SOLON — 223 S. Iowa St. in Solon is a one-story brick building with arched brickwork above the windows and other architectural features from a time long since passed. The building served as Solon’s fire station, home to a 1920’s chemical fire engine (using soda acid rather than a pump to build pressure in the hose lines) and the city’s own small police force (complete with a jail cell). It housed the city’s first well and had a water tower standing behind it. Later it served as City Hall and as the Library. In recent years it has sat empty and instead of a water tank towering over it, a question mark about its future hung over it instead.
Former Mayor Steve Stange had an idea which would breathe new life into the old building and lay a foundation toward continued future growth for the Solon community. Stange proposed renovating the building and offering it to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) for use as a substation.
“I couldn’t let this building be torn down, it has a history of public safety and it’s just got that feel of it, that feeling of a small-town Sheriff’s Office,” he said. Sheriff Brad Kunkel, a Solon resident, was quick to jump at the opportunity. This past Saturday, the results of their cooperation were on display to the public as an open house was held in the new facility.
“It’s an exciting day for Solon and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office,” Sheriff Kunkel said. “This has been a project that has been in the works with the City of Solon for the better part of a year or so. We’ve been talking about it for quite a while, the city budgeted for it this past year, and we finally got ourselves moved in here very recently.”
While not long on creature comforts, the substation does provide a place for deputies to take their meal breaks, restock paper for their in-car printers, and get out of their squad cars to stretch their legs a bit.
“We didn’t want a ‘camping spot for the deputies to just hang out in’ said Stange. “We wanted it to have a purpose.”
“It saves a lot of that time driving back and forth from Iowa City, it shortens response times, and keeps the deputies out here in the county; they don’t have to respond from Iowa City,” said Kunkel.
The substation is not staffed on either a full or part-time basis but is a resource to the public as well as for the deputies, Kunkel explained. “It’s an auxiliary office for us so if people still need to meet with a deputy or make a report, they need to call the Joint Communications Center (JECC) or 9-1-1 in an emergency, and we are certainly happy to meet the public here to take a report or exchange information, an interview, whatever it may be. We just need to get that phone call that we need to meet someone here, and we’ll be here waiting.” The substation has already been the site of at least two interviews in a private, secure, and confidential setting, and for investigations. “Our staff has been using it and we kind of hit the ground running as soon as we were able to.”
A similar office opened recently in Tiffin’s City Hall as well.
“Both of these kind of came up around the same time within the past year or so,” the Sherrif said. “Tiffin opened their new public works building so they moved staff over to that, which freed up office space in city hall. They offered for us to have an office space in there, which we gladly accepted.” Like Solon the Tiffin office isn’t staffed either, “But it’s just nice having that physical space there because currently if deputies need to do reports, paperwork, whatever it may be, or connect to the network (to download body cam and/or dash cam footage) they need to come down to the Sheriff’s Office (in downtown Iowa City). The substation here (and in Tiffin) is on our County wireless network so we can now do those things from out in the county. The deputies can park here, their cameras will connect with the network, they can offload their body cameras, but they can also bring their computers inside to dock so they can do their work here too.”
Stange, who was a law enforcement officer for many years, also pointed to the ability for people to meet privately with deputies away from the prying eyes of curious neighbors.
“This is a place where you can call and ask if you can meet a deputy at the substation, come up here, meet with them, and you have privacy and you don’t have to worry about anybody talking about it. Or if you’re a victim you don’t have to be victimized again, if you’re a suspect you’re innocent until proven guilty and you’re not tried in the public eye. I just think it brings a lot to the community.”
Currently the City contracts with Johnson County for law enforcement services via a 28E agreement, which is approved by the City Council and the County Board of Supervisors on an annual basis. Sheriff Kunkel has encouraged the Council to move to a five-year contract, with graduated increases in patrol hours to keep pace with the population growth. The Sheriff is encouraging all of the contracted communities to adopt the five-year contract touting benefits in budgeting by the cities for law enforcement, and by his office for determining necessary staffing and having the funds available to hire additional deputies as needed. Tiffin, he added, recently approved a five-year contract, which was approved by the County Supervisors on a 3-2 vote. The agreement with Tiffin includes the hiring of two deputies per year for the next three years, who will be assigned to Tiffin. “In two years, we’ll have a 24/7 assigned coverage out there.”
The Solon council is beginning their budget process with the likelihood of also approving a five-year plan, which may not be the same as Tiffin’s, but will provide the same certainty of service and personnel needs, and costs. “I can plan for it and so can the City. Solon has a population of 3,000 and you’d be hard-pressed to find another city in this state that has 3,000 people that doesn’t have a fulltime law enforcement presence or at least contracts for more than what Solon does. So, we’re definitely at the point where we need to be talking about that.” The substation is a solid start toward the law enforcement needs of Solon as population growth continues, he added. “We have the foundation in place to be with them ten-to-fifteen years into the future, and I think that’s what I’m most excited about, it sets the course for the future, and I think it’s the best thing for the City and for the Sheriff’s Office.”
Kunkel said he’s, “Very proud, this is a very great and exciting accomplishment and I’m thankful for the City of Solon for taking the lead and making this happen. It’s been a great experience making this all come together. They came forward to the Sheriff’s Office and offered it up as an idea, and they really did the heavy lifting. We helped out with some of the design and logo, but really the City took the lead and I just really appreciate everything they’ve done to help us get to this point. The City and the Sheriff’s Office have had a partnership for decades and this is just really another step in moving that relationship into the future, and really thinking about how we police our small towns in general and what that looks like. We’re happy to have it and we’ll keep looking forward to what else we can do to build those connections with the community.”
Another benefit the former Mayor sees is having a prominent law enforcement presence in Solon.
“It’s bigger than a squad car and it sends a message to everybody that doesn’t live in this town that maybe I’d better re-think what I’m doing here before I commit a crime because obviously, there’s a Sheriff’s presence in this town.”
To arrange to meet with a deputy call 319-356-6800 (for non-emergencies only). In an emergency, dial 9-1-1.
This building, located at 223 S. Iowa St., has served many purposes in Solon over the years including being a combination fire station and police station. Now it serves as a substation for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office for use by deputies patrolling Solon and the northern part of Johnson County.