Craig Sash, center, pictured this past February during a Tama County Zoning Commission meeting in Toledo. Also pictured, Sash’s then-fellow commissioners including (from left) Wade Mitchell, Doug Dvorak, Steve Peterson, and Carol Meyer. This past Monday, the Board of Supervisors removed Sash, whose term was not slated to end until June 2027, from his seat in a vote of 5-0. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

This week’s Tama County Board of Supervisors meeting was filled with contentious discourse. The tension in the room came from a single agenda item; a resolution to remove a member from the Tama County Zoning Commission.

The agenda was made public on the county website the Friday before, which usually would include a copy of the resolution itself. This one did not. Instead, the resolution was made public on the morning of the meeting.

Craig Sash, a member of the Zoning Commission, was the first to comment during the meeting, asking which of his fellow Zoning Commission members the supervisors were throwing off the board.

“We’ll get to that when we get to the agenda item,” Board Chairman Mark Doland said.

As Sash was responding with a comment regarding the supervisors’ transparency, he was given a copy of the resolution by former Zoning Commissioner Bob Vokoun. The supplied resolution stated that it was in fact Craig Sash himself who was the subject of the removal order. As for the reason for Sash’s removal, the resolution cites ethical standards and states that Sash had been engaged in “unprofessional communication with the public,” which compromised the integrity and function of the Zoning Commission.

Sash went on to comment further and ask for a specific example of his “unprofessional communication with the public.” He did not receive an answer from the board. Other members of the public including Kendall Jordan and Karen Murty inquired as to whether Sash’s questions would be answered.

“I think this is a very big mistake you are making. This is obviously a part of your witch hunt, where I am not a TCAT member, and you guys don’t want any outside opinions,” Sash said.

The resolution to remove Sash from the Zoning Commission was approved with little comment from the supervisors. According to the resolution, Sash has 30 days to request a public hearing.

When the second public comment time opened up, Sash stated that he never made any inappropriate communications in his capacity as a Zoning Commission member, but he has in his private life.

“But I’m pretty sure I’m protected by the First Amendment. I don’t think that’s a hill you guys want to try to defend. I’m reasonably sure we are in America yet, Tama County is in America yet, aren’t they?” he asked.

The supervisors had the same response to this question as they did to the majority of Sash’s others. They said nothing.

Also, during the first public comment time, former Supervisor Bill Faircloth made a mention of Sash’s then-possible removal.

“If you are gonna do that, I would ask that you make an ordinance to remove Curt Hilmer from the board of supervisors, for unprofessional conduct,” Faircloth said.

Faircloth went on to cite a recent meeting where he misremembered Hilmer telling him to “Shut up,” where Hilmer actually told Faircloth to “Sit down and just put up with it.”

Tama County Engineer Ben Daleske reported that they replaced the cap on the 340th Street Bridge, and will be working on finishing up the bridge this week. The tanker cars on G Avenue have been finished and has been opened up. The regrade of K Avenue north of the shop to 270th Street continues, as they have finished the first section and have moved on to the second. They are also working on cleaning up the ditches and reshaping the road of 370th Street just east of H Avenue.

Claims totaling $271,408.73 have been approved.