Conservation, HC fair discuss programming, budgets for 2019

The Henry County Conservation Department is preparing for youth and community programing in 2019, and the Henry County Fair requested funds from the county for their 2019-2020 fiscal year during a regular Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 15.

John Pullis, director of the conservation department, updated supervisors about cabin construction, their fiscal budget 2020 and their interest in creating an AmeriCorps position.

Naturalists Cari Nicely and Danika Cox introduced the idea of creating an AmeriCorps position at the Conservation Board meeting earlier this month. Pullis said the Conservation Board will take a closer look at the idea in February. The department would pay AmeriCorps $3,400 a year for an AmeriCorps employee. They would like someone who could work 20 hours a week with the department.

The Conservation Department's FY20 budget is 0.1 percent less than the FY19 budget, with the Conservation Board approving a 4 percent salary increase for Conservation Department employees, Pullis said.

Cabin construction is almost complete and costs are 9.5 percent over budget because of the cost of the flooring. The floors in the cabins are concrete and stamped to look like wooden floor boards. The floor will last the life of the cabin, Pullis said.

Alicia Yocum, with the Iowa State Extension Office, asked for county funds for their FY20 budget for the Henry County Fair and 4-H programs. They again approved $23,000, which is the same amount they asked for - and received - for FY19.

Last year, the Henry County Fair assisted in paying for new lights on the Old Threshers ground with Old Threshers and the city of Mt. Pleasant. They brought in $77,000 in donations and events, and had $67,800 in expenditures, Yocum said.

'We are looking forward to this year and adding some more activities for the general public to participate in and making this year's fair bigger and better,” Yocum said.

2018 was the first year the fair hosted the Fall Brawl Demo Derby in November on the Old Threshers grounds, an event they plan to do again this year.

Yocum said 4-H has a large, active group of Clover Kids, and they hope that number continues to grow.

In other news, all roads should have been passable by Tuesday, Jan. 15, by noon after the heavy weekend snow, Henry County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss said.

'We're getting a lot of snow with these snowstorms, so it does slow us down a little bit,” Hotchkiss said.

Hotchkiss said operators are instructed to not clean out driveways, which is the way it's always been. Road crews' sole focus is opening up roads for traffic after heavy snows, Hotchkiss said.

'With our blade operations, we do not clear driveways. It is the landowner's responsibility to clear snow from driveways even after we blade by it,” Hotchkiss said.