After months of contentious discussion and a measure in the general election that was decided by a one-vote difference, the City of Mt. Union has officially become an unincorporated community. According to John Marek, who had served as the last mayor of Mt. Union, they turned in the election certification to the Iowa City Development Board, and the city’s dissolution was made official at the board’s meeting last week. Marek says they showed documentation that the city had cleared approximately 95% of its debt, which is an important caveat to unincorporate, and the rest will be covered by any remaining city funds.

Some community members have expressed concerns about services being taken away, but Marek assures them in most instances this will not be the case. He says they will still have the same coverage from the sheriff’s department and fire department, and the roads will continue to be maintained by the county as normal. However, Marek admits the city may seem a little darker now, “People are worried about the street lights going out, and they are, but not all the street lights. In fact, the county is keeping several lights on that are along the main thoroughfares going through town. I think we have approximately 32 lights in town, maybe about 10 are going to be left on by the county.” He adds, individual homeowners can adopt street lights in front of their houses to keep them on, which will cost between $12-$17 a month. To hear more about Mt. Union officially becoming unincorporated, listen to the two-part In Touch with Southeast Iowa interview with Marek at KCIIRadio.com.