Supervisors consider removal of pine tree near courthouse

Iowa County Engineer Nick Amelon was present Friday, March 10, for the Iowa County Supervisors meeting. He brought two resolutions for them to sign. One was a recent road vacation on the corner of F67 near TT Avenue. The second resolution was road embargoes for three sealcoat roads.

The board also discussed the “All Systems Permit” which was tabled from the agenda last week. Amelon suggested lowering all the bridges to 28 tons on paved roads, but said he would leave it to the supervisors to decide. He told them they had three years and didn't have to make a decision yet, but they motioned to approve with all voting yes. Amelon said he would bring the resolution to embargo these next week.

Amelon also told the board he had completed a traffic count as requested by a county resident on 180th Street at the Iowa/Johnson Road manually from 6:45 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. He said traffic tapered off around 5 p.m. and that the total was 126 cars heading north, 85 cars heading south, and 70 cars heading west, which he stated was “about right for that area.

Pavement marking bids have been sent out. Amelon said they would be doing them a little differently this year.

Dylan Healey, building maintenance, brought his monthly update to the meeting. He told the board as of Friday, all utilities have been removed from the old engineer’s office and all of the underground utilities have been located. He took all the light fixtures out and some covers he needed for the REA building. The demolition of the office is set for March 13, 2023. Previously the people in charge of demolition were going to move it to a different location but have decided now they didn't have the time.

Healey also told the board he requested bids for the removal of a pine tree on the northeast corner of the county courtyard block. He said there wasn't anything wrong with the tree, but said the courtyard would look “cleaner without the tree.” He told the board if they wanted to plant a tree in the future where the pine tree is now, he could get a maple or oak tree for that location for around $650-$700 which included planting and mulch. The board wanted to wait to have a look at the tree first so it was tabled. Bids for the tree removal were $800, and $1070.

In other business, the board approved two new policies for the conference video camera and Zoom meetings, HR032-Telework and HR033-removable media. They also approved the retirement of John Gates and the appointment of Pamela Noyes as the new Honey Creek Township Trustee. They were told by the auditor's office that any trustee hired after covered by IPERS as of Jan. 1, 2023, however the people previously appointed would not be covered.