Pratt begins service on Monticello City Council


Monticello Mayor Brian Wolken swears in new city council member Gray “Butch” Pratt (left) on Feb. 5. Pratt fills Wolken’s at-large seat after he was elected mayor in November. (Photo by Kim Brooks)
By: 
Kim Brooks
Express Editor

     Monticello has a new face serving the community.

     On Feb. 5, Mayor Brian Wolken swore in the new council member, Gary “Butch” Pratt. Pratt serves on Wolken’s at-large seat, which was vacated upon his election as mayor.

     Pratt submitted his letter of intent to serve on the Monticello City Council in min-January.

     Pratt spent several years of his younger life living in Monticello, from kindergarten through second grade. His family later returned to the area during his sixth-grade year of school. Pratt graduated from Monticello High School with the Class of 1962.

     He and his wife, Kathy, lived in Northeast Iowa (Fayette County) for 25 years when she ran a flower shop. They then moved out of the State of Iowa for 15 years and recently moved back to their hometown area of Monticello in November 2016.

     Pratt has previous city government experience serving on the Fayette City Council for two terms.

     “That’s one reason I felt I could serve,” he said. “I know the ins and outs.”

     He was Director of the Fayette County Conservation Board for four years, and served as a deputy sheriff for Fayette County for 10 years.

     Since moving back to Monticello, the Pratts spend time volunteering at their church, First Presbyterian, as well as the Monticello Chamber, food pantry and Riverside Gardens.

     Pratt said he wanted to put his hat in the ring to serve on the city council because, first and foremost, he loves Monticello.

     After attending several council meetings as a spectator, he admitted that there have been some decisions the council has made that he either agreed or disagreed with.

     “I wanted to offer a new perspective and help out,” he said.

     Sharing his longstanding history in Monticello, Pratt’s father, Roger Pratt, was a former police chief in Monticello.

     “We have a lot of family ties in the area,” said Pratt. Kathy was born in the Wyoming area. “We’ve been back and forth a lot over the years to see family. We have deep roots here.”

     Pratt has 30 years of longevity working in industry and manufacturing.

     “I started working at Energy,” he said of the Monticello manufacturing company.

     Pratt said with his service to the city and residents, he just hopes to do some good, not having any sort of agenda.

     “I believe that when something is done for a good cause it should not offend the neighbors and should be corrected,” he stated in his letter.

     “I would like to see the city somehow clean up some of the eyesores in the city and to restore the old homes and other buildings that are in disrepair,” he added.

     Pratt said most people in Monticello know him by his nickname, “Butch.”

     He and his wife have two children, seven grandkids, and eight great grandkids.

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