At Peanut Pub, Supervisor hopefuls answer voter questions

Gathered behind a long table adorned with festive fall decor, four Jasper County Board of Supervisors candidates discussed their personal ideals and would-be approaches to public office and government during a packed civil forum Sunday night at The Cellar Peanut Pub in Newton.

Moderated by Newton Daily News Editor Mike Mendenhall and KCOB 95.9 FM News Director/On-Air Personality Randy Van, the inaugural Candidates for Jasper County Supervisor Fall Event, organized by Holly Talsma, allowed each contender to answer questions submitted by guests.

Attendees and candidates Mike Hansen, Pam Olson, Brandon Talsma and Jerry Chandler were asked to keep questions and answers civil, to retract from using any harsh language, to stick to the issues at hand and to avoid any personal attacks. Everyone present at the forum did just that, as topics floated between roads and bridges, county priorities and recreational trails, among other subjects.

Incumbent Republican Denny Carpenter was invited to participate in the event but told forum organizers he does not engage in political activity on Sundays.

Hard surface roads

A popular topic, especially among citizens, is roads. So it was only fitting it be the first issue discussed with candidates, who were asked to share their personal thoughts on increasing the amount of gravel roads to hard surface roads.

Olson, who works as the assistant to the engineer for Jasper County, was fittingly chosen to answer first. Hinting it is not as easy as it sounds, Olson explained the decision to pave a road is one that requires a system specified by the state. Traffic count, proximity to nearest roadway and type of traffic are all factors that play a part in that decision. She went so far as to describe the point-based system for attendees.

“When you look at that roadway and your right to pave that roadway, you have to think, ‘OK, once that roadway is done, can I maintain that roadway?’” Olson said. “Right now, we’re looking at about 900 miles of gravel and 300 miles of pavement. For us to get around to maintain our paved roads, is taking quite a time. So if you add more pavement you have to be ready and be prepared to be able to maintain it.”

Calling it “a waste of funds” and “a waste of time,” Talsma said the county already struggles to maintain its existing hard surface roads and said it does not make sense to add even more miles of blacktop in the county.

Chandler said he is in favor of gravel roads, claiming they are “a lot safer than the paved roads” and are much easier to maintain. Main highways, he added, should be paved and the county should stick to gravel for its rural county roads.

Hansen did not pick a particular side, instead opting for those with expertise to analyze the roadways before making a decision. He also felt supervisors should be more wiling to leave options open for citizens who have real concerns about whether a road should be paved for a number of reasons.

County budget priorities

Talsma listed the Jasper County Engineers Office and the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office as his top two priorities.

“As far as I’m concerned, those are the two most important and paramount services the county government is supposed to provide,” Talsma said.

Linking the two issues, Talsma said without roads and without law enforcement “everything else goes downhill pretty quick.” Chandler more or less agreed with Talsma’s point. Hansen did not pinpoint any exact priorities and claimed it is difficult to name a small number of priorities in a county’s budget. Olson agreed with Hansen’s remarks.

“To prioritize and say there’s only one or two things that really need the board of supervisors’ direction, planning and vision for the future, I think does a disservice to the entire departments, the entire essential services that taxpayers expect to be delivered by their county-elected officials and board of supervisors,” Hansen said.

Recreational trails

Candidates were asked how highly they rank the completion of recreational trails within the county and if they believe connecting those trails to the Des Moines metro is a major priority. Chandler admitted he was going to “make some people mad” with his answer, stating that Jasper County has roads that need taken care of first.

“We have to pay to maintain those recreational trails, too,” Chandler said. “We also have to put our man power on that, which I really think in the county we’ve got better things we could be spending our time on and our money on than bicycle trails. I mean, yeah, great for people to bicycle on, but we got a few that— I’ve been down bike trails and they’re not used that much.”

He added that a “few people” do find use out of area’s existing bike trails, but they are not the county’s “means of transportation.”

Hansen disagreed with Chandler’s stance and said hike and bike trails fall underneath quality of life issues “to attract families, to attract investment of business” and should be a focus. Hansen also said he would be in favor of pursuing those as part of the county’s entire comprehensive plan “that needs to be developed by the county.”

Olson, again, agreed with Hansen’s take, adding that Jasper County Conservation can apply for money and grant funds to help maintain the trails. In the future, Olson continued, there could be a possibility or a need to require licenses for bikes “to help pay for this situation,” or if that is even a feasible option to begin with.

Admitting he was once anti-recreation trails, Talsma said he changed his stance after conducting a bit of his own research and speaking with Joe Urias, owner of Mojo Cycling in Newton. He said he was shocked to learn how much income bike trails can potentially generate for a county and a community.

“I think a lot of people who think bike trails aren’t used very often are kind of looking at the wrong bike trails, just like I used to do,” Talsma said. “… I started paying attention to the Chichaqua Bottoms trail going through Baxter. I was sitting there and in about 15 minutes, I probably saw about 20-some bikes come by.”

Split supervisors into districts

One of the more interesting topics raised at the forum was the feasibility of dividing the board of supervisors into districts and if candidates would agree to that condition. Olson admitted it was not something she had thought about before being asked, but feels she can represent anyone in the county.

“Do I feel like I have to sit in a separate district? I’m not sure,” Olson said. “I know that the state law did change so that if you have five supervisors, you have to have four districts and one at-large. I know they haven’t done that with three, so I guess I’m not really sure how I feel. That would be something that I would be interested to hear from the citizens.”

Talsma said he would support the board being divided into districts. From speaking with primarily rural residents in Sully, Lynnville, Reasnor, Monroe, Prairie City, Colfax and Mingo, Talsma said there is a slight fear they may not be adequately represented, using Hansen as an example.

“I’ve talked to a lot of older people in my dad’s generation (and) my grandparents’ generation that have seen the board of supervisors before in the past that were pretty much ran by the city of Newton,” Talsma said. “… I full-heartedly recommend and would suggest that we district out the county so that people feel that their voices and that their area in the county actually matters.”

Chandler, too, said the people of Jasper County need to be represented, “and if that means splitting down into districts, let’s do that.” In any case, Chandler stressed “we’re all in the same county and we’re working for one cause.”

Hansen echoed Olson’s previous answer, saying it is a question for the citizens of Jasper County. If they want to change the way the board of supervisors is elected, “they can so petition to do that.” The Newton mayor also addressed Talsma’s claim and said he, too, has heard that claim around the county.

"No one board member can do anything, ladies and gentlemen," Hansen said. "The power of the board is within two members or more. So Mike Hansen can't dictate one doggone thing that he's going to favor the city of Newton, nor would I ever, ever do that in my role as a Jasper County supervisor."

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com