Krista Burton lives in the Davis Street area and has two young daughters. She was concerned about what types of offenders would be living in the home.

“One of the things I do is advocate for kids,” said Burton, who is a teacher. “Are these men sex offenders?”

Harrison said the people they’re screening aren’t sex offenders and mentioned Iowa’s 2,000-foot rule pertaining to where offenders live.

Cathie Taylor and her two sons live in the area and said the boys “are scared. Their father has been in a correctional facility” and it’s been “one step forward and three steps back” with him since 1997.

“All it takes is for one” former prison inmate “to backfire,” Taylor added.

Teri Jacob lives on North Davis Street and said she’s “married to a man who benefited” from a Missouri program similar to Brothers Keeper House.

James Jacob said he’s the “same person who drove intoxicated” through the city and “did it repeatedly.”

“My life changed one day. I got a chance to live in one of these houses. There are 13 of them in Columbia, Mo.,” he said.

Gary Bergman said Jim Jacob is “a good person” but it’s impossible “to educate the neighborhood in a two-hour meeting.”

Planning Technician Chad Carlson said the proposed house doesn’t meet all the zoning criteria. For example, the property lacks proper entrance and exit, the Brother’s Keeper House would have an “adverse effect” on the neighborhood.

Cindy Toopes can be reached at (641) 683-5376 or via e-mail at cindy@ottumwacourier.com.