers. You get to pay for higher cost facilities. You get to pay the people who are on the phone at 3 AM finding a bed. You get to pay the Sheriff’s Deputy for an 11 hour round trip. (Some of that overtime, by the way.)
4. It was *TERRIBLE* process. We had this on the Wednesday, June 11 meeting agenda for discussion. Social Services Director Lynette Jacoby presented the proposal, and Chairperson Green opened the floor for discussion. I made a brief comment. That was it. Chairperson Green asked if there was further comment. There was not. He noted that the item would be voted upon the next day. We moved on to the next item.
The whole discussion was two minutes and twenty seconds. Two minutes! And neither of the people who ended up opposed to the contract said *one* word. Nothing. They had an opportunity to raise any and every concern. That was the appropriate venue – in public. But they said nothing. That is not how we should be doing business. Doing otherwise is disingenuous and dishonest.
5. Terrible process, part 2. We only had 4 Supervisors at the June 12 meeting; Supervisor Green was on a well-deserved vacation. We were poised to vote on the contract, but it became apparent the vote would be 2-2. Measures fail without a majority of the Supervisors present. So a 2-2 vote means no contract.
Let me emphasize this point. If the vote for 4 beds fails, we do not have a contract for 3 beds. We have no contract whatsoever. That hurts MANY more of our kids to a MUCH greater degree.
So what to do? Because they said nothing on Wednesday, the two Supervisors who opposed the contract created an all-or-nothing showdown. Supervisors who want to do the responsible thing are forced into a take-it-or-leave-it vote. It is exactly the same process used by Congress with the debt limit. It is hostage taking. But this time, the hostages are Johnson County kids.
6. Terrible process, part 3. We have experts in this arena. Justin Montgomery is the Juvenile Court Administrator for Johnson County. (He is a State employee.) He is a great guy, and good at his job. His office is located in the same building as the Supervisor’s offices. But did either of the Supervisors who opposed the contract ask him any questions? No, they did not. I’d be surprised if they even knew who he was, honestly.
Emily Voss is one of the Juvenile Attorneys in the County Attorney’s Office who deals with these situations literally every day. Did either of the Supervisors who opposed the contract ask her any questions? No, they did not. Again, I’d be surprised if they even knew who she was, honestly.
Did either of the Supervisors who opposed the contract ask any people who have spent time in juvenile detention? (I have had a few young people in my care spend time there, though it has been awhile.) Did they speak to the parents of anyone who has been there? My guess is no and no.
This decision was not made based upon facts. It was a decision made as part of a political agenda.
7. Terrible process, part 4. What is your plan? If you disagree with the plan the experts put forth, what is your plan? I am willing to listen. But they offered no alternative. And that is not OK. It is lazy. Kids deserve better!
8. Terrible process, part 5. Johnson County Social Services Director Lynette Jacoby was hung out to dry on this matter. They made her do a lot of extra work, made her stay late one night, and made her look like a fool. I am here to tell you that Lynette Jacoby is an absolute rock star employee – truly one of the best people I have worked with at Johnson County. She deserved to be treated much better.
The excuses I have heard for opposing the contract seem to be primarily around the idea of alternatives to detention. Fair questions. (They also could have been asked months ago.) Here is a quick response:
There were three previous detention alternative programs of which I am aware. We had one here in Johnson County for several years, partially funded by the state. (I worked with a few kids who were part of it.) State funding went away, and it folded. We paid Four Oaks to run a program for a few years, but they simply could not make a go of it. We contracted with Linn County Detention to run a program for a few years, but they also could not make it work. It is not just Four Oaks, and not just Linn County. We have done RFPs. None of our local providers made a pitch. None. No one here can make it work. So we currently have no detention alternative program.
It is not hard to figure out why alternative programs are difficult to set up. To be effective, you need at least a couple people to be on-call 24/7/365. Those people need backup, which means you are really talking 5-7 staff. That means you have to pay them, and pay them well. Even when they are doing nothing. Assign them other work, and that is when your calls come in. Linn County could not hire people for alternatives, just like they can’t hire people for the detention center. No one has been able to make it work.
V never bothered to ask about the history of alternative programs and why they have not worked. (To her credit, Mandi did.) Either Lynette or myself could have explained it. Our experts (who made the recommendation) could have explained it. If that is your objection, you have an obligation to get the facts.
Another argument is that “we don’t need to be putting kids in detention.” We are not doing that, to be clear. Judges are. Johnson County has zero say in the matter. We just pay the bill. We control one thing here and one alone – the quality of service our kids are going to get. And we whiffed.
So we have kids getting worse service, farther away, at higher cost. Why? Why would anyone vote for that? Politics, that’s why. This was just to make a point. Unfortunately, that point is made at the expense of both our kids and our taxpayers.
I am pissed off, and I think you should be as well.
*DID YOU KNOW? Hills added a water treatment plant and public water utility in 2015. (I do not know what their nitrate count has been.) Growth has been huge since! Hills was around 700 people in 2015, and sits at about 950 now. (Source: US Census.)
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 7:26 AM
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