Supervisors discuss fall ATV ride, reject all bids for Breezy Corners Road paving

by Joe Moses

The Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Monday, August 8 to discuss a variety of items including a scheduled ATV ride this fall, consideration of the Mississippi Gaming Commission grant submission, and the paving of a portion of Breezy Corners Road. During the Public Comment portion of the meeting, Bruce Palmborg was present on behalf of Main Street Lansing, and he encouraged the Supervisors to consider paving Columbus Road. Palmborg said that this project is worthwhile and should be looked at using the same criteria as the Breezy Corners pavement project.

The Supervisors and Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker also discussed weather issues and storm damage from last week, noting the extensive tree damage the neighboring community of Decorah had received from last week's storms. Later in the meeting, Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour discussed helping the Decorah community by supplying three Allamakee County employees to assist with tree and storm damage clean-up, noting that Fayette County employees also assisted in Decorah.

The Bluff Country ATV/UTV ride scheduled for this fall was discussed. Dean Anderson was present to speak about the ride, noting that the Harpers Ferry Boosters are the sponsoring organization for this event and are working with Main Street Lansing. The ride is scheduled to travel from Harpers Ferry to Lansing with lunch at Mt. Hosmer. The route is intended to highlight many area businesses including Countryside Orchard, which will be a stop on the ride. Cookies will be available at the Village Creek Bible Camp stop. It has been discussed that the Allamakee Dairy Board may also have its dairy wagon at the new campground near the Wexford Church. The ride route will be roughly 80 miles, and Anderson said he expects a minimum of 50 participants, although last year's ride had 104 participants.

Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour advised that the same procedure would need to be used as was used for the Club's inaugural ride last fall, saying that the permit for the ride would need to be reviewed as to how it correlates to the County's present ordinance. Ridenour commented that last fall's event was well coordinated with the DNR and law enforcement.
Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick agreed that last year's ride did go well, saying that law enforcement will need to help control traffic at dangerous intersections once again. Mellick further advised that the Sheriff's Office now has its own UTV, and he said that the ATV accidents that have occurred in the county since the ATV Ordinance has passed have been off-road, in general.

Supervisor Dan Byrnes questioned Anderson about how the groups of ATV riders will be divided. Anderson advised that, following the ordinance, groups of 24 riders will be the maximum. Allamakee County Recorder Deb Winke advised that riders must have their ATV registered in their home state with a non-resident permit to ride in Allamakee County. Liability insurance is also required as minimum insurance coverage.

Consideration of approving the Mississippi Gaming Commission grant application submission was presented by Allamakee County Conservation Director Jim Janett and Assistant Director/Grounds Operation Supervisor Jarrod Olson. Janett advised that the Conservation Board has approved pursuing the grant to help pay for interpretive displays at the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center, and that $15,000 is being asked for in this grant.

Olson further explained that $425,000 will be needed in total for the interpretive displays and $145,000 has already been raised toward that specific goal. Janett advised that there are a few other grant applications that will be submitted soon including a $175,000 grant through REAP and the State of Iowa. Approval for grant application submission to the Mississippi Gaming Commission was approved by the Supervisors.

The Sportsmen Motel Bar and Grill tobacco permit was discussed by the Supervisors. Allamakee County Auditor Denise Beyer advised that this will be a $50 annual fee. Typically, cities need to approve such a permit but the rural Dorchester location of this establishment makes it fall under the County's jurisdiction. The tobacco permit was approved by the Supervisors.
The Consideration of Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, Easements and Restrictions for the North Iowa Juvenile Detention Center was tabled until the next meeting. The Supervisors are waiting for more information on this agenda item.

The consideration of bids for paving a portion of Breezy Corners Road was discussed. Ridenour recommended that all the bids received for this project should be rejected at this time, as they are over the County's estimate. Ridenour indicated that retrying the bidding process later in the year with the project to be completed next year would be preferable. He advised that the timing of this bidding process may have resulted in fewer bids with contractors already being very busy this time of year. The motion to reject the bids was approved.
Consideration of approving the final voucher for various flood repair projects was discussed. J.B. Holland repaired guardrails, extended a box culvert and handled other repair projects, and that final voucher was approved.

Setting a date and time for a public hearing for a fiscal year 2017 County Budget Amendment for paving the mainline portion of Columbus Road by the Great River Road was next on the agenda. Ridenour discussed that this project is in the County's five-year plan but is not in the budget. Beyer suggested September 6 as the date for the public hearing. Board Chairman Larry Schellhammer suggested that this item should be the first item for discussion at 9:40 a.m. The public hearing time and date were approved.

Under Department Head Updates, Beyer mentioned that filing starts today (August 8) and ends August 31 for candidates who need to be on the November general election ballot, including hospital trustees, soil and water conservation, and agriculture extension. These are candidates who were not on the primary ballot in June but need to be on the November ballot.
Ridenour advised that the bridge deck overlay has been poured on the Waterville Bridge. He also said work continues on Cherry Valley Drive and Beedham Hill, and that the Wexford Bridge is open only to local traffic.

Janett mentioned that $22,000 in gifts has come in for the Driftless Area Education and Visitors Center since the last meeting. Following adjournment of the regular session, the Supervisors held a work session to discuss developing a policy on appointing members of Boards and Commissions.