Board of Supervisors Minutes
December 2019

December 4, 2019:

The Fremont County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Wednesday, December 4, 2019, in the Fremont County Courthouse Boardroom, with Graham, Hickey, and Sheldon present. A quorum was declared, and the meeting officially called to order at 9:00 a.m. Minutes of the previous board session were read and approved.  The agenda was approved as posted. 

Also present for this meeting were Engineer Dan Davis, EMC Mike Crecelius, Steve Meyer, Wendy Mueller with WCCA, and Sandy Parmenter with the Valley News Today. 

EMC Crecelius told the board that he will meet with FEMA and Iowa Homeland Security tomorrow to go look at and try to measure some debris piles. Engineer Davis stated that FEMA is meeting with the assistant engineer today to get actual numbers for projects. He is still working with the DOT to move forward on the J10 project. They are working on 260^th Street where there was a 100-yard hole that was about 30-feet deep.  They discussed various breaches on the north end of the county. There are no other updates on rehabilitation assistance & non-structural alternatives to rehabilitation of flood control projects. There will be continued updates each week. 

EMC Crecelius said that the assistant engineer told him most of the roads are open in the area south of Highway 2. Motion by Sheldon to lift the evacuation order south of Highway 2. Motion carried unanimously. 

Wendy Mueller with West Central Community Action met with the board regarding the funding for FY 2020. She started by thanking the board for their support. They are asking less this year from Fremont County due to the devastation caused by the flood. They are asking for $3,000 for FY 2020. Mueller went over the client demographic information. They helped with head start, childcare, energy assistance, WIC, and weatherization just to name a few. They provided $566,602 total dollars for services in Fremont County in FY 2019. Motion by Hickey to approve the budget allocation of $3,000.00 for FY 2020. Motion carried unanimously.  

Motion was made by Sheldon to approve the following Resolution 2019-56.  Motion carried unanimously.

RESOLUTION NO.  2019-56                                                                 

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the Fremont County Board of Supervisors this 4th day of December, 2019, that the following transfer of funds be approved and made:  $605,418.00 from the Rural Services Basic Fund, share of Rural Services taxes, to the Secondary Road Fund and $47,593.00 property tax relief of local option taxes, from the Rural Services Basic Fund to the Secondary Road Fund.

Motion to approve transfer made by Sheldon.
 

Motion was made by Hickey to approve the following Resolution 2019-57.  Motion carried unanimously.

RESOLUTION NO.  2019-57           

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the Fremont County Board of Supervisors this 4th day of December, 2019, that the following transfer of funds be approved and made:  $8,161.28 from the TIF Rebate Fund, to the LMI Assistance Fund, as stated in the Waubonsie Ridge Agreement.

Motion to approve transfer made by Hickey.
 

Engineer Dan Davis met with the board regarding the following items:

Motion by Sheldon to allow Chairman Graham to sign work in right-of-way permit for Windstream Iowa Communications, LLC for underground construction on 220th Street 2.12 miles southeast of Percival in Section 9, Township 68, Range 43. Motion carried unanimously. 

Motion by Sheldon to allow Chairman Graham to sign work in right-of-way permit for Windstream Iowa Communications, LLC for underground construction 0.30 miles southwest of Sidney, Section 26, Township 69, Range 43. Motion carried unanimously.  

Motion by Hickey to allow Chairman Graham to sign a payment voucher for HGM Associates for design services through November 15, 2019, for bridge replacement at 310th Avenue. Motion carried unanimously. 

Motion by Hickey to allow Chairman Graham to sign a payment voucher for HGM Associates for services through November 15, 2019, for NEPA Assistance for Manti Road Bridge. Motion carried unanimously. 

In other business, the Recorder’s Monthly Report for November 2019 was approved. 

Claims were approved for December 6, 2019. 

At 9:40 a.m., there being no further business, Hickey made a motion to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. 

ATTEST: 

Fremont County Auditor                                                                                Terry Graham, Chairman

December 11, 2019:

The Fremont County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Wednesday, December 11, 2019, in the Fremont County Courthouse Boardroom, with Graham and Hickey present. Let the record show that Sheldon was not present for this meeting. A quorum was declared, and the meeting officially called to order at 9:00 a.m. Minutes of the previous board session were read and approved.  The agenda was approved as posted. 

Also present for this meeting were County Attorney Naeda Elliott, Assistant County Attorney Tyler Loontjer, Cara Morgan with Golden Hills RC & D, Jack Reed with INCS, Attorney Kris Madsen, and Sandy Parmenter with the Valley News Today. 

Attorney Loontjer said that today is the first day since March that the river was not at flood stage. Graham discussed the tour with FEMA for the debris piles. There are no other updates on rehabilitation assistance & non-structural alternatives to rehabilitation of flood control projects. There will be continued updates each week. 

At 9:08 a.m., Supervisor Graham called Alexsis Fleener with SWIPCO regarding the proposals for the appraisals for the buyout program. Of the four received, there are two that only bid on the City of Hamburg. NRH Appraisal Associates, LLC and Value Midwest are the two for consideration. NRH Appraisal bid $475.00 per appraisal and Value Midwest bid $1,000.00 per appraisal. The City of Hamburg met Monday evening. They chose NRH Appraisal due to the fact that they have recent experience after doing the appraisals in Mills County. Fleener touched base with NRH and he was confident that he could handle both areas. They could start in December, but with the holidays they are requesting a timeline of 45 days instead of 30 days. Fleener’s recommendation is NRH Appraisal Associates, LLC. Motion by Hickey to accept the proposal of NRH Appraisal Associates, LLC at $475.00 per appraisal. Motion carried unanimously.  

Motion made by Hickey to set the regular meeting date for the week of Christmas to be on Monday, December 23rd due to the holiday closure. Motion carried unanimously. 

Motion was made by Graham to approve the following resolution.  Motion carried unanimously.

RESOLUTION NO.  2019-58

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the Fremont County Board of Supervisors this 11th day of December, 2019, that the following holidays shall be observed by the Fremont County Courthouse Offices during the 2020-year.
 

Motion by Graham and carried unanimously.
 

At 9:23 a.m., motion made by Hickey to go into closed session pursuant to Iowa Code 21.5(1)(c) in a matter where litigation is imminent. Vote: Graham, aye; Hickey, aye.  Present were Chairman Terry Graham and Vice Chairman Randy Hickey, County Attorney Naeda Elliott, and Assistant County Attorney Tyler Loontjer, Auditor Dee Owen, and Attorney Kris Madsen of Stuart Tinley Law Firm.  At 9:23 a.m., the board went into closed session. At 9:44 a.m., motion was made by Graham to go out of closed session. Vote: Graham, aye; Hickey, aye. Motion by Hickey to make a settlement offer as discussed in the closed session. Graham, aye. Hickey, aye. 

At 9:46 a.m., Hickey made a motion to go into closed session pursuant to Iowa Code 20.17(3). Vote: Graham, aye; Hickey, aye. Present were Chairman Terry Graham, Vice Chairman Randy Hickey, Assistant County Attorney Tyler Loontjer, Auditor Dee Owen, and Jack Reed of INCS.  At 9:46 a.m., the board went into closed session. At 10:00 a.m., motion was made by Hickey to go out of closed session. Vote: Graham, aye; Hickey, aye. Motion by Hickey to allow Jack Reed to make the offer discussed in the closed session. Vote: Graham, aye; Hickey, aye. 

Motion by Hickey to allow Chairman Graham to sign the GAX Form to draw from the CDBG Grant for the East and West Nishnabotna Watershed Project. Motion carried unanimously. 

Cara Morgan with Golden Hills RC & D met with the board for an update on the East and West Nishnabotna Watershed Project. She stated that the flood resiliency plan is complete. This is a large document and can be viewed on a drop box on their website. This project won the American Planning Association Iowa Chapter Award for environmental planning. The money must be spent by 2021. They will be preparing letters to Iowa Economic Development. They must show their progress and show that the funds will be spent by 2021. They are one of the only watersheds that have more projects than funds, so they are requesting more funds. She is requesting a resolution to adopt the flood resiliency plan which will allow them to apply for more funding. Motion by Hickey to sign the resolution to adopt the flood resiliency plan. Motion carried unanimously. 

Claims were approved for December 13, 2019. 

At 10:27 a.m., there being no further business, Graham made a motion to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. 

ATTEST:

December 18, 2019:

The Fremont County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Wednesday, December 18, 2019, in the Fremont County Courthouse Boardroom, with Graham and Sheldon present. Let the record show that Hickey was not present for this meeting. A quorum was declared, and the meeting officially called to order at 9:00 a.m. Minutes of the previous board session were read and approved.  The agenda was approved as posted. 

Also present for this meeting were Assistant Engineer Robbie Kromminga, EMC Mike Crecelius, Assistant County Attorney Tyler Loontjer, John McCurdy with SWIPCO, Dennis Dunnigan and Don Aweau with FEMA, and Sandy Parmenter with the Valley News Today.  

Supervisor Sheldon said that there was a $12 million contract signed for repairs to L-594 west of Thurman. Assistant Engineer Kromminga said they continue work on damaged roads. There are no other updates on rehabilitation assistance & non-structural alternatives to rehabilitation of flood control projects. There will be continued updates each week. 

Dennis Dunnigan with FEMA met with the board regarding the next steps for the county regarding the flood. He is not making recommendations. He is informing the county about other recovery efforts that have succeeded. He believes that a community long term recovery group is necessary in the recovery process. The emergency management coordinator needs to look at everything and the current long-term recovery group helps local families with assistance. This community group with citizens would be a separate group that could look at projects in the county. He said that the State Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program just announced $96.7 million in funding for projects. This new committee could put together a well-written project and submit it for funding. John McCurdy with SWIPCO spoke about their role in this. Alexsis Fleener will be concentrating her efforts on the flood. SWIPCO is working on the EDA funds which is a 20% match. They ask for a letter of support which will be on the agenda next week for consideration. McCurdy says that we will lose population in that area, but the goal is to keep them within the county. There are state relocation funds for which people can apply. Sheldon expressed his concern with people that have relocated and won’t come back. We can’t wait for three years for housing projects to be completed. McCurdy said that we need to set a goal to get back to a certain population, but we must to face the fact that it may not be the same people that were here prior. Graham spoke about the need to offer incentives for people to move to Fremont County.  

At 9:45 a.m., John Askew joined the meeting. 

Assistant County Attorney Tyler Loontjer met with the board regarding the amended 28E agreement for shared county attorney services. Motion by Sheldon to table 28E Agreement until next week after Mills County has approved it. Motion carried unanimously.

Assistant Engineer Robbie Kromminga met with the board for the following:

Motion by Sheldon to allow Chairman Graham to sign IDOT Amended #1 Secondary Road Budget for 2020. Motion carried unanimously. 

Assistant Engineer Kromminga discussed the IDOT Hwy 275 Project for county reimbursement on asphalt from the law enforcement center to City of Sidney and from Highway 275 west on J-24 to new asphalt section. The cost would be $134,000.00. Motion by Sheldon to table the asphalt project. Motion carried unanimously.  

Motion by Sheldon to allow Chairman Graham to sign IDOT payment voucher with HGM Associates for emergency repair construction services on J-64, Project #ER-CO36(82) - - 58-36. Motion carried unanimously. 

Motion by Sheldon to allow Chairman Graham to sign IDOT payment voucher with HGM Associates for engineering/surveying services for J-64 per Agreement 08/14/19 through 11/30/19. Motion carried unanimously. 

Motion by Sheldon to allow Chairman Graham to sign IDOT payment voucher with HGM Associates for engineering services for J10 design per agreement 10/31/19 through 11/30/19. Motion carried unanimously. 

Motion made by Sheldon to set the regular meeting date for the week of New Year’s to be on January 2nd, 2020, due to the holiday closure. Motion carried unanimously. 

Motion by Sheldon to allow Chairman Graham to sign the contract with NRH Appraisal Associates, LLC for the buyout appraisals in the amount of $10,450.00. Motion carried unanimously. 

The Compensation Board met on December 4, 2019. They recommended that all elected officials receive a 1% raise for FY 2020/2021. Motion by Sheldon to follow compensation board recommendation of 1% salary increase for 2020/2021. Motion carried unanimously. 

The following claim was approved for hand-written warrant:  From Local Option - County Betterment to NRH Appraisal Associates, LLC for $5,225.00 which is 50% of contract for buyout appraisals. 

Motion by Sheldon to approve retroactive allowance and disallowance for parcels 420420076000000 and 430430076000000. Due to a type-o this was inadvertently omitted. Motion carried unanimously. 

John Askew stopped in to visit with the board briefly regarding flood project on L-594.  

In other business, the Sheriff’s Monthly Report for November was approved. 

Claims were approved for December 20, 2019. 

At 10:01 a.m., there being no further business, Sheldon made a motion to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. 

ATTEST:

Fremont County Auditor                                                                                Terry Graham, Chairman

December 23, 2019:

The Fremont County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Wednesday, December 23, 2019, in the Fremont County Courthouse Boardroom, with Graham and Hickey present. Let the record show that Sheldon was not present for this meeting. A quorum was declared, and the meeting officially called to order at 9:00 a.m. Minutes of the previous board session were read and approved.  The agenda was approved as posted. 

Also present for this meeting were Purchasing Agent/Safety Coordinator Jeff Shirley, Steve Meyer, and Sandy Parmenter with the Valley News Today.

The Board of Supervisors concurring with the County Auditor, held the official canvass of votes cast in Fremont County for the December 17, 2019, City of Sidney Special Election. Motion made by Hickey, carried unanimously, to declare the following person elected to their respective office of Sidney City Councilperson to fill a vacancy and the results official for Fremont County:

City of Sidney

Council (To Fill A Vacancy)                                                  Kenneth Brown 

Lou Ann Kyle met with the board regarding a proclamation for slavery and human trafficking awareness and prevention.  Governor Reynolds has proclaimed January as Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month. Kyle requested that the board sign this proclamation, as well. She will be asking the City of Sidney to sign this tonight at their meeting. Kyle also stated that they will be holding an all-day event at United Faith Church in January. She would like to include Fremont County along with the City of Sidney as sponsors for their promotion of this event. This is an educational event open to everyone. Motion by Hickey to allow Chairman Graham to sign the proclamation. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Hickey to allow the use of Fremont County as a sponsor for the event on January 17^th, 2020. Motion carried unanimously. 

Supervisor Graham stated that HGM Associates has been working on J10. They have been surveying. There are no other updates on rehabilitation assistance & non-structural alternatives to rehabilitation of flood control projects. There will be continued updates each week. 

The board discussed the amended 28E with Mills County for the shared county attorney. Motion by Hickey to table the amended 28E until Mills County is present to clarify. Motion carried unanimously. 

Purchasing Agent Jeff Shirley met with the board for the signing of the following:

Motion by Hickey to sign the title sheet for Project No. BROSCHBP-CO36(78) - - GA-36, J-40 bridge replacement. Motion carried unanimously.  

Motion by Hickey to sign the title sheet for Project No. FM-CO36(79) - - 55-36, twin box culvert on 310th Avenue over Brush Creek. Motion carried unanimously. 

Motion by Hickey to allow Chairman Graham to sign the Iowa Department of Transportation Federal -Aid Agreement for Project No. BROSCHBP-CO36(78) - - GA-36. Motion carried unanimously. 

Safety Coordinator Jeff Shirley met with the board for the renewal of the ISAC Wellness Contract. Motion made by Hickey to allow Chairman Graham to sign the 2020 ISAC Wellness Agreement. Motion carried unanimously. 

Claims were approved for December 27, 2019. 

At 9:35 a.m., there being no further business, Hickey made a motion to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. 

ATTEST: 

Fremont County Auditor                                                                                Terry Graham, Chairman

November 2019     Home     January 2020