Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department working out memorandum of understanding to provide law enforcement coverage in Lansing and New Albin beginning this Friday
Following the resignation of all three officers of the Lansing/New Albin Police Department within a month’s time as they departed for other employment opportunities, the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department has been called upon by the communities of Lansing and New Albin to assist in providing temporary law enforcement coverage in those two communities. Lansing/New Albin Chief of Police Conrad Rosendahl’s resignation became effective June 26, as he began a new job as Chief of Police for the City of New Hampton July 1, and his two remaining officers, Darby Stone and Troy Riehm, first formally submitted their resignations at the July 8 meeting of the New Albin City Council and also at the July 15 meeting of the Lansing City Council, with those resignations both being effective as of this Friday, July 26. In a published report, City of New Hampton officials clarified that details are being worked out to offer Stone a full-time officer position on the New Hampton Police Department under Rosendahl, with details in the works to also offer Riehm a part-time officer role, according to that report.
A Thursday, July 11 meeting took place between Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick, Allamakee County Attorney Anthony Gericke, Lansing Mayor Michael Verdon and New Albin Mayor Tom Feuerhelm to discuss law enforcement coverage options for the Lansing and New Albin communities as that July 26 date approaches. In an update provided Friday, July 19, Sheriff Mellick said that the final details of a memorandum of understanding between his department and both the Lansing and New Albin communities - including a fee schedule - are being completed and are anticipated to be in place by the July 26 effective dates of the two latest officer resignations.
“Iowa law requires that municipalities provide law enforcement services to their communities, whether that be through their own police force or contracted through another agency,” Sheriff Mellick explained. “With this memorandum of understanding, the Sheriff’s Department will be the contracted agency until the time that Lansing and New Albin can provide their own police force. What those communities are going to have to understand is that response times may not be as quick as what they may be used to, but we are certainly committed to doing the best job we can with the resources we have.”
An advertisement seeking to fill the open positions within the Lansing/New Albin Police Department can be found on Page 26 in this week's edition of The Standard.
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