Government : BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING Minutes 10/18/11

October 18, 2011

The Benton County Board of Supervisors met in regular adjourned session with Supervisors Buch, Vermedahl, and Sanders present. Chairman Buch called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

Moved by Sanders, seconded by Vermedahl, to approve the minutes of October 4, 2011, October 7, 2011, and October 11, 2011. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

The time of 9:30 a.m. having arrived, and this being the time and date for a public hearing to consider a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Water Application, the board took up the matter for discussion. There were no members of the public or media present. Notice of the hearing had been made in accordance with law. No comments were heard or filed prior to the public hearing. The following was read aloud during the public hearing:

The County’s proposed application for Water Improvements to assist the Timber Ridge Mobile Home Park, through the Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, requires that the following topics be identified for consideration:

A. As concerned with how the need for proposed activities was identified, it is noted that proposed activity need has been identified because observed raw water ammonia concentration at the Timber Ridge Mobile Home Park is cause of concern for nitrite formation in the distribution system and imposed health risk.

B. As concerned with how proposed activities will be funded and the source of funds, it is noted that with proposed project cost estimated to total $298,800, financial assistance in the form of grant is being requested from the CDBG Program, to be combined with match to be incurred by the Timber Ridge Water Utility Corporation from the State Revolving Loan Fund.

C. As concerned with the date the application will be submitted, it is noted that the CDBG Program funding application will be submitted to the Iowa Department of Economic Development for receipt by November 2, 2011.

D. As concerned with the requested amount of federal funds, it is noted that $146,000 is being requested from the CDBG Program, with balance of the budget to be secured from the State Revolving Loan Fund.

E. As concerned with benefit from federal funding, local survey estimates that 88.5% of persons benefiting from the project will have low- to moderate-income.

F. As concerned with where proposed activities will be conducted, it is noted that the Timber Ridge Mobile Home Park is located at 6676 32nd Ave., Shellsburg, Iowa, with water supply to be provided through an approximate 9,740 foot connection to the Poweshiek Rural Water Association.

G&H. As concerned with plans to minimize the displacement of persons or businesses as a result of funded activities, and plans to assist persons actually displaced, it is noted that because only easement acquisition on vacant land is proposed only for water extension, there will be no displacement of persons or businesses as a result of funded activities.

I. As concerned with the nature of the proposed activities, it is noted that the project proposes an approximate 9,740 foot extension of the Poweshiek Water Association (PWA) Rural Water System to allow connection to the distribution system of the Timber Ridge Mobile Home Park, together with internal park improvements that include the installation of remote read water service meters.

Hearing no comment either for or against the application, it was moved by Sanders, seconded by Vermedahl, to approve the Community Development Block Grant Water Application for submission to the Iowa Department of Economic Development and to authorize the chair to execute the same. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Mary Halstead, Transportation Director, and Dana Burmeister, Assistant, met with the board to talk about the Transportation Management System (TMS). The system is used by Medicaid eligible clients for transportation to non-emergency medical appointments. Benton County is in the third year of a three-year contract as a provider with TMS. The county provided 952 rides during the period October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. The county is reimbursed by TMS at $1.40 per loaded mile driven. There is no cost to the client. The regular cost for transportation by Benton County is $25.00 per hour. Halstead and Burmeister told the Board that the program has caused a tremendous increase in the workload of the department. Halstead stated that there is no reimbursement for transportation of preschool children to Headstart. Halstead stated that the program revenue for her department in the period October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011, was approximately $32,000. Supervisor Vermedahl questioned if Halstead had analyzed the cost of providing the service. Halstead said she did not have those figures at this time. Halstead and Burmeister stated that the purpose of the meeting was to make the supervisors aware of the program, its effect on the department, and the service it provided.

Sheriff Forsyth spoke to the board about the law enforcement contracts between the county and the cities. Forsyth reminded the board that they had asked that language be added to the contracts regarding hold harmless and indemnity. The current contracts were limited to a six-month period to allow the supervisors time to work out all of the language details. Forsyth stated that the Blairstown city attorney was opposed to the county’s proposed language and submitted different language for the county’s consideration. Forsyth reminded the board that the contracts all expire on December 30th and that the cities will be without coverage if the issue isn’t resolved and new contracts signed prior to that date. Supervisor Vermedahl stated that he would be at the next meeting of the county’s insurance pool and the matter was on the agenda to discuss.

Jerry Petermeier met with the board to discuss the status of the parking lot at the law enforcement center. Petermeier stated that the sheriff had inquired about adding a walk-in gate to the lot. Petermeier reported that the gates could be set to stay open for a pre-determined length of time. The gates could be set to close up to five minutes after opening to allow time for an employee to walk through the drive-through gate. Petermeier reported that rock had been placed in the lot and that he “pulled in” the dirt around the cement entry pads. Petermeier stated that he did not pull the dirt around the sidewalk at the law enforcement center, but thought perhaps an inmate could take care of it.

Petermeier also reported that he received the well field diagrams and information from Barker LeMar for the geothermal system for the law enforcement center. The county had been withholding retainage from Kleiman Construction pending receipt of the diagrams.

Moved by Vermedahl, seconded by Sanders, to release the entire retainage to Kleiman Construction upon notice by the sheriff that Accurate Controls has completed the audio/visual installation. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

The board spoke about the conduit that was installed by Justice Electric for the audio/visual installation. The architect had omitted the work from change order #20 and change order request #51. The board instructed the sheriff to contact Justice Electric and have them submit a bill directly to the county for payment.

Moved by Sanders, seconded by Vermedahl, to designate the auditor as the authorized representative and financial officer for FEMA Disaster Declaration DR-4016 for all county related damage except for conservation and secondary roads. The county engineer is designated as the authorized representative and financial officer for FEMA Disaster Declaration DR-4016 for secondary roads related damage. The conservation board is responsible for designations related to that department. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

The board spoke about the new cell at the landfill. The cell has been in use for approximately one year and it appears that it is already at almost 50% fill. The board was concerned that the cell was not going to last as originally estimated. One specific issue that was discussed was the use of dirt as a daily cover instead of the tarp, which was to have been implemented. The board questioned why the directive to use a tarp for cover had not been implemented. The engineer was not present to discuss the matter.

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

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Ronald R. Buch, Chairman

ATTEST: ___________________________________

Jill Marlow, Benton County Auditor