Government : Benton County Board of Supervisor Minutes 3/17/20

March 17, 2020

The Benton County Board of Supervisors met in regular session with Supervisors Bierschenk and Seeman were present. Supervisor Primmer participated via telephone so Co-Chairman Bierschenk called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Unless otherwise noted, all actions were approved unanimously. Summarized Resolutions will be available in the Auditor's office and at: www.bentoncountyiowa.org

Seeman moved/Bierschenk seconded: To set land use hearing date for Damien and Jessica Andrew in part of the NW ¼ of NW ¼ & the NE ¼ NW ¼ of 31-82-10 for Tuesday, April 14, 2020 at 9:15 a.m. Motion carried.

Seeman moved/Bierschenk seconded: To approve the minutes of March 10, 2020. Motion carried.

Primmer moved/Seeman seconded: To accept resignation of Michele Sauer, Treasurer effective March 31, 2020. Motion carried.

Primmer moved/Seeman seconded: To accept resignation of Renee Petersen, part-time transportation driver effective immediately. Motion carried.

The time of 9:05 a.m. having arrived, and this being the time and date for a land use hearing for Zach Ellis in part of the SE1/4 NW1/4 of 3-85-9. Zach Ellis was present along with neighbors Richard and Joyce Wyckoff. Marc Greenlee gave a quick overview of last week's hearing. Ellis plans to change use for a new building on his owned parcel where he would move his business of manufacturing corrugated boxes. The driveway was a big concern and supervisors Bierschenk and Seeman visited the sight and also had secondary roads check it another time and it met criteria. Wyckoff's still had safety concerns about the traffic and the corner distance of a blind curve if creating a second driveway. Wyckoff also questioned if Supervisor Primmer had a conflict of interest if his trucking business was involved. Supervisor Primmer explained that his son was the driver who worked for West Rock.

After no further discussion, the public hearing was closed.

Seeman moved/Bierschenk seconded: To approve the land use change for Zach Ellis in part of the SE1/4 NW1/4 of 3-85-9. Motion carried.

FY20 Budget Hearing was opened to the public. No members of the public present. Vinton Today Media was in attendance live streaming. Auditor Rippel explained that Benton County published both the maximum levy notice along with the regular budget notice and heard no comments. The Mental Health funding as always was a big topic, and the board agreed to leave it as published and not reduce. Hearing no more comments, the budget hearing was closed.

Primmer moved//Seeman seconded: To approve Resolution # 20-18, Adoption of the FY 21 County Budget which includes the FY21 Salaries that were adopted in Resolution #20-9. The budget as adopted will approve the following property taxes for fiscal year 2019-20 (without gas and electric):

General Basic $5,483,494

General Supplemental $2,305,276

Mental Health Services $ 854,924

Rural Services Basic $3,003,469

Motion carried.

Transportation building bids for insulation and electrical were opened and read as follows:

CV Insulation-$19,142

G & H Electric-$62,456

No action was taken on the bids. It will all be discussed as a whole in a future board meeting.

Seeman moved/Primmer seconded: To appoint Ben Vierling, Assistant County Engineer as Project Manager for the ground transportation building. Motion carried.

Group Benefit Partners, the new Agent contracted through Iowa State Association of Counties for Benton County's Health insurance met in a conference webinar set up. The current client benefits were presented along with the partial self-funded illustration. Group Benefit Partners also provided a few different renewal options. No action was taken, Benton County will need to take action with their official renewal soon that will become effective July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021.

Seeman moved/Bierschenk seconded: To approve WMA publication of final notice and public explanation of a proposed activity in a 100-7ear floodplain or wetland in Benton, Buchanan and Tama County. Motion carried.

Seeman moved/Bierschenk seconded: To approve and sign change order no. 1 for Project no 8600 for Peterson Contractors, Inc. in the amount of $2,800 for the WMA. Motion carried.

Primmer moved/Seeman seconded: To approve fireworks permit for Chuck Yedlik for the dates of April 4, May 23 and 24th, and October 24, 2020. Motion carried.

Seeman moved/Bierschenk seconded: To approve Resolution #20-19, Stop Sign Addition due to excavating and extra traffic along county route E22 (61st Street). Motion carried.

Office space for Foundation 2 was discussed for service center. They offer crisis prevention and intervention. Sheriff Tippett requested office space to take care of privacy issues and was willing to do some remodeling of the Rural Access Center area and obtained some quotes. HIPPA is a concern. Action and more quotes will be discussed at a future meeting.

Bierschenk moved/Seeman seconded: To enter into closed session pursuant to Iowa Code 21.5(1)j. Motion carried at 10:03 a.m.

Seeman moved/Bierschenk seconded: To enter back into open session at 11:00 a.m. Motion carried.

County Attorney David Thompson will release an official response at 4:00 p.m. in regards to what was discussed in closed session.

Primmer moved/Seeman seconded: To adjourn. Motion carried.

_______________________________

Gary Bierschenk, Co-Chairman

ATTEST: _________________________________

Hayley Rippel, Benton County Auditor