OTTUMWA — For years, the current police chief has wanted a way to keep an eye on downtown Ottumwa.
“When I was a nightshift sergeant back in the ’90s, there was a lot more [evening bar] activity downtown,” said Ottumwa Police Chief Jim Clark. “We had fight after fight after fight. It wasn’t unusual to have 20 [people] involved in a fight.”
And the problem was getting worse, with beatings, property damage and other crimes contributing to the deterioration of downtown, he said.
“When I became chief, I was adamant we were going to come up with a solution,” he told several business owners, reporters and U.S. Congressman Dave Loebsack on Saturday during a meeting at the police station.
While in college, Clark said he had done a study on the effectiveness of cameras in similar situations, and his research showed they did make a difference, with some locations showing a big improvement.
But pulling the necessary $400,000 out of his department budget wasn’t an option. Loebsack listened to his plan, Clark said, and secured $375,000 in federal funding for the project.
“Trying to get funds, or earmarks, for law enforcement ... in the district has been important to me,” Loebsack said.
The system Clark wants will have 24 cameras to start with. Ottumwa business owner Josh Gettings said he’s certain the close monitoring will make a “huge” difference in the willingness to invest downtown.
“There are lots of business owners downtown that would put in apartments,” Gettings said.
He put a rental unit above his shop. And if people live downtown, they need — and can support — restaurants, shops and other activities.
“It’s not enough to have business during the day,” Clark said. “[But] if you’re going to have people living downtown, it’s got to be safe.”
An unsafe downtown, or even one just perceived as dangerous, is going to keep people out, leading to an even more desolate area.
Himar Hernandez of the Wapello County Extension office said he helps Hispanic entrepreneurs open businesses, and offers suggestions on how to do well. One of those ideas valid for most retail shops is to have the merchandise visible. That means in a foot traffic area like downtown, windows are vital.
But after having their windows smashed over and over, some retailers — Iowa-born and immigrant business people both — have stopped replacing their windows. Hernandez said one Hispanic grocer didn’t replace a broken window with glass. He felt he had to brick up the frame, the opposite of what Main Street Ottumwa teaches as being best for business.
Josh Goudy, president of the Ottumwa Area Chamber of Commerce, owns two downtown businesses. He said seeing other places vandalized makes him worried his place could be damaged, too.
Gettings said that’s not attractive to people who want to invest their money somewhere. Some of the windows cost thousands of dollars, and the vandalism makes doing business tougher than it already is.
“I really believe this [camera system] is going to make downtown a safer place,” he said. “It’ll make a huge difference.”
“These are very high resolution cameras,” said Clark. “If they’re a block away, it’ll be like they’re standing right next to you.”
Monitors will be in police cruisers as well as at the police station.
“We can tell if a crime’s going on and we can respond immediately. And if a crime took place... we can identify the individuals.”
Clark said while the cameras can be a deterrent, so will the arrests the OPD makes.
“It sends a message [everywhere],” said Gettings. “’We take the safety and security of our citizens seriously.’”
Clark said the wireless camera system could be in place or well on its way to being in place in the fall.
Mark Newman can be reached at 683-5358 or by e-mail at mnewman@ottumwacourier.com.
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