MUSCATINE, Iowa – Without an assistant police chief, things can get a little hectic.

At Thursday’s Muscatine City Council meeting, Police Chief Gary Coderoni requested the creation of a police captain position. A captain would be “in between chiefs and lieutenants,” Coderoni said.

The department has been operating without an assistant chief since the departure of Mike Scott, who left in October to become chief of police in Smithfield, N.C.

To help alleviate deficiencies in the command structure, Coderoni said a captain would be a good idea.

The position’s responsibilities would include  media and information, Street Crimes Unit, training, animal control and related functions dealing with budgets.

“There’s a difference between what they do and what we do,” Coderoni said of his lieutenants.

Both the captain and assistant chief positions would be civil service positions, and those first eligible will be from the “same pool,” or in the police department, and interviewed by the Civil Service Commission, he said.

The captain’s position would require the elimination of one lieutenant’s position and an extra $2,000 per year in salary for the captain.

The motion for a captain passed unanimously at Thursday’s meeting.

In other news the Council:

— Approved unanimously the Automatic Mutual Aid Agreement with the Fruitland Fire Department.

The agreement will allow for quick response and communication between the Muscatine Fire Department and Fruitland specifically for structure fires.

“Basically it will get the closest engine to that fire,” Fire Chief Jerry Ewers said. “It’s a win-win for both communities.”

A similar agreement was made between 1993 and 2000 but covered more than structure fires, Ewers said.

Emergency medical services will also be provided to the city of Fruitland.

— Approved unanimously the final reading of the mall rezoning agreement, requesting the land near Muscatine Mall to be rezoned from C-1, commercial neighborhood and general commercial, to S-1, special development district.

— Approved unanimously the employment of new city administrator Gregg Mandsager, who will start in Muscatine on Nov. 30.

Mandsager is succeeding A.J. Johnson, who left in June to become city manager in Urbandale.

— Approved to pass on the second and third readings for right-of-way purchase request from Toyota of Muscatine.

Toyota of Muscatine recently changed locations to 3000 N. U.S. Highway 38. Toyota has requested the land, priced at $1.05 per square foot, to park new vehicles and relocate its business sign.

— Approved unanimously to accept a grant offer from the Iowa Department of Transportation for Municipal Airport improvements.

The improvements include a hangar access road, which may be used for future access to the armory project when it is constructed.

— Approved unanimously the agreement between Bi-State Regional Commission and the city of Muscatine for a Community Development Block Grant application with the state.

The application concerns the extension of a sanitary sewer and lift station to serve real estate recently voluntarily annexed into the city.

Funding up to $800,000 is available for the project through the Iowa Department of Economic Development’s block grant program.