|
|
|
Last Updated: Mar 31, 2009 - 2:29:20 PM |
Only a small part of the East
Iowa Herald is on the Web.
For the best in East Iowa news and
features click here to
subscribe!
Iowa County Supervisor Ric Gerard during an intense discussion with road department employees. Mitch Traphagen Photo
|
MARENGO - On Friday, June 20, 2008, the Iowa County Board of Supervisors met - the meeting began with many on the Board discussing personal accounts and stories of property loss and grief related to the floods of 2008. Thankfully most of these were stories of people outside of Iowa County. While acknowledging that Iowa County did sustain significant damage in some areas most spoke in terms of how lucky the county was.
One pointed out that here in Iowa County we were inconvenienced but “over there,” referring to Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, people were devastated. Many thanks were given to levy manager Larry Moore, in regards to the levee and the care, the thought and the work that was put into keeping Marengo’s levee maintained.
A public hearing was opened on the plans, specifications and proposed form of contract for the removal of trees, brush and woody growth along drainage district 10 and 12 levee. It was discussed and the plans were approved with none opposed. The Board approved a contract with Brian Miller Excavating, LLC, for Drainage District Levee work as stated in the specifications. The total contract amount was $44,120.
Daryl Tower discussed a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) contract request with the board. The Board approved to authorize Ray Garringer to work with Robert Josten to develop a Tax Increment Finance agreement with Village Hospitality, LLC, for 16 years, with 85 percent incremental property tax revenue payments and a minimum assessment agreement of $13.5 million excluding land, for a proposed hotel.
In Road Department news, the story, which has continued for many weeks, had progressed to a small degree. There were visitors present and opinions once again were voiced by both the public and by the supervisors in the room. Supervisor Ric Gerard proposed that Paul Greufe, the county human resources consultant, who recently submitted a recommendation to the Board on possible layoffs, had perhaps, “not asked the right questions when he made that recommendation.” Gerard pointed out that “he wasn’t elected to make the decisions, this Board was.”
Garringer mentioned that perhaps “a non-union position has been thrown under the bus,” referring to Greufe’s recommendation the Weed Manager position be eliminated. The statement did not sit well with some of the road department employees present at the meeting and a strong discussion ensued following this remark. When one visitor asked why the offer for early retirement was specifically designed for union employees, Garringer replied, “because those are the positions that we need to eliminate.”
Gerard pointed out that the County Engineer had also requested that it be done that way.
Supervisor Linda Yoder motioned to not layoff any secondary road department employees at this time. This was seconded by Bill Keegan. Garringer, Charlie Montross and Gerard voted no, the motion failed.
Keegan motioned to extend the early separation offer to any union road department employee until the end of December 2008. Gerard, Montross and Garringer voted no. This motion also failed.
A motion was made by Garringer and seconded by Montross to table the secondary road department layoffs until September 12, 2008. All voted yes and the motion carried.
In other business, the board unanimously approved a contract with St. Lukes for psychiatric care in the county and also unanimously approved a contract for transit services with Rural Employment Alternatives, Inc.
Finally, the board approved a fireworks permit submitted by Chris Herr.
What follows is a public comments section. This is not from the Herald staff - it comes from other people and contains their opinions and theirs alone. The East Iowa Herald does not control the material that follows. We do, however, reserve the right to remove objectionable material at our discretion. By that we mean that we will edit or delete any content that we deem is inappropriate. By posting your comments, you are stating that you agree to these terms.
Click here to report a comment.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
© Copyright 2008 by The East Iowa Herald
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
Skies: PtcldyTemperature: 79F 26CDewpoint: 63F 17CRelative Humidity: 57%Wind: E at 3m - 5kBarometric Pressure: 30.08SUpdated: 10:02:49 PM