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To the editor:
For weeks residents have attempted to bring a critical, life-threatening public safety hazard to the attention of Webster city officials; the severely unmaintained hedges at 1409 Second Street. Measuring well over 8 feet in height, this massive visual obstruction directly violates Webster City Municipal Code, Sec. 50-150 (Visibility at Intersections), which strictly mandates a maximum height of 4 feet within required corner-lot sight triangles and setbacks to prevent blind spots for oncoming traffic.
Yet, despite formal documentation, photo evidence and a time-stamped code violation notice filed since mid-July, City Hall has maintained an alarming attitude of indifference. Rather than addressing a hazard where vehicles and pedestrians crossing from the north are entirely blinded to heavy commercial semi-truck traffic approaching from the west, the administration has chosen selective non-enforcement.
This administrative stonewalling goes beyond mere neglect. When this safety crisis and subsequent municipal inactivity were brought forward for public oversight, attempts to speak at a City Council meeting were met with procedural roadblocks. Details of intended public commentary distributed to internal office channels – where staff with familial ties to leadership are stationed – were leaked to preemptively shield municipal officials from accountability.
Because local leadership refuses to act on a known hazard tied directly to their own offices, formal complaints and notices of official city liability have now been filed with the Iowa Ombudsman , the Iowa Attorney General's Office under Iowa Code Chapter 27B (prohibiting unlawful administrative inactivity), and the ACLU of Iowa regarding the suppression of public speech.
It is time for City Hall to drop the stonewalling, enforce local ordinances equally and prioritize public safety over political protection. Until then, we all await an eventual happening that could have been prevented and let the courts decide who all is at fault.
Respectfully submitted
Paul Moberly
Williams, Iowa