Board Minutes

The Adams County Board of Supervisors met on Monday, October 12, 2020 at 9:00 am with the following members present: Leland Shipley, Bobbi Maynes, Scott Akin, Merlin Dixon and Doug Birt. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Scott Akin. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Shipley moved, seconded by Maynes to approve today’s agenda along with the minutes of the October 5^th meeting.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Engineer Travis Malone updated the board on Secondary Roads projects. He held a meeting with Eldon Ray of Schildbergs to talk about quantities of road rock for the upcoming year and stated that they are finishing the plate pipe on Locust Ave this week. Upon completion of Locust Avenue there are a few more CMP projects of a smaller scale and some shouldering on Quince Ave to hopefully wrap up before winter. The streambank stabilization on Aspen Ave will be completed up by the end of the month given the current weather forecast. Applications are being received for the 2 open positions with a deadline of Friday October 16^th. Bridge Prescott 5 is in the December Iowa DOT letting. 259 trip permits have been filed for calendar year 2020 as of last Friday with the vast majority being issued for the wind turbines.

Shipley moved, seconded by Birt to approve Utility Permit #20-15 for SIRWA as they are going to bore a one-inch service line under N28. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Shipley moved, seconded by Birt to approve Utility Permit #20-15 for SIRWA for boring under N28. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

             The Board of Supervisors and Engineer Malone thanked Larry Maeder for his 11.5 years of service to Adams County and for stepping forward to serve as the weed commissioner for the past year. They all wish him the best in retirement.

            Treasurer Nancy Barnes presented the quarterly investment report. Birt moved, seconded by Mayes to approve the Treasurer’s quarterly investment report. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried.  Barnes also reported to the board that 91% of first half taxes have been collected at this point.

            Birt moved, seconded by Shipley to approve the Procurement Policy. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            The board is moving the regular weekly meeting from November 9 to November 10 at 1 p.m. to canvass the General Election. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            Birt moved, seconded by Maynes to approve the claims as follows. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            Oral reports were presented by the board members as follows: Birt – SICOG, Oct 6, Creston.

Maynes moved, seconded by Dixon to adjourn the meeting at 10:35 am. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

ATTEST:  Scott Akin, Chairperson, Adams County Board of Supervisors   Rebecca Bissell, Adams County Auditor

The Adams County Board of Supervisors met on Monday, October 5, 2020 at 9:00 am with the following members present: Leland Shipley, Bobbi Maynes, Scott Akin, Merlin Dixon and Doug Birt. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Scott Akin. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Birt moved, seconded by Dixon to approve today’s agenda along with the minutes of the September 28^th meeting.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Engineer Travis Malone updated the board on Secondary Roads projects. He is working with the City on the Hull Street bridge project as they are working on getting the permanent easements needed. Prescott 13 was finished up last week. Good progress is being made on Douglas 17 on Aspen Avenue. 

            Dave Fuller, Director of Adams County Ambulance, gave an update on the ambulance department. He went through the run times and shared the ambulance quotes they’ve received. Adams County Ambulance will be ordering a new ambulance but it will take approximately eight months for it to arrive.   

            Recorder Jamie Stargell presented the quarterly report. Birt moved, seconded by Shipley to approve the Recorder’s Report. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            Recorder Jamie Stargell updated the board on projects going on with her department. There is a new website for the Iowa Land Records website and it’s very user friendly. Stargell presented a letter the board for their signature to request moving to a .gov website. Maynes moved, seconded by Dixon to approve the letter. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried.

            Shipley moved, seconded by Dixon to approve the purchase of a backup OCS Laptop for Elections. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            Maynes moved, seconded by Birt to approve the estimate of repairs for the generator. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            Dixon moved, seconded by Shipley to approve the Release Agreement between Cory Dorsey and Adams County, Iowa. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            The board discussed windmill issues that have been raised to members of the board by landowners who surround the windmills. They are trying to brainstorm ideas to help with their concerns.

            Akin moved, seconded by Maynes to adjourn the meeting at 11:00 am. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

ATTEST:  Scott Akin, Chairperson, Adams County Board of Supervisors  

Rebecca Bissell, Adams County Auditor      

The Adams County Board of Supervisors met on Monday, September 28, 2020 at 9:00 am with the following members present: Leland Shipley, Bobbi Maynes, Scott Akin, Merlin Dixon and Doug Birt. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Scott Akin. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Birt moved, seconded by Maynes to approve today’s agenda along with the minutes of the September 21^st meeting.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Engineer Travis Malone updated the board on Secondary Roads projects. The East and West streambank projects and the Juniper Ave project have all been finalized. Construction will begin on Locust Avenue near the Taylor county line; this is the final FEMA project from flooding of 2019. Malone is putting in applications for three grade control/CMP projects this March for possible Hungry Canyon funding to be built next year.

            Maynes moved, seconded by Dixon to approve the Adams County Annual Urban Renewal Report. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            Shipley moved, seconded by Birt to approve claims as follows. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            Conservation Director Travis Paul updated the board on projects going on at Lake Icaria.

Oral reports were presented by the board members as follows: Shipley – MATURA, Sept. 22, Creston; and Dixon – WIOA, Sept. 21, Creston and SCI911, Sept. 23, Creston.

Maynes moved, seconded by Birt to adjourn the meeting at 10:20 am. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

ATTEST:  Scott Akin, Chairperson, Adams County Board of Supervisors  

Rebecca Bissell, Adams County Auditor      

The Adams County Board of Supervisors met on Monday, September 21, 2020 at 9:00 am with the following members present: Leland Shipley, Bobbi Maynes, Merlin Dixon and Doug Birt. Scott Akin was absent. The meeting was called to order by Vice Chairperson Bobbi Maynes. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Birt moved, seconded by Dixon to approve today’s agenda along with the minutes of the September 14^th meeting.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Engineer Travis Malone updated the board on Secondary Roads projects. There is a road scouring off by cmps on Birch Ave by Nodaway. Two posted bridges near Ralph Neill. Secondary Roads will be posting two job positions for the department. Prescott 13 is moving along quickly and then they will be moving to Aspen as soon as they are done. Two out of three submitted reimbursements on EWP projects have been received and the paperwork for the USDA grant for Juniper Ave has been submitted.

            Birt moved, seconded by Shipley to approve Utility Permit #20-14 for Interstate Power and Light (Alliant Energy) at 180^th and Union Avenue to bore under the road.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried.

Shipley moved, seconded by Birt to approve Bree Brandt as the Mercer Township Clerk effective January 1, 2021. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            Dixon moved, seconded by Shipley to sign the Letter of Engagement with Dorsey for TIF procedures. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            Birt moved, seconded by Shipley to approve Billi Vavra as the Medical Examiner Investigator Assistant. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            Oral reports were presented by the board members as follows: Shipley – Main Street, Sept. 15, Corning; and Birt – DCAT/DHS Sept. 18, Creston.

Dixon moved, seconded by Birt to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 am. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

ATTEST:  Bobbi Maynes, Vice Chairperson, Adams County Board of Supervisors   Rebecca Bissell, Adams County Auditor      

The Adams County Board of Supervisors met on Monday, September 14, 2020 at 9:00 am with the following members present: Leland Shipley, Scott Akin, Bobbi Maynes, Merlin Dixon and Doug Birt. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Scott Akin. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Dixon moved, seconded by Maynes to approve today’s agenda along with the minutes of the September 8^th meeting.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Engineer Travis Malone updated the board on Secondary Roads projects. Annual report has been submitted and approved. There are a lot of trip permits for windmill parts. Petersen Contractors Inc. will be starting this week on streambank stabilization for bridge Prescott 13 (190^th Street). An elliptical horizontal structural plate pipe has been ordered to complete the FEMA project on Locust Ave. Malone spoke with the City of Carbon regarding City/State funding for replacement of bridge Douglas 3. Bridge Prescott 5 has final plans completed and submitted to keep the project on track for a DOT December letting.

            Birt moved, seconded by Dixon to approve the claims as follows. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

             Oral reports were presented by the board members as follows: Akin – Southern Hills, Sep 16, Corning, and ACEDC, Sep 17, Corning.

Birt moved, seconded by Dixon to adjourn the meeting at 10:15 am.

ATTEST:  Scott Akin, Chairperson, Adams County Board of Supervisors   Rebecca Bissell, Adams County Auditor

The Adams County Board of Supervisors met on Monday, August 31, 2020 at 9:00 am with the following members present: Leland Shipley, Scott Akin, Bobbi Maynes, Merlin Dixon and Doug Birt. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Scott Akin. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Shipley moved, seconded by Dixon to approve today’s agenda along with the minutes of the August 24^th meeting.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Shipley moved, seconded by Birt to approve Utility Permit #20-11 for Southwest Iowa REC on the Adair-Adams Line. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Birt moved, seconded by Dixon to approve Utility Permit #20-12 for Southwest Iowa REC on Hickory Avenue south of 183^rd Street. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Shipley moved, seconded by Birt to approve Utility Permit #20-13 for Southern Iowa Rural Water Association to bore a 1” line under Elm Avenue south of the Cass County line. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Engineer Travis Malone updated the board on Secondary Roads projects. Mulberry Avenue south of US Hwy 34 is open to traffic after completing replacement of a short span bridge with a large diameter culvert.  County crews are currently working on addressing bridge maintenance items.

County Attorney Andrew Knuth and Office Manager Lisa Brown discussed with the board a software program for the County Attorney’s office to streamline their processes and efficiency.  Shipley moved, seconded by Maynes to approve purchasing the Prosecutor by Karpel software for $13,634 after a deduction of $3933.22 credit for ProLaw software not used.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Maynes moved, seconded by Birt to accept, with regret and gratitude for her many years of service, the resignation of Mercer Township Clerk Karen Saltzman effective as of the end of the calendar year, December 31, 2020.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried.

Oral reports were presented by the board members as follows: Maynes – Crossroads, Aug 24, Zoom, and Page County Wind Turbine, Aug 21, Clarinda; Dixon – SCI911, Aug 26, Zoom; Birt – Heartland, Aug 27, Creston; and Shipley – MATURA., Aug 25, Zoom and Main Street. EV, Aug 27, Corning.

Dixon moved, seconded by Maynes to adjourn the meeting at 11:10 am.

ATTEST:  Scott Akin, Chairperson, Adams County Board of Supervisors  

Rebecca Bissell, Adams County Auditor      

The Adams County Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday, September 8, 2020 at 9:00 am with the following members present: Leland Shipley, Scott Akin, Bobbi Maynes, Merlin Dixon and Doug Birt. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Scott Akin. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Maynes moved, seconded by Dixon to approve today’s agenda along with the minutes of the August 31^st meeting.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Discussion was held regarding a potential road. The road in question isn’t on Secondary Road’s official map. If a road isn’t on their map, then it is not being accounted for in RUTF funding of the department. The department isn’t supposed to be on it as it would be private property nor are they to spend money on it such as doing maintenance or improvements. However, the property owner is landlocked if it is not classified as a road. Engineer Malone said he’ll update the property owner on their options.

Engineer Travis Malone updated the board on Secondary Roads projects. Union Avenue is open now that bridge Union 20 repairs are complete.  He is working on documentation for the 140^th Street repairs for reimbursement from FEMA.  He has submitted documentation to the USDA for reimbursement of the Reconstruction of Juniper Ave. Bridge Prescott 5 on 180^th Street located just east of Quince Avenue is on track to be let in December with the DOT on Bidx. He is planning to meet with the city of Carbon regarding City-State bridge funding.  Regarding HMA (hot mix asphalt) project programmed for FY22 three consulting design firms have been contacted. Discussion was held regarding the HIR (hot in place recycling) asphalt process where the current asphalt road is heated, milled, and re-laid.  It has some cost savings, but this is just a start as to whether or not to put it in the 5-year plan.

            Birt moved, seconded by Shipley to approve signing the Iowa Secretary of State Vote Safe Iowa Initiative Grant Agreement in the amount of $13,600 for the purpose of preventing, preparing for and responding to coronavirus for the 2020 Federal election cycle.  These funds will be used to reimburse the county for the purchase of a MiniOVO Counter along with other election expenses that relate to the pandemic. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            Shipley moved, seconded by Maynes to approve Resolution 2020-38 Requesting Reimbursement from the Iowa COVID-19 Government Relief Fund. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            Jamie Stargell gave an update on the new website. The county has six hours left of training from our website provider so Travis Paul and his staff are going to use some training time to learn how to be able to make changes to the conservation page.

Moved by Birt, seconded by Shipley to approve the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with WIC/MATURA and Adams County for WIC to rent a room for their monthly program. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Oral reports were presented by the board members as follows: Maynes – RCD, Sep 2 & 3, Creston; Akin – Southern Hills, Aug 31, via conference call, Election Forum, Sep 3, Corning; Birt – SICOG, Sep 1, Creston.

Dixon moved, seconded by Maynes to adjourn the meeting at 10:11 am.

ATTEST:  Scott Akin, Chairperson, Adams County Board of Supervisors  

Rebecca Bissell, Adams County Auditor      

The Adams County Board of Supervisors met on Monday, August 24, 2020 at 9:00 am with the following members present: Leland Shipley, Scott Akin, Bobbi Maynes, Merlin Dixon and Doug Birt. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Scott Akin. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Maynes moved, seconded by Shipley to approve today’s agenda along with the minutes of the August 17^th meeting.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Brian Kannas spoke with the board regarding a situation when he mowed the right-of-way and hit a sign post. It did damage to his mower and he asked for help in fixing it. Engineer Malone shared the right-of-way is at their own risk.

Birt moved, seconded by Maynes to approve Utility Permit #20-10 for Corning Municipal Utilities on 220^th by Happy Hollow Country Club. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Engineer Travis Malone updated the board on Secondary Roads projects. There will be $110,000 coming in from EWP projects, crew is still hauling in rock, the paperwork is done for the East Stream bank project and there will be a $40,000 payment on that project. Malone said 265^th is closed to begin repairs on that bridge. Govig has the cranes set up and is ready to go.

Saundra Leininger and Nancy Carmichael with the Adams County Historic Preservation Commission gave an update on their projects. The report is almost complete and the final invoice came in just over what the budgeted amount. They asked the board to pay the additional amount and they will amend the budget when the reimbursement comes back in. Birt moved, seconded by Shipley to pay the invoice in full. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Beth Waddle spoke with the board regarding Iowa Great Places grants.

Auditor Bissell recommended purchasing the Unisyn miniOVCS election equipment due to the uptick in absentee ballots. It will speed up the absentee process and have fewer delays in the reporting process. Auditor Bissell will try to submit this expense for a grant. Dixon moved, seconded by Birt to purchase the Unisyn miniOVCS from Henry A. Adkins for $7,850.00.   All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried.    

The Third and final reading and public hearing of Chapter 25 Floodplain Management Ordinance was held at 10:00 am. There were no written or oral objections.

Maynes moved, seconded by Birt to approve Resolution 2020-36 Ordinance Chapter 25 Flood Plain Management. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Shipley moved, seconded by Dixon to approve Resolution 2020-37 regarding National Flood Insurance Program Regulations.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

            Shipley moved, seconded by Maynes to approve claims as presented. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried.  

Oral reports were presented by the board members as follows: Akin – ACEDC, Aug 20, Corning, and Southern Hills, Aug 21, Corning; Dixon – WIOA, Aug 10, Creston; and Shipley – Main St., Aug 18, Corning.

Birt moved, seconded by Shipley to adjourn the meeting at 10:45 am.

ATTEST:  Scott Akin, Chairperson, Adams County Board of Supervisors   Rebecca Bissell, Adams County Auditor

The Adams County Board of Supervisors met on Monday, August 17, 2020 at 9:00 am with the following members present: Leland Shipley, Scott Akin, Bobbi Maynes, and Doug Birt.  Merlin Dixon was absent. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Scott Akin. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Birt moved, seconded by Maynes to approve today’s agenda along with the minutes of the August 10^th meeting.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Birt moved, seconded by Maynes to approve funding agreement for project number BRS-SWAP-C002 (78) – FF-02 for the replacement of Bridge Prescott 5 located north east of the City of Prescott. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Engineer Travis Malone met with NRCS and Hungry Canyon for final construction review on four of the EWP funded streambank stabilization projects. These projects were federally funded as part of the disaster declaration resulting from the flooding of 2019. The inspections went well. The stream bank stabilization project near Mount Etna included grade stabilization and therefore qualifies for a 10% matching funds reimbursement from Hungry Canyons. Malone gave updates on the other various projects going on throughout the county. Jarad James spoke with the board regarding a well in the right of way around Nodaway Ave and Notchwood Ave he was concerned about it after he noticed a maintainer had gotten stuck near it.

Sheriff Johannes and EMA Director Bill Lyddon discussed with the board that the generator needs some maintenance care as it is having an issue with a slow start.

The board set November 20^th, 2020 as an employee safety training day. Auditor Bissell will work on arranging speakers and topics for the day.

The board shared concerns with Lisa Wolf and Michelle Schroder regarding the ambulance services. The board have been receiving complaints regarding qualified employees and timely runs. Lisa and Michelle said we are having a paramedic shortage here and nationwide. CHI loses their paramedics for varying reasons to other entities. The board, Lisa, and Michelle brainstormed some ideas and were going to touch base in a few weeks to see if they can come up with a solution.   

The second reading and public hearing of Chapter 25 Floodplain Management was held at 10:00 am. There were no written or oral objections.

Oral reports were presented by the board members as follows: Birt – SICOG, Aug 11, Creston.

Shipley moved, seconded by Birt to adjourn the meeting at 10:23 am.

ATTEST:  Scott Akin, Chairperson, Adams County Board of Supervisors  

Rebecca Bissell, Adams County Auditor

The Adams County Board of Supervisors met on Monday, August 10, 2020 at 9:00 am with the following members present: Leland Shipley, Scott Akin, Merlin Dixon, Bobbi Maynes and Doug Birt. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Scott Akin. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Shipley moved, seconded by Maynes to approve today’s agenda along with the minutes of the August 3^rd meeting.  All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Bill Lyddon, Emergency Management Director, shared with the board the Cares Funding allocated to the county by the state outlining the criteria for reimbursement. 

Maynes moved, seconded by Birt to approve McLeod USA Telecommunication Utility Permit 20-09 to replace an overhead line in the area of 265^th St. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. 

Malone presented an article for the board’s review. The article is going to be published in the Adams County Free Press regarding obstructions in the right-of-way

ESB Construction completed the two bridges in their project and once the seeded vegetation has established itself then the retainer can be released. JNC is wrapping up the bridge on Chestnut and will be seeding both sites this week. Peterson is coming in to start their two bridges next. The Secondary Roads Department have been working hard getting rock hauled in for the project on Aspen.  The County Crew is also working on 140^th pipe replacement, has a couple of other small pipe projects before moving on to replace a small bridge on Mulberry Avenue with a railroad tanker the last week of August, weather permitting.  Secondary Roads has reached out to residents and businesses on Mulberry to let them know about the upcoming road closure.

Travis Malone requested a closed session to discuss his employment contract per Iowa Code 21.5(i). Birt moved, seconded by Maynes to go into closed session at 9:26 am. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried. Dixon moved, seconded by Birt to come out of the closed session at 9:35 am. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried.

Birt moved, seconded by Maynes to approve Travis Malone’s employment contract as County Engineer striking paragraph 4 regarding residency and rolling it over as a new 2-year contract. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried.

The first reading and public hearing of Code of Ordinances Chapter 25 Floodplain Management was held at 10:00 am. There were no written or oral objections.

Shipley moved, seconded by Dixon to approve the claims. All supervisors voted aye.  Motion carried.

Oral reports were presented by the board members as follows: Maynes – RCD, Aug 6, Zoom.

Birt moved, seconded by Dixon to adjourn the meeting at 10:15 am.

ATTEST:  Scott Akin, Chairperson, Adams County Board of Supervisors  

Rebecca Bissell, Adams County Auditor