Sioux City residents press council to use "specified crime property" code after repeated neighborhood violence

Jody Merkel, a long‑term resident and taxpayer, told the Sioux City City Council that "what began as an isolated...disturbances has escalated into sustained public safety crisis that's now persisted over 18 months," and asked the city to seek a municipal designation under Sioux City Municipal Code 8.8 for a structure she says is the center of ongoing drug activity.

Merkel said the house is inside walking routes for East Middle and Sunnyside Elementary schools and described multiple incidents, including what she called a video of a person conducting a drug transaction during soccer practice and a recent attempted murder where a suspect ran through her front yard. She said the homeowner, identified in public comment as Steven Starks, is jailed on multiple felony charges but that the property remained "a revolving door of drug activity, stolen property, and violence." Merkel provided the council with a brief timeline and photos she said document the activity.

Nicole (staff member) told the council there are "a couple of different options that we're looking at," including writing citations for municipal infractions or pursuing nuisance or specified‑crime‑property remedies. She said the city is meeting with the county attorney and noted past enforcement actions and arrests.

The person identified in the meeting as the police chief said officers and detectives have worked the location since at least September 2023 and that "there have been 30 calls for service to that residence, 20 were generated from the residence." He told council members that detectives had pursued enforcement wherever an action could be taken and that, since the stabbing, additional arrests had been made. "This is not anything that we take lightly," he said, and added that department commanders and detectives had met with neighborhood residents and held a station meeting to discuss options and limits to police authority.

Captain Chris Groves, Sioux City Police Department, Uniformed Services, urged neighbors to continue to call and report activity and said department members understand residents' frustration: "We will continue to come there and do what we have to do to deal with the problem. We will get to the bottom of it."

Council members said they had met with the chief, the city manager and legal staff and that city attorneys are drafting or reviewing possible ordinance changes to strengthen enforcement options. One council member told the resident group the matter had been elevated and would receive higher priority with the legal and police teams.

No formal council action was taken at the meeting; city staff said they will meet with the county attorney and the city attorney to review whether the specified‑crime‑property provisions in municipal code 8.8 can be used in this case and what additional measures might be available.

The council accepted Merkel's documentation and thanked neighbors for reporting evidence to police and bringing the matter to the council's attention; officials encouraged continued direct communication with detectives and neighborhood officers.