Government : July 6 and 8 Board of Supervisor meetings

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July 6, 2010 - The Benton County Board of Supervisors met in regular adjourned session with Supervisors Sanders, Buch and Vermedahl present. The chair called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.in the boardroom room of the courthouse.

Moved by Buch, seconded by Vermedahl, to approve the minutes of June 29, 2010. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Moved by Vermedahl, seconded by Buch, to acknowledge the receipt and filing of the corrected annual manure management plan filed by Porken Farm for the facility located at 6168 Hwy 21, Dysart, Iowa. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Moved by, seconded by, to adopt Resolution #10-52, AMENDING THE FY11 BUDGET. Voting aye were Sanders, Buch, and Vermedahl. Nays none. Motion carried.

Moved by Vermedahl, seconded by Buch, to acknowledge the hire of Chad Galli as a part-time seasonal employee, effective July 1, 2010, at a wage of $9.00 per hour, and the hire of Zach Parmater as a full-time park ranger at Hannen park, effective July 7, 2010, or later, at a salary of $29,048.30. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Steve Meyer and Scott Hansen with the Emergency Management met with the board regarding applying for the I-Jobs grant to be used on the new emergency operations center. The issue being considered is whether to approve emergency management to file a Notice of Intent to Apply for the I-Jobs II grant. The grant requires the county to implement Smart Planning Principles in the county’s comprehensive plan. Hansen stated that the rules have not been written yet and probably will not be available until later. The board discussed whether they would consider implementing Smart Planning Principles; however believed they did not have enough information to make that determination. The board placed a phone call to the East Central Iowa Council of Governments planning and development consultant. The consultant was not available.

The board discussed the Emergency Operations Center Agreement entered into on March 30, 2010. The Agreement had not been fully signed and was unable to be found. A duplicate copy was presented for the parties’ signature on this date, containing all of the same language as that agreement signed on March 30, 2010.

The Board of Supervisors of Benton County, Iowa, met on July 6, 2010, at 10:00 o’clock a.m., at the CountyCourthouse, Vinton, Iowa.

The meeting was called to order by the Chairperson, and the roll was called showing the following Supervisors present and absent:

Present: Sanders, Buch, and Vermedahl

Absent: None.

The Board investigated and found that a notice of intention to institute proceedings to enter into a loan agreement had been duly published as provided by law and that this is the time and place at which the Board shall receive oral or written objections from any resident or property owner of the County. The CountyAuditorannounced that no written objections had been placed on file. Whereupon, the Chairperson called for any written or oral objections, and there being none, the Chairperson announced that the Board may authorize the loan agreement in the amount as published.

Whereupon, the Chairperson declared the hearing closed.

After due consideration and discussion, Supervisor Vermedahl introduced the resolution next hereinafter set out and moved its adoption, seconded by Supervisor Buch. The Chairperson put the question upon the adoption of said resolution, and the roll being called, the following Supervisors voted:

Ayes: Sanders, Buch, and Vermedahl

Nays: None.

Whereupon, the Chairperson declared the resolution duly adopted as hereinafter set out.

RESOLUTION NO. 10-53

Approving and authorizing a Loan Agreement and General Obligation Note in the amount of $330,000

Moved by Buch, seconded by Vermedahl, to approve the auditor’s and sheriff’s quarterly reports for the period ending June 30, 2010. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

The auditor spoke with the board about initiating proceedings to enter into a loan agreement with a bank for draw down funds for the new law enforcement and emergency operations center. Marlow stated that she would like to get the loan in place so that when the funds are needed they can be drawn down immediately. The board agreed that the loan should be put in place.

The City of Vintonmet with the Board and the engineer regarding the drainage along the north side of 61st StreetLane (aka the County Home Road) along the city limits of Vinton. The city had met with the board last week and requested that the county participate in the cleaning of the ditch to increase the rate of water flow to the creek and eliminate water back up in the city’s storm water facilities. The county engineer questioned if there was enough “fall” between the box culvert and the creek with the proposed clean out, which would result in approximately five feet of fall and may cause a problem of water backing up under the box culvert and eroding away under the culvert. Mayor Watson suggested placing rock in the area to address the concern. The engineer stated that the depth from the bottom of the water level to the top of the road has increased during the past 60 years due to road construction and other actions. The engineer stated without elevations being done, it is difficult to determine what actions would be necessary to improve the situation. The engineer stated that the floor of the box culvert is what is controlling the flow of water and that the floor of the culvert is above the elevation of the ditch to the east. Cleaning the ditch to the east would not improve the drainage to the west of the box culvert. It was determined that getting the elevations was critical before any decisions could be made to address any issues; however it was futile to clean the ditch out as the water level is always higher than the floor of the box culvert.

Moved by Vermedahl, seconded by Buch, to approve a utility permit requested by Atkins Telephone Company to place utility lines in the county’s right-of-way along 30th Avenuebetween 67th and 71st Streets in Fremontand Cantontownships. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

The county attorney spoke with the board about the vacancy in his office created by the resignation of Lisa Epp an assistant county attorney. It was questioned if the hiring freeze enacted in 2008 was still in effect. Supervisor Buch stated that it was never his intention that positions would not be filled when they became vacant due to a resignation. The auditor read back the 2008 action, which stated that all positions had to have prior approval. Mary Ann Blumer stated that had the hiring freeze not been in effect that the position could have been advertised already; whereas now the office will be without an attorney for a month or so. The county attorney stated that one of the biggest drawbacks he has when hiring is the county’s vacation policy and that it is not competitive with other organizations. Thompson stated that the City of Vintonhas a better vacation policy than BentonCounty. Thompson stated that the position will be competitive with wages but the benefits are an issue. Thompson stated that he did not want to start class warfare, but stated that some professional applicants will require additional benefits than those offered currently. Moved by Vermedahl, seconded by Buch, to acknowledge the resignation of Lisa Epp from the county attorney’s office, effective July 1, 2010. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Moved by Vermedahl, seconded by Buch, to authorize the county attorney to fill the vacant position created by the resignation of the assistant county attorney. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

The board did not discuss the possible termination of the lease agreement with the Department of Human Services Case Management. The county had requested certain reports from the State, which were not supplied until 10:40 a.m.on this date. The auditor requested additional time to review the reports provided by the State prior to the board taking action on the lease agreement.

Moved by Buch, seconded by Vermedahl, to adjourn. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

__________________________________

Jason Sanders, Chairman

ATTEST: ___________________________________

Jill Marlow, BentonCounty Auditor

July 8, 2010 - The Benton County Board of Supervisors met in special session with Supervisors Sanders, Buch and Vermedahl present. The chair called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. in the boardroom room of the courthouse.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the integrity of the communications tower at the law enforcement construction site. Jerry Petermeier reported that the tower had been evaluated and leveled, but had appeared to have two legs moving. Petermeier stated that just prior to the meeting he had determined that the legs were stationary and the tower’s integrity seemed to be in tact. Petermeier reported that had the legs been moving the tower would need to be decommissioned immediately. Petermeier apologized for asking the board to meet, but again stated that the condition would have needed immediate action by the board had Petermeier found the legs to have moved.

Moved by Vermedahl, seconded by Sanders, to adjourn. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

_______________________________

Jason Sanders, Chairman

ATTEST: _________________________________

Jill Marlow, Auditor