Newton officials encourage citizens to sign city’s petition requesting judge uphold demo of damaged building

The Newton City Council is encouraging residents and local business owners to sign its petition requesting the courts to order the owner of a downtown building heavily damaged by the 2020 derecho to demolish the property at once and follow through with a settlement agreement established two years ago.

Council member Randy Ervin said the mayor and other city officials have already been soliciting signatures for the petitions. According to a copy of the petition, it states that a settlement agreement between the City of Newton and Chedester Properties, LLC, which owns the building, was signed on Oct. 2, 2023.

The petition states that, per the settlement agreement, Jeremy Chedester agreed to demolish the property at 209 W. Second St. N. at his sole cost and expense no later than Feb. 2, 2024. However, the building still stands. The petition requests the court to order Chedester to demolish the building by Nov. 1, 2025.

“It seems like there’s a lot of disinformation flowing out there that city council is not doing anything and we could have torn it down and the city could have done this and the city could have done that,” Ervin said. “But the people making those statements really have no knowledge and really do not know.”

Ervin said Chedester claimed responsibility of the building and acknowledged he would demolish it, but he has not done so.

“So there’s a lot of misconceptions that it’s because of the people sitting up here, and it’s not,” Ervin said. “So what we need is we need people to sign petitions like this that we can present to the court or have our attorneys present to the court and say, look, the City of Newton is tired of this.”

Ervin added that the court systems should hold Chedester accountable and fine him for being in contempt of court.

“Why is the judicial system not working? Why are the judges not holding him accountable to get that building tore down? That’s the statement that needs to get out to the public, not that the city council is not trying,” Ervin said. “Because we are trying … We’re doing what we can as a city.”

Mayor Evelyn George said the judge at the most recent court hearing last month told Chedester he hopes he will do what he says he will do and start the demolition work on or around Sept. 2. That day has already passed. George said the last time she drove by the building there was no activity.

Another petition — different from the city’s — also made progress online prior to the council meeting. The petition was created by “Derecho Monument Trustees,” a moniker for the 2020 Derecho Monument Facebook page, which makes humorous posts about the building and its place in the community.

The online petition states the city government “failed to take any meaningful action to force demolition of the ‘dangerous and infested’ structure.” It also claims the city could have taken ownership of the building at any point in the lawsuit under state law but instead blamed they were at the mercy of the courts.

“This is simply not true,” the unknown petitioner said. “The truth is that the city doesn’t want to incur the cost of demolishing this structure, and is now grasping at straws over four years into a lawsuit that (as of Aug. 28, 2025) does not even have a future court date set. It’s time for a different approach!”

Instead of requesting the court to order Chedester to demolish the property, the signers of the online petition indicate they will not vote to elect or re-elect any number of city council members who were in office in August 2020 unless demolition of the building begins before Oct. 1, 2025.

As of press time, the online petition had acquired 104 verified signatures.

PAST REPORTING OF THE CHEDESTER PROPERTY

Others have inquired about the demolition in the past, and a local business owner even approached the council worried about the safety of nearby buildings.

In April 2024, Kelly Koenen was holding back tears when she told council how worried she was about the building she owns being next door to a property which sustained damage from the derecho. The owner’s failure to repair the building is in large part why the city sought legal recourse on behalf of citizens.

Koenen Chiropractic operates at 200 N. Second Ave. W. in downtown Newton. Dr. Jay Koenen, Kelly’s husband, has been offering chiropractic care there for the past 25 years. Kelly Koenen this past spring expressed her disappointment in what she affirmed was a lack of communication about the demolition.

“None of us have asked for this,” Kelly Koenen said during the public participation portion at a past city council meeting. “Not you guys and certainly not us. So we just want to work together to get this resolved. It has been a thorn in this community long enough.”

Matthew Brick, the city’s attorney, informed council members of the settlement agreement back in October 2023, saying the building must be dealt with as soon as humanly possible. He also explained that the pandemic and the death of one of the defendants have delayed the process further.

Still, Brick has defended the wait because in the end it is saving citizens of Newton from paying for the demolition.

“The legal fees and the staff time (are) significantly less than the six figures that it would have cost to rip this building down,” Brick said.