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Last Updated: Aug 22, 2008 - 12:10:50 AM |
Iowa County Supervisor Charles Montross. Mitch Traphagen File Photo
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MARENGO - On August 15, 2008, the Board of Supervisors met with Charles Montross, Ray Garringer, Linda Yoder, Bill Keegan and Ric Gerard present.
Yoder made a motion, which Montross seconded, to place the following public measure on the ballot for consideration: Public Measure A, “Shall the Iowa County Board of Supervisors fill the offices of Dayton Township Trustee and Clerk by appointment as the terms of office of the incumbent township officers expire?” All voted yes and the motion to add this public measure to the ballot carried.
According to the Iowa County “Iowa-City Election Information” and Township Trustee List, the 2006 General Election notes show that all townships passed the Public Measure to have Trustees and Clerks appointed instead of elected except Dayton. The current elected individuals are: Willard Meyer of Deep River, whose term expires 12/31/2008, Scott Grimm of Deep River, Michael Sauter of Deep River, and Julie Meyer of Deep River, all having a term which expires 12/31/2010.
A motion was made by Montross and seconded by Keegan to set a public hearing for September 5, 2008, at 9:30 a.m. for a fiscal year 2009 budget amendment. All voted yes and the motion carried.
The following amendments are listed in the proposal:
There is a total of $50,000 in added revenue. The General Fund shows a $10,000 amendment for Veteran Affairs due to a state grant. The Drainage District shows a $40,000 budget amendment for Levy Repair south of Highway 212.
There is a total of $233,883 in added expenses. Of that, $68,883 is from the General Fund and includes a $10,000 amendment for Veteran Affairs. In the Administration area, there is a $5,883 amendment for the courthouse as well as a $53,000 amendment for GIS. Also included, is a Governmental Services amendment for $25,000 due to elections. In Non-Program areas there is a $140,000 amendment for the Drainage District.
According to Linda Griggs, Iowa County Auditor, the Drainage District amendment is $100,000 due to the fact that the Bear Creek projects were not completed by June 30 and $40,000 due to tree removal.
These Drainage District amendments are, as Gerard put it, “Due to an abnormal amount of precipitation causing an unforeseen delay.”
Sam Gipple, Transportation Director met with the Board to update them on transportation issues, including tentative Williamsburg pre-school schedules. Gipple said Williamsburg had given him thirty-two enrollments at that time but he had only received six requests from Marengo so far after sending eighteen applications out.
He showed a figure of $102,894 in State and Federal Fiscal Year 2009 operating assistance estimates as compared to the $100,532 budgeted amount for the fiscal year 2009. Gipple says the budgeted amount is the same as the amount used last year.
“Payroll, fuel and repairs are our big issues,” said Gipple. “The department has used twenty-one percent of its fuel budget so far this year in approximately two months. This does include June, which is paid in July. Ten percent of the payroll budget has been spent and twenty-seven percent of the repair budget has been spent.” Gipple then explained that they have all of the buses where they need them after these repairs and they may go for the next two or three months with only a couple of hundred dollars in expenses. “Having Butch Healey complete some of the work is really paying off for us,” Gipple said.
He also discussed the upcoming route match and transportation conference in Omaha, Nebraska. The motion was made by Garringer and seconded by Montross to approve Sam Gipple, Transportation Director, as the person Iowa County will send to the 18th National Conference on Rural, Public and Intercity Bus Transportation on October 19-22, 2008. All voted yes and the motion carried.
Jin Yeene Neumann, County Engineer met with the board to discuss Secondary Road issues which are ongoing. She also informed the Board that FEMA had closed it’s dates for the Disaster Event on Tuesday, August 13. Later, Neumann clarified, saying, “What that means is, within that event date, which was May 15, 2008, to August 13, 2008, we were able to claim anything that qualified, such as the wind damage from the high winds that came through Williamsburg recently, which we are claiming. At this time, we cannot claim anything else unless we get declared again.”
Montross asked Neumann about the results of her application for extra money that the DOT (Department of Transportation) had made available.
Neumann replied, “In that package I was not allowed to apply for money for any bridge that is already in the Five Year Plan or in the STIP, (Statewide Transportation Improvement Program). The only bridge that qualified was the one north of Victor on the Poweshiek-Iowa County Line. This is the bridge that you cross just before entering Victor, an approximately 229 foot bridge. From what we’ve seen, it looks like it will need to be replaced in the next five years anyway and I believe it’s going to be an $850,000 bridge.”
“If that comes through, the state would pay for eighty percent of getting that bridge back to its original condition with inspects,” Neumann said. “We would pay for half of the remaining twenty percent and Poweshiek County would pay for the other half. I’m going to have to write up something saying that we no longer build timber bridges and what we do normally design. The application is due on August 15. With signatures from all of the Supervisors and me, I’ll submit that and we should then get a concrete bridge out of it.”
In other issues, Neumann said that one of the golf courses has approached her on an NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) project that they’d like to get in on.
“They need a sponsor and since the department is sponsoring other NRCS projects they will probably sponsor the golf course project as well,” she said
In other news, Gerard mentioned that the Amana school parking lot has been really torn up and that the school has requested a temporary entrance, since the school year is about to begin, and they are working with Neumann on getting that accomplished.
Gerard also asked Neumann to confirm that the department is going to go back to a five day work week after Labor Day. She replied, “Yes and I’ve had mixed reviews on that. Some feel that they were better able to get a lot of work done on the four day work week and others felt that it really cramped their style.”
The Board reviewed a letter they plan to send to all employees on conduct related to innuendos, rumors, gossip and procedures for expressing concerns about a wrong doing or an area of neglect within a department. By sending this letter out, the Board hopes to clarify proper procedures and squelch the “rumor mill and backstabbing” behaviors.
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