While the Hiawatha City Commission voted to adopt an ordinance establishing a city land bank just a few moments prior, the appointment of trustees will wait at least another two weeks, as a split vote nixed the immediate selection of the presented candidates.
Commissioner Toni Hull stated clearly that she would vote against the list, as she felt the commission lacked input into how the group was comprised. Hull said that it is the commissionâs job to appoint trustees, and felt that the list did not reflect that. Mayor Bill Collins said that he had presented several names for the list and was told that they did not meet the qualifications outlined as experts. Hull and Collins both commented that they did not like the language used in the definition of expert, and both also noted that no realtors were included.