Government : Benton County Supervisor Minutes 1/8/13

January 8, 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 January 2, 2013. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Representatives of from the cities of Vinton, Norway, and Urbana, met with the board regarding the increases in the per capita fees for the landfill. The Board of Supervisors increased the per-capita rates to $32.00 for cities and $36.50 for rural. Mayor Watson questioned why there was such a large increase. Engineer Myron Parizek explained that the DNR has requirements for closure/post closure and that one-third of the landfill had not been previously included the estimates to closure/post closure, which resulted in a substantial increase in costs. The DNR requires that funds be set aside annually to insure that the cost of closing the landfill will be available when the need arises. Parizek stated that instead of 80,000 annually being set aside, the cost will increase to approximately $180,000 annually. Terry Hertle stated that had the prior board known what they know now the increases would have been more incremental over time. Watson specifically questioned the supervisors as to who needed to decide on the future of the landfill or disposal of solid waste in Benton County. Watson stated that communication with the communities and the citizens was paramount and seemed to be lacking. Hertle responded that he had intended to have a meeting with the communities and thanked Watson for getting the matter started. The board agreed to attend Vinton’s city council meeting on Thursday to discuss the matter further.

Sheriff Forsyth met with the board regarding fees for services performed for cities by his department. Forsyth stated that cities could contract with the county for law enforcement services. Forsyth stated that Belle Plaine and Vinton have their own police departments and pay for dispatch services as well. Forsyth stated that Urbana and Shellsburg have their own police departments, but currently do not pay for any dispatch services. Vinton Mayor John Watson stated that the county should be treating all cities uniformly and not just charge dispatch fees to Vinton and Belle Plaine when other communities had their own departments and were getting the same service. Watson stated the other communities may not have to pay as much, but all cities should be treated fairly. Moved by Hertle, seconded by Frese, to increase the fees for county/city law enforcement contracts from $22.00 per hour to $22.50 per hour, effective July 1, 2013, and to increase the cost of dispatch services from $18,000 to $18,500 annually for the City of Belle Plaine, and from $20,000 to $20,500 for the City of Vinton. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried. Hertle stated that the county will consider charging the cities of Urbana and Shellsburg for dispatch services sometime in April. The auditor advised that the county would not be able to collect from Urbana and Shellsburg until July 2014 as it would be too late for them to budget the expense for this fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013, if a decision is made in April 2013.

Social Services Director Mary Williams informed the board that she would be retiring at the end of May 2013. Williams did not provide a written notice at this time.

Moved by Frese, seconded by Hertle, to sign the Iowa Department of Transportation voucher for the bridge replacement project number BROS-CO06(80)—5F-06 on 13th Avenue payable to Muscatine Bridge Co., Inc. in the amount of $246,022.64. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Moved by Hertle, seconded by Frese, to accept he bids and award the contract for the bridge replacement project, BROS-CO06(88)—8J-06, on 25th Avenue to Taylor Construction, Inc. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried. The bid letting was done by the Department of Transportation.

The engineer reported that the balance in the Benton County State Bank for the landfill account on December 31, 2012 was $69,236.33.

Moved by Hertle, seconded by Frese, to approve the vacation carry-over requested by Dan Higdon of 8.75 hours to be used no later than April 1, 2013. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Moved by Hertle, seconded by Frese, to approve the vacation carry-over requested by Myron Parizek of 75 hours to be used no later than April 1, 2013. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried. Hertle questioned why the vacation was not being used throughout the year. Parizek stated that he was too busy with Hertle responding that was an acceptable.

Moved by Frese, seconded by Hertle, to approve checks numbered 203470 through 203632, payroll checks numbered 136591 through 136608 (136609 through 136634 are voided), and ACH deposits numbered 16203 through 16320, for payment. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Moved by Frese, seconded by Hertle, to approve the appointments of the following deputies in their respective offices:

Auditor: Brenda Sutton, Hayley Rippel, and Gina Edler

Sheriff: Michael Ferguson and John Lindaman

All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

The board discussed the Pioneer Cemetery Commission and the requirements for commission members under the current ordinance. The current ordinance requires that four of the nine members be township officials. County Attorney David Thompson advised that the prior board had requested that requirement so that the commission was assured of having rural representation. Moved by Frese, seconded by Hertle, to proceed with amending Ordinance #42, Pioneer Cemetery Commission, by removing language that requires township officials on the commission. The county attorney agreed to redraft the ordinance for the board’s consideration at the next meeting. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Moved by Hertle, seconded by Frese, to appoint Nathan Hesson to the Benton Development Group board for a one year term. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Supervisor Hertle asked to discuss what the current provisions were for courthouse security. The county attorney informed the board as to the current security measures.

Moved by Frese, seconded by Hertle, to adopt Resolution #13-5, TRANSFER OF FUNDS. Voting aye were Sanders, Frese, and Hertle. Nays none. Motion carried.

Moved by Hertle, seconded by Frese, to appoint Joan Lindberg to the Iowa Vegetation Roadside Management committee. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Moved by Frese, seconded by Hertle, to change the appointment of Ben Verling on the East Central Iowa Council of Goverments Transportation Technical Committee from board alternate to board member, and to appoint Jerry Petermeier as board alternate. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Moved by Frese, seconded by Hertle, to appoint Jason Sanders, Kelly Geater, Danelle Fowler, and Vicki Schwenker to the Benton County Wellness Committee for 2013. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Moved by Frese, seconded by Hertle, to appoint the Benton County Engineer as the Benton County Weed Commissioner for 2013. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

The auditor informed the Board that the Vinton Municipal Electric Utility (VMEU) had contacted her regarding the spot lights on the north side of the courthouse. VMEU has determined that the lights are not being metered and are costing VMEU approximately $70.00 per month. The lights were wired into the street light circuits. The auditor stated that the county could look into other lighting alternatives such as LED fixtures, which over the long run, would be more cost effective. Moved by Hertle, seconded by Frese, that the county begin reimbursing VMEU for the lights’ electrical usage from this time forward. Further, alternatives are to be researched for long term cost savings. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

Moved by Hertle, seconded by Frese, to approve the auditor’s and sheriff’s quarterly reports for the period ending December 31, 2012. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried.

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

_______________________________

Jason Sanders, Chairman

ATTEST: _________________________________

Jill Marlow, Auditor