March 28, 2024

Double-Duty for Board of Supervisors

Tuesday will be a busy day for the Jasper County Board of Supervisors. In addition to its regular 9:30 a.m. meeting, the board will host the second public hearing on the revised Ordinance 61 at 7 p.m. Both meetings will be at the Jasper County Courthouse.

The first public hearing of the new version of Ordinance 61 seemed to go over well in spite of how much negative feedback the original version received from citizens. A representative of the Farm Bureau said, “We were a little worried at first. I think we are satisfied here at the Farm Bureau, at how things have progressed now.”

Jasper County Sanitarian Kevin Luetters resolution for Ordinance 61 states:

“An ordinance repealing ordinances, 52, 53, 54, 55, 55A and 56 in their entirety, and replacing them with the following comprehensive regulations for the use, design, installation, maintenance, and replacement of all on-site wastewater treatment and disposal systems in all incorporated and unincorporated areas of Jasper County, and providing for and the administration and enforcement thereof.”

Other items on the agenda will be numerous quarterly reports from various agencies and organizations.

Iowa Heartland Resource Conservation and Development Director Shirley Frederiksen will present the organizations report to the board.

According to their site, “Iowa’s 12 Resource Conservation and Development councils help rural Iowa communities care for and protect their natural resources in a way that improves the local economy and raises living standards.”

Frederiksen will update the board on the organization’s donations to several regional farmer markets, its Iowa Community Cultural Grant program and its “Buy Fresh Buy Local” campaign done in collaboration with Drake University’s Agricultural Law Program.

Frederiksen also will update the board on IHRCD efforts to be less reliant on government grants and its attempts to gain charitable donations from the private sector.

Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty will present the board his department’s quarterly finances. The sheriff’s department had a balance 0f $`14,796.06 at the beginning of the quarter.  Its total receipts were $215,817.27, and its total disbursements were $203,294.54. The county also had $15,780 on the receipts from concealed weapon permits. Halferty noted with the new plastic permits recently being approved this number could potentially grow. The ending balance for the quarter was $27,580.67.

The Veterans Affairs Department also will present its quarterly report. The office helped 15 Jasper County veterans during the quarter and spent $8,690.57 on financial assistance. It had projected to spend $9,548.57 for the quarter and had $858 left in unclaimed funds. Each veteran received $734.51 on average for assistance.

Jasper County Treasure Doug Bishop will present his resolution to the board for an updated county depositories list. Hedrick Bank of Kellogg will be added to the list if approved. The maximum deposit that would be allowed at Hedrick would be $1,000,000.

Jasper County Engineer Russ Stutt is seeking the board’s approval to start a road surface repair job on North 39th Avenue East/County Road F27. The selected area is a railroad crossing and would be a joint effort between the Jasper County Highway Department, the Iowa Department of Transportation and Iowa Interstate Railroad. The project is projected to cost $183,499.28, and the cost would be split, 20 percent by the county, 20 percent by IIR and the remaining 60 percent by the IDOT. There is no expected completion date on the project, and the road will be closed during repairs.

Staff writer Ty Rushing may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 426, or at trushing@newtondailynews.com.