Sparrow appointed to fill vacancy

FORT MADISON – The Fort Madison City Council installed a former North Dakota councilman to a vacant 3rd Ward Council seat Tuesday night in a special session.
In a special convening of the council prior to the regular City Council meeting, the council voted 6-0 to appoint Jerry D. Sparrow, 1901 Avenue H, to fill the seat vacated by the resignation last month of Donna Amandus, who moved to Keokuk.
Sparrow was the only viable candidate to apply for the position. Mayor Matt Mohrfeld said another candidate had applied but a jurisdiction issue surfaced. Iowa code requires the candidate live within the city’s defined boundaries of council wards.
Sparrow owns a small karaoke business and spends a lot of time volunteering in the community with the Salvation Army and the Knights of Columbus.
He said he served just over eight years as a councilman in Rolla, North Dakota, a town of about 1,200 just under the Canadian border in North Dakota.
After a brief session of about eight questions in approximately 20 minutes, the council moved and seconded to appoint Sparrow.
In the last 18 months, the council has had to fill three positions by appointment including Angela Roller, Dustin Yager, and now Sparrow. Sparrow’s seat will be up for election in the next city election in 2025. Amandus was re-elected to the post in November of last year. Residents in the ward have 14 days from the appointment to request a special election per Iowa Code 372.13 (2)(a)(2).
Sparrow, who lived in Fort Madison for almost 23 years and transferred with his wife back to North Dakota in 2010, said in his experience, the council should play a specific role for constituents and be a body for the whole community.
“First and foremost you listen to your constituents. They have needs, they have wants, but we all have needs and wants.  It’s our responsibility as city council to see what we can to do achieve some of those goals. You’re never going to achieve them all because of funding. But I think we play a positive role in our community,” Sparrow said.
Sparrow said he has time to devote to the position only having commitments outside the home to his church and a heavy volunteer schedule with the Salvation Army.
He pointed to the Marina as a recent success of Fort Madison that is bringing people into town, but he said business vacancies and home vacancies are challenges. He said Fort Madison has to focus on bringing more businesses to town, specifically pointing to the empty former Palms location.
“I haven’t followed too closely on what we have going on in the city, but there’s always going to be challenges and I hope we can achieve not all, but most of them,” he said.
Councilman Kevin Rink asked Sparrow how he handles the criticism of public service.
“You’re never going to make everybody happy to start with. There will aways be criticism. Not everyone’s going to be happy with everything you’re doing, nor do they think you’re achieving everything you should on their behalf, but I’ve dealt with criticism my whole life,” he said.
“I’ve got big shoulders, but I also know how to explain why I can’t do what you want.”
Sparrow said there is no “I” in any of this but it’s a “we”.
“When it’s all said and done and the sun sets at night, hopefully we’re all in agreement as to what we can and will do.”
He said he wants to know what constituents' opinions are but isn’t a mind reader. The public’s viewpoints are valuable, but they, too, have a responsibility to accept the decisions of the council.