Government : Benton County Board of Supervisors Minutes 5/14/24

May 14, 2024

The Benton County Board of Supervisors met in regular session with Supervisors Bierschenk and Seeman present. Supervisor Primmer attended via phone and Supervisor Bierschenk called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. at the Benton County Service Center. Members of the public are invited to join in during open session or watch the livestream at https://www.youtube.com/bentoncountyiowa. Summarized Resolutions will be available in the Auditor's office and at: www.bentoncountyia.gov

Primmer moved/Seeman seconded: To table #7 from the agenda. Seeman, Bierschenk and Primmer voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Seeman moved/Primmer seconded: To approve the agenda. Voting aye were: Seeman, Bierschenk and Primmer. Motion carried.

Seeman moved/Bierschenk seconded: To approve the minutes from May 7, 2024. Primmer, Seeman and Bierschenk voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Seeman moved/Bierschenk seconded: To approve and authorize Supervisor Bierschenk to sign the suspended tax list notice for 2024. Seeman and Bierschenk voting aye thereon. Primmer abstained without seeing the list ahead of time.

The time of 9:15 a.m. having arrived, and this being the time and date for a land use hearing for Jake and Brittney Matzen in part of the SE ¼ SW ¼ of Section 19-85-9. Matzen's would like to change approximately two acres of land to allow for a single-family dwelling. The site is located approximately 1.5 miles NW of Garrison. This site is located on a 50.45 acre parcel owned by Kenneth and Terri Andorf and the applicant will be purchasing 7 acres. Matt Even presented some of the technical information. This area has a CSR of 30 and has not been in agricultural production. They will need to install a new driveway to access this property and it was reviewed and approve by Randy Sherwood with Secondary Roads. A private septic and well will also need to be installed. Six notices were sent out to adjacent property owners and the legal notices were also published in the official newspapers as required by the Ordinance. Benton County land Use was contacted by two neighboring property owners prior to this hearing with concerns about the driveway. A written letter in opposition of protest from David and Ann Hill was also shared for the Board to read. This proposal should not have any negative impacts on surrounding farm operations. It is isolated from other agricultural land by the county road and two stream branches. No other comments were heard, so the land use hearing was closed.

Seeman moved/Bierschenk seconded: To approve the land use hearing for Jake and Brittney Matzen in part of the SE ¼ SW ¼ of Section 19-85-9. Voting aye were Primmer, Seeman and Bierschenk. Motion carried.

The time of 9:25 a.m. having arrived, and this being the time and date for a land use hearing for Carrie Petersen and Duane Wilson in part of the NW ¼ NW ¼ of Section 1-85-9. They would like to change approximately one acre of land to allow for a single-family dwelling. The land is currently owned by Diane Lamphier Revocable Trust and is located approximately 1 mile southeast of Urbana. Matt Even presented some of the technical information. This proposed building site is not located on high quality farmland, the CSR is around an 11 average. They will need to install a new driveway to access this property. Randy Sherwood with Secondary Roads has reviewed the existing drive and found it to be a suitable location.. A private sewage disposal system and well will also need to be installed. There are other single family dwellings in the area along with timber on the northeast and crops to the south. Five notices were sent out to adjacent property owners along with legal notices published. Benton County Land Use office did not receive any public input regarding this prior to today's hearing. This proposal should not have any negative impacts on the surrounding area. No other comments were heard, so the hearing was closed.

Seeman moved/Bierschenk seconded: To approve the land use hearing for Carrie Petersen and Duane Wilson in part of the NW ¼ NW ¼ of Section 1-85-9. Voting aye were Primmer, Seeman and Bierschenk. Motion carried.

Bierschenk moved/Seeman seconded: To approve Resolution #24-42, Wage and Classification change for Chad Galli at secondary roads with Labor Grave IVB Classification with a new wage of $26.58 an hour effective May 14, 2024. Voting aye were: Primmer, Seeman and Bierschenk. Motion carried.

Primmer moved/Seeman seconded: To approve Resolution #24-43, Wage and Classification change for Caleb Stieferman in secondary roads carrying a Labor Grade IVB classification with an hourly rate of $26.45 an hour effective May 13, 2024. Primmer, Seeman and Bierschenk voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Seeman moved/Primmer seconded: To approve Resolution #24-44, Wage and Classification change for Ben Wood at secondary roads with a Labor Grade IVB classification at a new hourly rate of $27.00 an hour effective May 6, 2024. Primmer, Seeman and Bierschenk voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Primmer moved/Seeman seconded: To approve Resolution #24-45,Hiring Assistant County Engineer Benjamin Vierling at a starting salary of $92,000 effective May 28, 2024 and also noting that after he completes certification for the land surveying, he will get an additional $8,000 in salary. Voting aye were Primmer, Seeman and Bierschenk. Motion carried.

Sue Wilber asked about a fuel card line item in her budget which led back to the idea for a county pool car that was had in a previous meeting. Sheriff Tippett added with mileage now at 68 cents a mile, a pool vehicle may save the county money. Currently they have one fuel card per vehicle. Auditor Rippel expressed concerns with how many fuel cards would need issued and suggested a policy of some sort to get in place before moving forward. And when there are 10 county employees all needing to use it at the same time, how can we make it work. There would need some work to be done before this is feasible. Need to research insurance pricing, cost comparing ideas and also figure out how all this needs to be budgeted and under what department. Currently those departments with their own vehicles, pay their own fees associated with them out of their individual budgets.

Primmer moved/Seeman seconded: To table action on creating line items for fuel card expenses. Seeman, Bierschenk and Primmer voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Mae Hintgen, with the East Central Mental Health region came to provide an update. The legislature changes that will be signed by the Governor on May 16th has reduced the number of MHDS (Mental Health and Disability Service) regions from 13 down to 7. There are 19 areas for substance abuse providers. Fiscal Year 2025 will be the first of two transition years and a lot will obviously take place in the next year. A map was shared that will need to be approved by August and the public can give input in July. The current region Benton County is in has nine counties. The new proposed region has 17 counties. Hintgen said they are concerned that the proposed map takes away Johnson and Iowa Counties. Currently Johnson County is our region's fiscal agent. Hintgen stressed how there are a lot of unknowns along with the aging and disabilities services, along with behavioral health. The region has a plan to get input on before August 1. She will keep us posted as these changes take place.

Seeman moved/Primmer seconded: To approve Resolution #24-46, Amending Resolution #24-26 and granting transportation director Mark Erickson an additional 5 days of vacation. Primmer, Seeman and Bierschenk voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Seeman moved/Primmer seconded: To approve the early retirement incentive for Cathy Clouse, Sheriff's office employee effective May 31, 2024. Voting aye thereon were: Seeman, Bierschenk and Primmer. Motion carried.

Committee Reports:

Rick Primmer attended the Public Health and Heartland Insurance meetings. Tracy Seeman attended the Conservation meeting recently. He inquired about the new hires for the weed department. It was suggested they get acknowledged at a regular Board of Supervisors meeting in the future.

Sue Wilber, HR Director reminded everyone that open enrollment for benefits ends Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

Primmer moved/Seeman seconded: To Adjourn. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

_____________________________

Richard Primmer, Chairman

ATTEST: _________________________________

Hayley Rippel, Benton County Auditor