Sheriff John Halferty received approval for two items from the Jasper County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The first of which was a grant from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau for $12,990.
“That’s a grant program that we have been involved in for probably 15 years,” Halferty said. “That money is for equipment and overtime hours for extra traffic enforcement during holidays or times of heavy traffic or certain programs that the state puts on.”
Halferty told the board the program had been really good to them and has allowed his office to purchase extra equipment over the years. The grant money will be divided up as follows, $7,160 towards direct overtime for officers and $430 towards overtime for educational presentations. The remaining $5,400 would go towards purchasing two preliminary breath test devices and one in-car video camera.
The other items was a 28E agreement between his office and Iowa’s Alcoholic Beverages Division to provide tobacco enforcement in the county. IABD regulates and controls all alcohol in the state. They also regulate the sale and distribution of alcohol and tobacco in Iowa.
Halferty said the contract outsources the regulation of tobacco to his office in Jasper County.
County Engineer Russ Stutt received approval for two right of way contracts. The first contract is with Vermeer Farms for $2,009. The second contract is for $2,121 with Norman and Mary Van Zante. The contracts will allow the county to use parts of both parties land for use as a public highway and a bridge project.
Stutt informed the board that a third right of way deal was in the works and it would be larger than the deals that were approved Tuesday.
Jasper County Recorder Nancy Parrott’s August report was approved and her office collected $21,185.21.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the Jasper County Board of Supervisors will take the final steps to close out the previous deal it had struck with the I-Green Learning Center.
County Attorney Mike Jacobsen will present two actions items to the board in regards to I-Green. The first is a vote on accepting a quit deed from the center versus a contract forfeiture. The second is a vote on paying the property taxes on the land the center was at.
In June, I-Green Director Phil Stender came to the board to inform them the project no longer had enough funding to continue operations.
“At this time, we have no funds and our intention is to dissolve the corporation,” Stender said in the June 25 meeting. “I apologize for the late timing in coming to you with this. We didn’t know we weren’t going to have funds until late last week. My request this time is that the county release us from our contractual obligation.”
The I-Green facility was located at the site of the former Jasper County Care Facility. In 2010, Stender proposed to the board that I-Green would pay $550,000 in annual payments of $33,328 for the next four years. When payments reached $200,000, the county will forgive the remainder, $350,000, as part of a grant to facilitate the construction and operation of the facility.
All three board members expressed disappointment in the facility’s closure at the time and will likely approve both of Jacobsen’s requests.
County Engineer Russ Stutt will ask the board to accept the low bid from Indianola-based Herberger Construction for a bridge project. The amount of the contract is $245,432.30 and the Meadow Avenue Bridge over Cherry Creek south of Newton would be replaced if approved.
Jasper County Recorder Nancy Parrott is looking to have the county renew its contract with Columbus, Ohio-based Cott Systems for 36 months at $1,490 per month. Cott’s provides her office with software and hardware maintenance.
Jasper County Maintenance Director Adam Sparks will present bids on carpet for the county assessor’s office. The low bid comes from Newton-based The Floor Store for the amount of $4,681.62.