Supervisors review RUSS amendment, road projects

By BRYCE KELLY

Mt. Pleasant News

The Henry County Board of Supervisors had a long list of agenda items to cover during their latest board meeting on Tuesday, June 9. Major items included in that list were updates from county engineer, Jake Hotchkiss, an amendment of a current RUSS 28E Agreement and consent to rezone county property.

First order of business was with Hotchkiss, as he briefed the board on current road projects and other road construction activity over the past week. After approval was given from the board, Hotchkiss got the green light to purchase a Caterpillar dozer in the amount of $139,816 that will be the replacement of an older dozer the county currently uses.

In terms of ongoing work projects, Hotchkiss had several to mention. First, Hotchkiss reviewed a pre-construction meeting that was held for an upcoming project in Salem.

?During that meeting, the contractor indicated that he will be starting the week of June 22, with weather obviously playing a factor in that date,? said Hotchkiss. ?Henry County will also hold an informative meeting in Salem on June 18, at 6 p.m., at the community center for citizens within the project limits to discuss the project?s details further.?

As for Hotchkiss? other major projects, the pavement markings project on various concrete-paved roads across the county is currently underway and things are progressing, according to Hotchkiss.

?The contractor started grinding and grooving on Monday and will continue working into the rest of the week,? he reported. ?Currently, work is being done on 170th Street between Highway 218 and Trenton.?

Hotchkiss also reminded the board that Old Highway 218 south of Mt. Pleasant will be closed this week due to work being done, but says the road should open back up by Friday, if not sooner.

With regard to the RUSS 28E agreement amendment, Supervisor Greg Moeller outlined the changes that were being made before all three supervisors unanimously agreed to the new terms.

?Essentially, this (amendment) allows Wapello, Mahaska and Washington Counties out of RUSS and gives a formula of the fees that will be charged should any other county choose to leave RUSS in the future,? explained Moeller. ?The amendment also allows the RUSS board to go outside the seven counties that are currently members of RUSS in order to provide management services to other utility management organizations.?

According to Moeller, this amendment was reviewed by both Henry County?s and RUSS? legal team before the amendment was agreed upon by the board.

The last major item of business discussed during the meeting involved consent to rezone Henry County property south and west of the USDA office in Mt. Pleasant from R-1 to B3. Currently, the property in question is a single-family zoning area, which restricts what can be developed on the land. With the consent to rezone approved, this will no longer be the case.

?Really, we want to get as much out of this area as we can, so we are changing it to allow for commercial developments and multi-family property developments,? said planning and zoning administrator, Joe Buffington. ?This area will still allow for single-family properties, however. We are just simply adding to what the area can be used for.?

Finally, Henry County Assessor, Gary Dustman, presented applications for two local disabled veterans applying for homestead tax credits.

The next Henry County Board of Supervisors meeting will be held Thursday, June 11, at 9 a.m., at the Henry County Courthouse.