Conservation director reviews storm damage with board

By BRYCE KELLY

Mt. Pleasant News

Strong thunderstorms that ripped through parts of southeast Iowa earlier this month were unforgiving to many trees and other structures in Henry County, and the county conservation parks were no exception.

During Monday night?s monthly Henry County Conservation Board meeting, conservation director, John Pullis, reviewed the conservation department?s losses with trees being the main victims.

?We lost four or five large maple trees with a few that were uprooted, and we had an extensive amount of branches and debris scattered throughout our parks,? said Pullis.

According to Pullis, no campers that were in the park at the time of the storm reported injuries, but some trailers were severely damaged.

?Three trailers received heavy damage, and two of those trailers belonged to our hosts. Thankfully, no one was injured and everyone was able to exit the campgrounds safely once roads were cleared,? said Pullis.

Pullis said that most of the debris is now cleared away, but some minor work is still being done.

In other board news, the future of campground registration was discussed with the main topic surrounding online registration.

Recently, Pullis and Henry County Naturalist Cari Nicely, have been researching the possibility to making online campground and cabin registration a reality for Henry County. According to them, a major complaint often received by campground visitors is the county?s inability to perform online registration.

Both Nicely and Pullis say this inability could be costing the county money.

?Online registration is very popular in many other county parks across the state. The appeal of online registration is that you can come to our campgrounds and are guaranteed a spot. You also wouldn?t have to call in during business hours to reserve a cabin. As it is now, campers are taking a gamble on whether or not they will be able to get a spot when they come,? said Pullis.

While the discussion is not on the table for a vote at this time, Pullis estimates that, should the board move forward with online registration, the entire process would not go live right away.

?At this point we just want to talk about it and get people?s questions and opinions on the table,? said Pullis. ?But I think it is worth discussing as something to possibly implement down the road.?

While the board was mostly in favor of pursuing more information on online registration, board member Jim Onorato did have some concerns regarding the issue.

?I think by doing this we are excluding people that don?t have a computer or that can?t work one,? said Onorato. ?I would like to see a demonstration of how this would work before we decide anything.?

According to Pullis, the process itself is very user friendly. In addition, the department would have the capability of making reservations over the phone for people that cannot or do not wish to make them on their own.

For the board?s benefit, Pullis said he would try to set up a time to do a demonstration of the online registration process at a future board meeting.

After approving claims and reviewing the naturalist report, the board adjourned.

The next Henry County Conservation board meeting will be held on Monday, Aug. 10, at 6 p.m., at the Henry County Conservation Office.