Canto makes first public appearance

OTTUMWA — Dressed in the decorative uniform of a firefighter, Sean Canto exuded the confidence of someone in his craft for over 30 years.

And yet, complacency isn’t an option.

Canto, who was officially named the new fire chief of the Ottumwa Fire Department last week, gave his first remarks to the community during Tuesday’s Ottumwa City Council meeting. He talked about his family lineage in fire safety, but also that fire service is a moving target.

“The fire service that my father started in the late 1960s is not the fire service of 2025. It continues to change. The service model of what we do has to continue to change,” he said. “Seconds count and minutes count, and what we do in public service is the same as the Ottumwa Police Department.

“We’re going to evaluate everything within the organization — our service levels, how we operate, our policies and procedures, our training,” Canto said. “We’re going to evaluate everything and when things need to be updated, we’re going to take the department to the next level and serve the citizens with the most efficient, effective service we can provide the community.”

The city had been without a chief since September 2023 when chief Tony Miller retired and was replaced by Pat Short on an interim basis. Earlier that year, the department was mired in multiple sexual misconduct and HIPPA violations.

Then, after a search for a permanent chief didn’t bear fruit for various reasons, the city in June attempted to hire a firm from Wisconsin to conduct oversight and evaluate the department in lieu of not having a chief. That agenda item sat tabled for six months before finally being removed Tuesday.

Canto’s hire provides those evaluation opportunities. For 10 years prior to arriving in Ottumwa, he was the City of Rochester Hills (Michigan) Chief of Fire and Emergency Services. He also spent time in fire departments in Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Ohio and Kentucky.

He also was sent to a pair of hurricane-ravaged cities in New Orleans (Katrina) and Baltimore (Isabella).

“I look forward to being here, look forward to being a part of the Ottumwa community,” he said. “My office door is always open. I’m going to look at the organization from the 10,000-foot view all the way down, and we’re going to take this organization on a journey.”

In other business:

— During a three-minute segment at the end of the meeting, resident Jerry Krafka was concerned about what stages the city will reconstruct West Mary Street once that project begins. The project will be let to the Iowa Department of Transportation in March and is a full reconstruction of Mary Street to Shaul Avenue, a distance of about 0.7 miles, and will stress traffic in the area, specifically near Liberty Intermediate School.

Public works director Phillip Burgmeier didn’t know how long the project would take, as it “depends on how much manpower they throw at it.”

“The school is there, so there’s a certain sequencing you have to do, but we’re planning on getting it all done in one year,” he said. “We’re going to stage it so that this section from the school to Ferry Street is done when school is out.”

Krafka was concerned about accessibility to his home on the north side of Mary Street.

“I just don’t know how big this project is going to be, because we can’t get out the back side,” he said. “Nobody has come to me and given me a handout that they’re going to be affecting my property. I’ve heard all types of rumors, but I’m just curious how the problems will be handled for people that live along that side of the street.”

— The council approved a rezoning ordinance behind the former Hy-Vee on the north side, which is city-owned land, so Blunt Investments can build a car wash. The council waived the final reading of the ordinance to approve it. The city had owned the two lots since 2015, and sold them for $5,000 per lot.

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