Board approves five-year road repair plan

The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors met Monday to approve the county's secondary roads five-year plan as required by the state. The county engineer and mental health administrator provided updates to the board, and other county business including a public hearing was advanced.

Secondary roads plan

The secondary roads five-year plan was discussed at the April 1 board meeting and was approved at Monday's meeting for submission to the Iowa Department of Transportation this week.

Rolling annual updates to the plan are prepared by the county engineer and approved by the board of supervisors every year. The current plan is for fiscal years 2020-2024.

The plan indicates road and bridge projects to be done each year and their expected sources of funding. The plan can be amended at any time with board approval based on availability of funding sources. The projects are programmed into IDOT's database of upcoming roadwork projects across Iowa.

The plan update for 2020 is notable for the inclusion of major roadwork to be done on three Jefferson County roads. The roads to be repaired and improved – Germanville, Brookville and Packwood roads – were identified by the board last year as needing repair as soon as possible. $6.7 million dollars in bonding has been approved to fund the projects.

County engineer

County Engineer Scott Cline updated the board on recent roadwork including the beginning of a bridge replacement on Germanville Road, and continued problems with frost boils around the county. Frost boils are caused by the movement of frost and moisture below the surface during a thaw in temperatures, which damage the surface of a road.

During the discussion, the engineer produced a copy of the Iowa section of the National Bridge Inventory which revealed some interesting facts about the state's bridges. Of Iowa's 24,123 bridges, 4,675 are structurally deficient, or 19.4 percent.

This is the most of any state in the country, and by percentage Iowa ranks third. Of additional note is that Iowa's 4,675 structurally deficient bridges comprise almost 10 percent of the nation's 47,052 structurally deficient bridges.

Mental health

Mental Health Administrator Sandy Stever met with the board providing an update. Five county residents accessed the jail-diversion program in March, and 37 accessed the wellness center. A request-for-price was issued for a new mobile crisis center.

A mobile crisis center would include a team of professionals that can go to an individual or family's home, workplace, school, etc., to intervene in emergency situations, perform assessments and help individuals and families get the mental health services they need as quickly as possible.

Public hearing

A public hearing was held to approve a resolution to vacate streets and alleys within the plat of East Pleasant Plain, covering those streets and alleys to the adjoining property owner which is the same on both sides.

There was some confusion when the resolution was read referring to the plat as being located in Walnut Township when an area resident in attendance called attention to the fact it is in Penn Township. A quick call to the county attorney allowed for the resolution to be amended and passed with the correction.

The board approved the hiring and salary for Brittney Tiller to be the Jefferson County Conservation Board's new naturalist, replacing Therese Cummiskey, who is retiring. The Jones Farm minor-subdivision was approved which looks to accommodate two smaller-size hog confinements. A disposal-system contractor's license was approved for Jim Dixon, and a liquor license was approved for This Old Barn on Kelp Avenue in Fairfield.