Mary Moore Johnson, a Polk County resident, filed a public complaint at the Board of Supervisors meeting about repeated violence and poor lighting at a Des Moines venue she called “the lumber yard,” and asked the board to take action after a recent incident left her granddaughter with a brain bleed.

Johnson told the board she visited the site after the assault and found a large crowd in the parking lot, minimal lighting and no visible security. “They allow them to go in this establishment at the age of 18 … they bring their own bottle in there, and they get drunk,” Johnson said. She said a separate recent incident at the same location had resulted in a young man’s death.

Board members acknowledged the complaint and described steps they would pursue. The board chair said he had spoken with the sheriff, who “assured me that they are taking appropriate actions from a law enforcement perspective,” and that the county would look into the matter from a community‑policing standpoint.

Supervisor Tom Hockensmith asked legal staff to review whether county action on licensing might be an option. A different supervisor (unnamed in the transcript) said he had requested that Public Works check the venue’s zoning compliance and lighting; county staff reported that a drive‑by inspection found parking‑lot lights functioning at that time but said the lights might be on timers.

The board did not take a formal vote on the complaint during the meeting; supervisors described follow‑up as an operational matter for the Sheriff’s Office, Public Works and county legal staff. Johnson continued to describe injuries to multiple young people, including stitches and dental injuries, and asked the board to consider the issue from the perspective of family safety.

Transcript excerpts show the board treated the comments as public comment and then discussed staff follow‑up; no regulatory or licensing action was approved at the meeting.