The City of Fayette and Upper Iowa University recently entered into a partnership to have the Fayette Police Department provide security for the Fayette Campus. Fayette Police Chief Richard Pisanti (left) and Jean Merkle, Dean of Students, (center) noted the positive impact the agreement will have. To handle its new responsibility, the police department recently hired two new officers, one of which was Anthony Landis (right).
College partners with local law enforcement
By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com
Upper Iowa University and the City of Fayette are in the infancy of an agreement for the Fayette Police Department to provide the school with security for its Fayette campus.
The City approved a three-year contract with UIU for the police services. It will cost the university approximately $100,000 per year with 2 percent inflation of the price every year during the contract.
Jean Merkle, dean of students at UIU, wouldn’t give specific numbers, but she noted the agreed-upon amount was approximately what the university was paying to G4S for its security services.
“[G4S] hired locally and we had some good local folks that certainly did a great job, but they don’t come with the experience that a certified police officer does,” Merkle said. “[G4S] covered 100 hours of the 168 hours in a week, and now [with the Fayette Police Department] it will pretty much be 24/7 coverage. There were gap times when we didn't have security on campus, and that won’t be an issue anymore.”