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do with this spaced resumed. “We didn’t want this building to just sit there,” Solon City Administrator Cami Rasmussen said. “This building has served Solon for decades. We wanted it to continue serving the community, and partnering with the Sheriff's Office was a way to do that.” The building now operates as a working office for Johnson County deputies. While it is not fully staffed, officers use the site to complete reports, conduct administrative tasks, and connect to the department’s secure database. “Even though the cars have all the computers in them because of the design in the set-up, it's really uncomfortable to type a lengthy report in your car. You can get them out of Alli Walker the car to go in,” said Johnson County’s Sheriff Brad KunFor the Solon Economist kel. “Instead of the deputy having to drive back to Iowa city to type reports or to download their body camera and car SOLON — A little over one year after the Johnson County camera they can now go to the substation and do all those Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) opened a substation in downtown things.” Solon, city leaders say the move has improved public safety, The new location has led to increased patrol visibility in officer visibility, and has sustained the historic building’s Solon’s downtown area. Residents and visitors often see role in community life. sheriff's vehicles parked outside the substation; a presence Located at 223 S. Iowa Street, the former city hall, library, city officials say provides an added sense of safety. and fire station had sat mostly vacant since 2018, used “It’s that visibility that's so important,” Rasmussen said. mainly for storage after the city opened a new community center. But after COVID-19, the conversations about what to SUBSTATION | 2
Solon’s Sheriff's substation boosts visibility and community ties
Alli Walker | For the Solon Economist
Sheriff Herky mans his post outside the Johnson County Sheriff’s substation at 223 S. Iowa St. in Solon. The 6’tall fiberglass statue was one of six statues in Solon for last year’s Herky on Parade event and was painted and decorated by Tipton artist Matt O’Neil.
The Solon City Council looks to expand the downtown district while maintaining the city's unique feel Plans to grow the city came in 2015 with the city's comprehensive plan
Chris Umscheid | Solon Economist file photo
Solon Firefighters Breakfast Sunday, May 25
SOLON — The Solon Fire Department will hold their annual Firefighters Breakfast Sunday, May 25, at the Solon Firehouse, 400 Windflower Lane. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, and ham will be served 6:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at $10 for adults, $5 for kids 5-12, and free for kids under 5. The breakfast, a Solon tradition since 1963, serves as a fundraiser for unbudgeted expenses throughout the year (such as training opportunities) and also provides the firefighters with an opportunity to meet the public in a non-emergency setting centered around community fellowship.
INSIDE
area in all aspects, not just staying on that same latitude. Through the comprehensive plan process, community members reached out to the members of the committee to come up Jake Olson with a vision for the future of the For the Solon Economist city. “If this is an area that’s an eyeSOLON — Over the past sore for our community, and our decade, Solon officials have community is telling us we need come together in pursuit of mod- to do something with this area, ernizing the community while what can we do,” said Rasmusmaintaining the small town feel sen. the city is known for. In 2015, the Solon city governFixing the “eyesores” ment released a comprehensive plan to lead the charge on what It wasn’t until 2020 that plans the city would look like over the started to go into motion on how coming years. this expansion would look. This plan, created by the The area in question is a plot of comprehensive plan steering land on the corner of East North committee, looked to determine and North Dubuque streets that how to develop downtown, resi- consisted of three houses and dential, and community service a trailer park area for mobile areas. homes. Rasmussen described City Administrator Cami Ras- this area as an “eyesore” for the mussen said one of the biggest community and claims that city takeaways from this process was officials always thought of this the potential expansion of the area when talking about downcity's Main Street area. town expansion. Solon’s Main Street runs in an One of the houses came up for east-to-west direction. However, sale, enticing the city council to with talks of adding to the down- follow through with its previous town scene, city officials saw this plan of downtown development. as an opportunity to grow this The council pulled the trigger
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Jake Olson | For the Solon Economist
A view of the freshly demolished land strip found on E. North and N. Dubuque streets shows the vast potential of future development. on this purchase and set its comprehensive ideas in motion. After this purchase, the council targeted the trailer park land, which was at the time owned by one person who rented out three mobile units. “We put some feelers out for the owner of the trailer lot a few times over the years,” said Rasmussen. “We said, ‘This is part of our downtown development expansion. Are you interested?’
And over the years, we just heard, ‘No.’” Conversations were again initiated by the council in 2023 after the move of the Solon fire station. This time, the owner was very interested in the transaction, as long as the mobile home residents were given ample time to move from the area. Because this property has been a family
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