Government : Benton County Board of Supervisors Minutes 2/19/13

February 19, 2013

The Benton County Board of Supervisors met in regular adjourned session with Supervisors Sanders, Frese and Hertle present. The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m.

Moved by Frese, seconded by Hertle, to approve the minutes of February 4, 2013 and February 12, 2013. Both members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Moved by Hertle, seconded by Frese, to set March 19, 2013, at 9:15 a.m., as the time and date for a public hearing on a land use change requested by Chris & Jessica Moessner on Parcel A located in the SW1/4 of the SE1/4 of 26-86-10. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Dana Burmeister, Transportation Director, met with the board to request permission to attend the Route Match conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Burmeister stated that the overall conference would only be $160 to$180 out of her budget and that she would not require a per-diem since the conference would provide all of the meals. Moved by Frese, seconded by Hertle, to grant the request for Burmeister to attend the Route Match conference in Atlanta, Georgia from April 28, 2013 through May 2, 2013. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Ranae Becker, Executive Director of Benton Development Group (BDG), Nathan Hesson, Executive Director of Vinton Unlimited and BDG director, and Dave Coulter, President of Benton Development Group Board of Directors, all met with the board to discuss BDG’s budget. Coulter started off stating that all of the staff that BDG has is full time, Ranae Becker is the lead person. Coulter stated that a majority of what BDG does is to convince people of the value of what they do. Supervisor Frese questioned why all the cities no longer contribute to BDG. Becker stated that the smaller communities’ budget s got tighter and they could no longer contribute. Supervisor Hertle questioned if Benton County’s land use ordinance helps or hinders BDG. Coulter stated that their board is disappointed that they are unable to move forward but understand the issue. Hesson stated that as Executive Director of Vinton Unlimited, he works closely with Becker and that they share resources and leads. He stated that the state prefers to work with as few people as possible for proposals of business opportunities. Hesson’s concern was who that contact would be as well as who would be representing the county if Becker doesn’t because of a shortage of funding. Coulter stated that Becker doesn’t have regular hours because she attends many night meetings, he said that other county employees are concerned since she is not seen at work during normal hours, but they do not see her when she is working and attending meetings from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. Supervisor Sanders stated that the FY14 budget year was tough.. The board looked hard at everything and that they had to make tough decisions. Sanders stated that the budget was sent to publication on Friday and the hearing date is set for March 12, 2013. Frese stated they are not looking to shut down BDG completely and that the county is still helping out some. Frese added that the board is trying to get everyone working towards the same goal again and maybe BDG can go back to the communities and get some financial support. Frese commented that it is just hard to keep putting money towards something and not seeing anything come out of it. Coulter stated this is a difficult industry adding that BDG is trying to survive and trying to convince the supervisors that BDG is worth the money. Hesson stated that another difficulty with economic development is that they have to keep confidential the information on any possible leads and that it is hard to show people what they do on a regular basis.

Moved by Hertle, seconded by Frese, to approve the utility permit requested by Keystone Communications to replace copper utility lines with fiber in Homer, Big Grove, Kane & Union townships. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

County Engineer Myron Parizek presented three proposals for horizontal realignments for the E44/W14 intersection. Adding that a box culvert under W14 needs to be replaced, the road needs some improvements, and the site has had some accidents in the past. The board, after reviewing the proposals, determined that options 1 and 2 seemed to be the only suitable options at this time. Hertle stated that this project will have a lot of controversy as it did in the 1950’s. Parizek stated he has this improvement project scheduled to be completed in FY16. Hertle recommended that the county square up the intersection and require that everyone stop at the intersection. The Board did not take any action on matter.

County Engineer Parizek presented a 28E Agreement To Transfer Jurisdiction and Control to Farm to Market Extensions within the City’s Corporate Limits between Benton County and the City of Garrison. Parizek reported that Garrison had some additional construction in the fall of 2005 that added to the 28E agreement. In January of 2006, Parizek gave the 28E Agreement to the county attorney for legal review, but never received it back from him and therefore it was never presented to the board for execution. The Board requested that the county attorney review the 28E Agreement before the board signs it. Parizek stated he would give the 28E Agreement to the county attorney.

Moved by Hertle, seconded by Frese, to adjourn. All members voting aye thereon.

_______________________________

Jason Sanders, Chairman

ATTEST: _________________________________

Gina Edler, Deputy Auditor