Government : Benton County Board of Supervisor meeting notes for 9/24/24

The Benton County Board of Supervisors met at their regular meeting on Tuesday morning, September 24 beginning at 9:00 a.m. the meeting can be seen here https://www.youtube.com/bentoncountyiowa

Present were all three supervisors, Rick Primmer, Tracy Seeman and Gary Bierschenk. The meeting opened at 9:00 a.m. with a call to order and the pledge of allegiance.

First on the agenda were to approve the agenda, minutes, and claims. There was a typo to correct in the minutes and it appeared to be a duplicate entry in the claims to be corrected. The above as well as the ARPA claims of $15,469.50 were approved.

Barb Fetzer set a land use hearing for Morgan and Matthew Ollinger, concerning Parcel A, in the NW1/4 of the NW1/4, Sec 9, T84N, R11W. The date for that hearing will be on Tuesday, October 22, 2024 at 9:15 a.m.

Approval was given for a Class C Retail Alcohol License for Tipsy Traveler's LLC for October 4-8, 2024 pending the gram shot review.

Melinda Schottmer, Benton County Treasurer presented Resolution 2488 to abate the taxes on property. This concerned land at Rogers Park where the emergency tower is located as well as land where the Old Creamery Nature Trailhead is located. Approval was given.

Approval for Resolution 2489 to abate the taxes for the right of way for the Iowa Department of Transportation was approved.

Matt Even presented a land use hearing for David Kearney, concerning the SW 1⁄4, of the SW1/4, Sec 17, T85N, R10W. Mitch Kearney of Mitch's Auto Body addressed the supervisors and explained that he would like to open a used car lot to offer quality cars to the community. The parcel of land is in both city and county lines. The city section is already zoned for commercial use but not the county. The board gave approval.

A tax abatement for property purchased on March 26, 2024 by Cornerstone Baptist Church the former ACT I property was presented. Resolution 2490 was tabled until the next meeting.

Resolution 2491 was discussed concerning the LOSST gift of $1,000 to the Luzerne Fire Department and approval was granted.

Public Hearing for authorizing a quit claim deed on Parcel #440-00150 was held and approval given to transfer land from Benton County Conservation To Hite Farm Susan approving Resolution 2492.

A Resolution 2492 concerning Michelle Sutton's employment as the Rural Access Center Manager status change was presented for final approval. This will change her hours to a minimum of 16 hours per week and a maximum of 20 hours at an hourly rate of $27.69 effective October 14, 2024. Approval was given.

Approval for use of the courthouse lawn for Vinton Unlimited on Thursday, November 14, 2024, was tabled until next week as the agenda should read "for use of the courthouse."

Submitted by Benton County Engineer, Myron Parizek was Resolution 2493 removing the bridge embargo for the bridge on 17th Ave in Big Grove Township, this was approved. The new vehicle should arrive 8-10 weeks from ordering it.

Reports/committee meetings/liaison/etc.

Bierschenk met in a meeting yesterday concerning the highway and has several more this week.

Seeman reported that he met with ECICOG and the DOT about buses and funding.

Unfinished Business

Jon Martin presented taxes that need to be paid for the portion of the Rural Access Center that was rented.

Public Interest Comments

The Sheriff, Ron Tippett, said that during the cruise last weekend someone noticed that there were no hands on the courthouse clock. He asked if there were any updates. Primmer said that there will be someone here in mid December to reinstall the clock. There might be something that needs to be done before he arrives. He is unsure who is on the committee or which committee would be in charge. Whether it would fall under Historical Preservation or Building Maintainance. Seeman said that he would check into the project to see what needs to be done.

Seeman said that the clock went from manual to electrical and now will go back to a manual function. He thought it would need a winch to bring the weights up again, but would follow up.

The meeting adjourned.