Supervisors discuss variety of road and other matters in regular session

by Bob Beach

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing during its regular meeting Monday, April 6 regarding the proposed vacation of a segment of County Road 529 in Yellow River State Forest. Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour said that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has indicated that the segment, approximately 0.6 miles in length, would continue to be used as a public use trail for as long as it remains practical.
Ridenour said that he has not received any objections to the proposed vacation and, as there were no comments from the public, the Board closed the public hearing. The Board will consider a resolution to vacate the road segment during its regular meeting next week.
Ridenour also presented the Board with a proposed agreement with Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission regarding federal funding for an overlay of a 6.3-mile section of County Road A26 near New Albin. He said that $2.8 million of the $4.1 million project cost would be paid with federal funds, while the remaining $1.3 million would come from the County's Farm-to-Market account. The Board approved the agreement for the project, which is scheduled for fiscal year 2019.
Ridenour also asked the Board to set a public hearing regarding the vacation of a portion of McCabe Drive at the request of adjacent property owners. The Board set Monday, May 4 at 10:30 a.m. as the date and time for the public hearing. Supervisor Dan Byrnes abstained from the vote as he owns property adjacent to the section of the road considered for vacation.
The Board also accepted the low bids for five Secondary Roads projects on Ridenour's recommendation. JB Holland Construction was the low bidder for three of those projects (a flood repair project and two box culvert replacement projects) and Brennan Construction of Lansing submitted the low bids for two bridge repair projects. Ridenour noted that the total of the bids for the projects is slightly lower than total estimated project costs.
Mike Bergen, Director of HAWC Partnerships for Children, informed the Board that HAWC had received notice from its current employer of record that it would no longer serve that capacity. Bergen said that HAWC is now in search of a new employer of record and that the counties served by HAWC (Howard, Allamakee, Winneshiek and Clayton) are being asked to submit proposals. Bergen said that the employer of record would be reimbursed by HAWC for all employment expenses plus a small administrative fee. Allamakee County Auditor Denise Beyer told the Board that the addition of two staff to the County's payroll would not present a problem for her office. The Board directed Beyer to develop a proposal to present to HAWC.
The Board also met with Allamakee County Sanitarian Laurie Moody to discuss a survey sent by Dickinson County regarding the Master Matrix system for approving large animal confinement operations. Moody said that she is not sure how to respond to the survey, which asks whether the Master Matrix system should be "repaired" to allow for more local control. She pointed out that she has only been through the Master Matrix approval process once in over 20 years.
Supervisor Byrnes said that the questions on the survey are too vague, so he would be responding with "no opinion." Chairman Larry Schellhammer said that there are a lot of misconceptions about the County's involvement in approving confinement operations, pointing out that only large operations trigger the Master Matrix process. He added that he would like to be informed when a confinement operation is being constructed (even if it is not large enough to trigger the Master Matrix) and that he would like to see an "industrial ag" classification for zoning and building permit purposes. All three members of the Board will fill out the survey individually.
In other business, the Board met with Allamakee County Courthouse Head Custodian John Roe, who recommended adding exit doors to the Relief Office and Department of Human Services (DHS) office for safety reasons, and the Board directed him to contact DHS for approval of the plan. Roe also presented the Board with bids for new air conditioning units for the computer server room and the Case Management office in the courthouse. The Board accepted Vick's Plumbing and Heating's bid of $12,325, which does not include a $200 rebate for one of the units. The Board also approved the hiring of Mara Mathis of Monona as the new part-time Victim and Witness Coordinator starting April 13 at $16 per hour.