County purchases Monroe property for Jasper County Conservation use

A Monroe property formerly owned by the Iowa Department of Transportation was purchased by the Jasper County Board of Supervisors for Jasper County Conservation management Tuesday. The land, which is 23.6 acres with a 16-acre lake, is located west of Monroe at the Highway 163 interchange.

“This is a property that has a good location. It is about 150 yards from our bike trail going from Prairie City to Monroe and down the road could be a parking area,” Jasper County Conservation Park Officer Jerry Ratliff said.

The DOT approached the conservation department at the beginning of May about the property and the price for the acreage was set at $50,000. Donations were received from both the Jasper and Marion County chapters of Pheasant Forever, Outdoors Without Boundaries, Izaak Walton League of Prairie City, Leighton State Bank in Monroe and two private donors to assist in purchasing the property for the conservation department. Following the fundraising efforts the county will pay less than $20,000 for the land.

“We should have a good use for more than just fishing it,” Ratliff said.

The board also approved a bid from Roadsafe Traffic System for milling in pavement markings and painting pavement markings. The total cost for the milling work, painting edge lines and centerlines on various roads in Jasper County came to $281,808.41. For the painted pavement markings including symbols, the cost is $155,407.75.

In other business:

• Shive-Hattery was approved to work on bidding proposals for demolition of the Jasper County Care Facility and former youth shelter at a price of $47,300.

• Bradley Martinson was approved as a seasonal skilled laborer in the secondary roads department. His start date is Monday at a pay rate of $14 per hour.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com