Lake Cooper Foundation urges Keokuk to amend ordinance so volunteers can offer warming hours

Keokuk — During public comment at the Feb. 6 Keokuk City Council meeting, Robert Coran, president and a founder of the Lake Cooper Foundation, described a volunteer-run warming effort and asked the council to revise the municipal ordinance that defines "designated public buildings" so his organization's event center could legally host short-term warming hours.

Coran said the foundation opened its renovated event space for a few hours in the evening—providing coffee, cocoa, seating, puzzles and the ability for people to charge phones—and that volunteers supervised the site at all times. "We don't want to be an overnight shelter for sleeping but come in, get warm, have a cup of coffee," Coran said, noting safety concerns and a desire to avoid hypothermia as winter conditions return.

Coran said his group is not seeking to host overnight sleeping because the building lacks a sprinkler system; instead, he asked the council to broaden the ordinance's definition of "designated public building" to include facilities like the Lake Cooper Foundation event center when volunteers meet safety requirements. He said the Foundation is willing to invite law enforcement to tour the space and that volunteers have been on site when people used the warming hours.

A city official told Coran the council could place the request on a future code-revision docket for review. Council members thanked Coran for offering the space and for coordinating volunteers.

Next steps: The council indicated staff would refer the request to code revision for review so the city can consider whether the definition of acceptable temporary warming locations should be broadened.