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Saddle Club seeks building at Joyce Park; council and staff flag water, hydrant and code concerns
Summary
Teresa Murray of the Keokuk Saddle Club requested a variance to construct a small meeting building at Joyce Park before fire hydrants and an 8-inch water main are installed; the fire chief said current 2-inch service and existing taps compromise required fire flow (minimum 1,500 gpm), and engineers estimated water-line extension costs at roughly $100,000–$300,000.
At a council workshop following the regular meeting, Teresa Murray, president of the Keokuk Saddle Club, presented plans for a 32-by-40 office/meeting building adjacent to the Saddle Club arena and asked the council to consider a variance or special-use permit that would allow construction before new hydrants are installed.
Murray said the club has insurance and grant-funded improvements and is seeking permission to apply for grants and proceed with building plans. "I'm Teresa Murray, I'm president of the Keokuk Saddle Club," she said, and described the proposed building and its intended use for meetings, 4-H, FFA and event support.
City staff and the fire department described infrastructure and code concerns. Staff summarized a written reply from Lynch Dallas (city attorneys) that the city may condition approval on public-safety measures — notably an 8-inch water main and hydrant installations — to secure adequate fire flow. Fire department representative Gabe said the existing 2-inch line run to the site is insufficient and that meeting code minimums require roughly 1,500 gallons per minute for fire protection; he described hydrant-spacing requirements (about every 400–500 feet) and on-site fire-apparatus access (turnarounds) as additional constraints.
Officials said some Saddle Club plumbing had tapped the Keokuk High School supply, which may have reduced capacity for the school’s sprinkler systems; staff said the club had previously been told to make a separate tap to the 10-inch main. Cost estimates discussed in the workshop ranged from roughly $100,000 (low estimate) to $200,000–$300,000 for running an 8–10-inch water main back to Joyce Park and installing hydrants, with additional electrical infrastructure likely needed for future phases.
Discussion included mutual-aid and automatic mutual-aid distinctions: former fire-chief Corey Palmer noted the airport uses an automatic mutual-aid setup that pages multiple departments immediately; staff said setting up automatic mutual aid for Joyce Park might be possible but would not change water-flow requirements. Saddle Club representatives pushed back that they had coordinated with committees and the school and described long-standing volunteer improvements at the site; the fire chief and staff said the concerns are about municipal code compliance and liability.
Next steps: council treated the workshop as informational and directed staff to return the item to a future agenda with options (e.g., time-limited extension, conditional approvals, or required infrastructure work) so the council can take formal action.
