Supervisors approve $35K settlement with A-Line Iron & Metals

The Jasper County Board of Supervisors has approved a settlement agreement between the county and A-Line Iron & Metals, requiring the privately owned company to pay $35,000 relating to a lawsuit initially filed by former Jasper County Attorney Mike Jacobsen.

The settlement, negotiated by current county attorney Scott Nicholson, would require the scrap metal processing business to pay the sum in $7,000 increments beginning Oct. 31. Monthly payments would need to be made before the last day of each month thereafter “until the aforementioned sum of $35,000 is paid in full.”

Originally filed by Jacobsen in June 2016, the civil lawsuit against A-Line Iron & Metals was inherited by Nicholson, following his appointment as county attorney July 2018.

Jasper County filed suit after selling large pieces of steel to the company, which holds locations in both Waterloo and Kellogg, and did not receive the quoted payment for the sale. Supervisors Chairman Doug Cupples said the steel came from a demolished county bridge.

“I don’t know the exact bridge,” he said. “We sold them some steel. It came from an old bridge that we took down. They took it and they kind of had some things happen. They’ve been a good company to work with in this whole deal.”

However, the county had not received compensation for the sale. A death in company leadership may have further delayed payment during a transitional period of ownership; both Nicholson and Cupples said they heard similar accounts.

A 2017 obituary from The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier said Kyle Stone “worked as a co-op in a scrap metal business” where “he eventually took over the business, now known as A-Line Iron and Metals.”

“They had a death in the family and things kind of happened and there seemed to be a kind of delay in things,” Cupples said. “But we got it done. They were really good to work with and we got everything settled.”

According to the company’s website, Stone was the president of the company.

Even after Jacobsen sent letters to the company, the quoted payment was not met, prompting the former county attorney to file a lawsuit against A-Line Iron & Metals. Shortly before Jacobsen was appointed as district court judge in Iowa Judicial District 5A, he withdrew from the case.

Nicholson was finally able to address the matter a few months ago. He contacted the attorney, Kevin Ahrenholz of Waterloo, and discovered no one had negotiated the lawsuit. Nicholson said the attorney of A-Line Iron & Metals offered Jasper County roughly $28,000 in February, but the amount was neither accepted or denied.

Close to a possible trial, the two parties decided to settle; however, another problem arose.

“He’s telling me the reason there’s a dispute for this point in time is some of the steel was contaminated, either by lead paint or concrete or something,” Nicholson said.

After speaking with county engineer Russ Stutt about the situation, Nicholson determined that a steel contamination was very possible, resulting in their decision to settle for the board-approved amount of $35,000, which had been accepted by A-Line Iron & Metals Company.

Representatives from A-Line Iron & Metals Company did not respond to the Newton Daily News for a comment by presstime Wednesday. Attorneys Ahrenholz and Jordan Talsma also did not return phone calls to elaborate on the settlement.

In other action Tuesday, the supervisors:

• Approved the Veteran’s Affairs Office’s quarterly report.

• Approved hiring resolutions for Elderly Nutrition, County Attorney, Secondary Roads and Treasurer offices.

• Approved a blood draw agreement with Skiff Medical Center.

• Approved Jasper County Board of Health appointments.

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