Easement agreement to put money back into two Henry County department budgets

MT. PLEASANT — Henry County Conservation sees a way to add funds to a tight budget as the department awaits Board of Supervisors approval of an easement agreement with Cedar Rapids-based ITC Midwest LLC.

At the Feb. 20 Henry County Board of Supervisors meeting, the board approved an easement option agreement with ITC, an independent electric transmission company, and secondary roads while deferring final decisions on three similar agreements for conservation land parcels pending the receipt of a letter regarding tree harvesting.

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Henry County Conservation will receive funds from the easement agreement with ITC, but harvestable trees on the land caused the board to wait on approval until they had a letter from ITC explicitly stating that funds from the trees would go to the department.

With the conservation department facing funding challenges due to budget cuts mandated by House File 718 and rising expenses from replacing the campground dump station, the earmarked funds will support various departmental needs. Thankfully the Board of Supervisors already approved the funds going straight back to the conservation department and not into the general fund.

“So we'll table these. We'll make a motion to continue these for consideration next week,” Board of Supervisors Chair Marc Lindeen said.

This delay ensures that any future amendments — whether through an option agreement amendment or a separate memorandum of understanding — are clearly documented before final approval.

Conservation Director Caleb Waters will present three separate easement agreements to the Board of Supervisors this week along with the letter. According to Waters, this is due to slight differences in the way the parcels’ ownerships are documented.

The supervisors expressed optimism that by this week’s meeting on Thursday, Feb. 27 all outstanding issues regarding the conservation parcels will be resolved. As Henry County continues to balance infrastructural improvements with environmental stewardship and fiscal responsibility, the board’s decision marks a significant step in securing alternative funding streams amid ongoing budget challenges.

Unlike the conservation department’s easement agreements, Henry County Secondary Roads already received board approval at the Feb. 20 meeting. Additionally, the secondary roads department only needed approval on one easement agreement.

The board’s action on this first agreement clears the way for ITC to acquire the right of way for a 5.44‐acre tract valued at approximately $54,786.24 from the secondary roads department. The funds from this sale will go toward Henry County Secondary Roads and will not be put into the general funds for the county.

“The valuation is the same across — they take the highest piece of property on the whole piece and then we're talking about 5.44 acres, and there's roughly, it's $10,000 an acre,” Henry County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss explained. “So, $10,071 an acre is what they're offering for this easement.”

ITC Midwest LLC is expected to proceed with construction plans once the acquisition is finalized, with assurances that any infrastructure — such as new transmission poles — will be placed so as not to interfere with ongoing quarry operations on the land they will purchase right of way of from the secondary roads department.

“We're just restricted from building anything or planting trees inside that area,” Hotchkiss explained. “And then they are working with us, not to put a pole right where we're doing our quarry operations.”

Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com