The Fairfield City Council remains divided over how to proceed with replacing the golf cart bridge at Walton Lake. At the Sept. 8 meeting, the council split 3–3 on whether to pause the city’s plan to drain the lake and replace the bridge with a culvert. The tie meant the motion to delay the project failed. A vacant council seat, left open after the death of Judy Ham in June, prevented a majority from forming either way.
The vote fell along clear lines: Council members Terri Kness, Doug Flournoy, and Matthew Rowe supported pausing the project to explore alternatives, while Tom Twohill, Paul Gandy, and Elizabeth Estey opposed the pause and favored continuing with the plan already approved.
Flournoy, who introduced the motion, said he no longer supports the current plan the city approved of earlier this year. He raised concerns about costs, ecological impacts, and the lack of information available when the council first voted to hire Drish Construction for the $196,000 project. Flournoy and others pointed to guidance from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which has said a bridge is better for the lake’s ecology than a culvert. Some of the council wish they had the guidance of the DNR earlier in the process. He also warned of financial pressures as the city’s fire station project is already straining contingency funds, even before a single brick has been laid.
Supporters of the pause argued that a Missouri company had offered a prefabricated bridge for approximately $37,000—a significant decrease in price compared to the current contract, especially if additional expenses arise from irrigating the golf course during the drawdown. They also stressed that replacing the bridge with a culvert could harm water circulation in the lake.
Other council members and city officials countered that the decision had been thoroughly discussed since 2024, with multiple replacement options reviewed before choosing the culvert as the most affordable solution. They noted that the city owns the land the golf course sits on, and maintaining amenities like this bridge falls within the city’s responsibilities. Officials also emphasized that the lake would have to be lowered regardless, and it would naturally refill afterward.
Further complicating the matter, the Iowa DNR issued a stay on the lake drawdown after receiving an appeal from resident Ed Noyes. His filing questioned the constitutionality of the city’s plan, arguing that using public funds for what he views as a primarily private facility—the Walton Club—may conflict with provisions in the Iowa Constitution that restrict public expenditures for private benefit. The appeal also challenged the city’s interpretation of its lease with the Walton Club, claiming the city is obligated only to maintain the golf cart bridge, not to fully replace it.
Other legal and procedural hurdles were raised as well. The city attorney explained that challenges to the Drish Construction contract needed to be filed within 30 days of its approval in March, a deadline that has long passed.
An expedited hearing on the stay order is scheduled for next Monday, which could determine whether the project remains on hold or is allowed to move forward.
