Agency spends $123K on projects in Henry County

By BRYCE KELLY

Mt. Pleasant News

Community Action of Southeast Iowa (CASI) had another busy month with November now in the books. According to a CASI report given by Henry County Supervisor Marc Lindeen, the organization spent approximately $122,955 on projects specifically in Henry County.

About $58,320 was spent on weatherization projects in the county while about $57,960 was spent on energy assistance. Various other assistance projects such as a community food pantry were also used to assist families in need in the month of November.

?Last month, about 130 county households were helped. That amounts to a grand total of about 426 houses that were helped with energy assistance costs this year,? said Lindeen. ?However, the thing that is the most staggering to me is that within the four-county region of CASI, around 14 to 18 percent of households were touched by Community Action at some point or another this year. I think that just shows how great of a program Community Action is for our county.?

Lindeen also reminded the board that there is going to be a toy drive on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Mt. Pleasant Fire Station.

Besides an update on CASI, the other major topic of discussion was a motion to approve a letter of support for a grant proposal for the Heather Branch Urban Conservation Water Quality Demonstration Project.

The Heather Branch watershed encompasses over 3,000 acres of rural and urban land. The stream itself originates just outside of Mt. Pleasant city limits and flows several miles through Mt. Pleasant before entering the Big Creek Watershed.

This particular grant-funded project would assist in improving the amount of run-off to creeks in Henry County and would also help limit the amount of flooding in certain areas of Henry County that are predisposed to flooding. Grant money under this proposal would also assist with the county?s plans of furthering the trails around the city of Mt. Pleasant and would help with tree planting in Henry County and stream bank stabilization in Mt. Pleasant.

Planning and Zoning Director for the county, Joe Buffington, reviewed the proposal with the board and explained that the proposal would be carried out in collaboration with the Henry Soil and Water Conservation District and other local entities.

After a thorough review of the proposal, all three Henry County supervisors signed the project proposal for approval.

The next Henry County Board of Supervisors will meet Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 9 a.m., in the Henry County Courthouse.