Supervisors canvass November 8 election results, advised that Public Safety Center is 50% complete and on track for March completion

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, November 14 to address a variety of topics including the Public Safety Center pay request, English Bench and Little Paint Watershed repairs and acknowledging the retirement of a valued Secondary Roads Department employee.

During the Public Comments portion of the meeting, Doug Mullen expressed some concerns about having only a shared Conservation Officer with Clayton County also covering Allamakee County. Mullen described Allamakee County as being geographically unique without a Conservation Officer to the north or east while bordering the Mississippi River. Mullen expressed concerns with poaching and deer hunting using artificial light, which is illegal. Mullen recommended that the Supervisors contact Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Chuck Gipp and schedule a meeting on the Conservation Officer staffing issue, otherwise Allamakee County is going to lose its best wild game to poaching before hunting seasons begin.
Allamakee County Conservation Director Jim Janett clarified that there are two officers currently covering Allamakee with one that is shared with Clayton. Due to an impending retirement, that may be reduced to one officer covering Allamakee, which is the issue Mullen had addressed earlier in the meeting. Janett expressed that coverage from the Conservation Officers has been consistently good, as in years past.

The voiding and reissuing of a lost warrant to the Election Source was approved. With the original check voided, this measure approved a new payment to be reissued after the original had been lost. This was a payment for security seals for election purposes.

The part-time hiring of Kathy Lensing for the seasonal position at the Relief Office was approved at $12 per hour. This position is necessary due to the Relief Office workload increase during the holiday season.

The resolution authorizing signors on the previously approved Kerndt Brothers Savings Bank line of credit for the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center was approved. This involves the revolving line of credit available for the Driftless Center to meet interim financing needs during construction and during the fundraising process as grants and donations become available on a set schedule for reimbursement.

Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour presented information regarding fuel quotes for the Secondary Roads Department. Ridenour explained that existing contracts will be expiring and price quotes were sought for 2017 and 2018. Ridenour recommended Fauser Energy of Elgin as low bidder, which was approved by the Supervisors.

Ridenour also discussed the quotes that were received for the English Bench and Little Paint Watershed repairs. Ridenour explained that the quotes received were above his projections, likely due to the time of year and current workload of contractors. Ridenour discussed the prioritization of debris clean-up and repair projects relating to the potential of ice buildup and weather allowing the projects to be addressed in the spring.

Ridenour advised that the Upper Iowa River does have the potential for ice build-up on debris. He recommended rejecting all bids at this time and to give the County Engineer the latitude to address emergency projects as necessary. The Supervisors approved to have Ridenour use his engineering judgment in cleaning up debris in priority areas that have potential for further risk during the winter storm and spring flood seasons. The Supervisors discussed a tour of northern Allamakee County flood debris and ongoing projects with November 28 as a tentative date.

The Professional Services Agreement for the Green Valley Road Bridge Replacement was approved. Ridenour described this as a standard Department of Transportation (DOT) agreement for consultants involving the City of Waukon, Allamakee County and Fehr-Graham Engineering.

The retirement of Secondary Roads Department employee Wayne Johnson was acknowledged. Johnson's final day is November 16, which is 29 years to the day he started in 1987. Ridenour commented that he is a great operator, and that with Johnson's retirement there is also a loss of many years of experience for the County.

Allamakee County Auditor Denise Beyer discussed the Canvass of the 2016 General Election results after the Supervisors adjourned and reconvened as the Board of Canvassers. Beyer explained that one additional absentee ballot sent from San Antonio, TX had been received and those results were entered and reports were rerun to reflect the additional absentee ballot. Beyer explained that ballots postmarked by November 7 are accepted until canvass time. The Supervisors certified the canvass summary, approved the abstract of votes and declared the election winners as Supervisor Dan Byrnes read aloud the results into public record. The Board of Canvassers adjourned and the Supervisors reconvened.

An update regarding the Public Safety Center progress was provided by John Hansen and Jeremy Oden of Midwest Construction Consultants. They advised that the project is 50% complete with March as the projected completion time. Oden provided specifics about the cement block cells, and further advised that the detention door frames are now set and sprinklers are 75% complete, with plumbing having been installed. Oden further explained that the parking lot will likely be finished this week with the south-side sidewalks to be completed next.

Oden and Hansen also discussed the well progress. Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick discussed the advantages of expanding the prisoner capacity with additional cell space now, as opposed to the cost and problems of doing so after the facility is in operation. Hansen described the work done with conduit installation that was needed for the E911 requirements at $8,133.41, which was the first change order discussed. Secondly, Hansen discussed the change order for work done by 7 Rivers Mechanical on the storm sewer on the east side of the building at $6,624.00.

Hansen also recommended a change order not to exceed $9,434.00 for 7 Rivers Mechanical for the materials and labor necessary to complete the gas and water main project. All three change orders were approved by the Supervisors. The pay request for work completed as of November 1 was then approved by the Supervisors.