MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
APRIL 3, 2008
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia: Request to Amend the Decategorization Contract for Functional Family....................................................................................................................................... 1
County Treasurer Tom Kriz: Job Reclassification of Full-Time Clerk III to Clerk II............. 1
Assistant County Engineer Al Miller: Road Vacation on Sand Road SE............................... 2
Reports and Inquiries from County Attorney Janet Lyness................................................... 4
Reports and Inquiries from Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan............................................. 4
Reports and Inquiries from the Board of Supervisors........................................................... 5
Chairperson Sullivan called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:25 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Larry Meyers, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia presented the request to amend the Decategorization contract for functional family therapy. Correia explained that the renewal contract is between the Iowa Department of Human Services and Johnson County to provide functional family therapy. Correia said that as she was looking at end of the year projections for this contract, which Johnson County subawards funds to Four Oaks, and she noticed that there would be potentially significant dollars unspent in the contract at the end of the year, due to Four Oaks staff turnover. She said that if they went to the end of the contract with unspent funds, they can’t carry the funds over. The Decat Board approved an amendment to the contract to recapture the funds to be able to redirect them to another activity in the County. Correia said that the Board also needs to approve the amendment. Stutsman said that it has served the County well to have Correia as the Social Services Coordinator monitoring the County’s contracts. The Board agreed to recess the meeting to the formal meeting and vote on the contract.
Recessed at 9:28 a.m.; reconvened at 9:30 a.m.
County Treasurer Tom Kriz said that they currently have two Clerk II positions to be filled in his office. He said that there is a Clerk III in his office that has contacted him about applying for the position. Kriz commented that if that clerk is hired, they would be stepping down into a Clerk II position and it would decrease his budget by about $3,000. Kriz said that his office runs two different shifts. One shift runs from 7:45 a.m.-4:15 p.m. and the other from 9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. He said that the Clerk III that is interested in applying for the Clerk II position, works the later shift in their current position, but wishes to work the earlier shift if hired for the Clerk II position. Kriz said that the potential applicant would need to be in the Clerk II position to bid for the shift through seniority. He said that the Clerk III in question approached the union two years ago and asked to be reclassified as a Clerk II, but the union refused to do so and informed the employee that could only happen if the Treasurer's Office had a position opening and they were rehired. Kriz said that his office typically has very few openings. He said that this is the first time since 2004 that he has had an opening for a Clerk II position due to a retirement and a transfer. Kriz said that there are only three Clerk III positions in the County, which makes the transfer to a Clerk II difficult. He said that there are several Clerk II positions within his department and that designation as a Clerk II would give the potential applicant the option of lateral transfers to other positions. Kriz said that the clerk understood that they would be taking a pay cut, but said they were willing to do that knowing that the reclassification would give them more flexibility within the job.
Stutsman said that she thought they should look at the reclassification of the position and not the person currently filling the position. She asked Kriz if the reclassification would work with the organizational structure of his department. Kriz replied that it would. He said that within the structure, the Clerk III position was created years ago. He said that since then, the position has changed and been outpaced because deputies are now doing most of the supervision. Kriz said that if the applicant was hired and reclassified as a Clerk II, he would not refill the Clerk III position. Stutsman asked if his office would have any Clerk III positions left if the potential applicant was hired as a Clerk II. Kriz replied that he would not. This would leave one Clerk III in the Department of Public Health and one in the Recorder's Office. Kriz said that he spoke with Human Resources about this and they recommended that he come before the Board informally so that the Board could vote on it formally. Stutsman asked if the decision has to go back to the union. Kriz replied that it did not. The Board agreed to put the issue on a future formal agenda.
Assistant County Engineer Al Miller said that he had been unable to attend the previous week's public hearing, but that he was present today to discuss questions about the road vacation. He said that in May of 2004, Johnson County acquired some additional right-of-way from the Art and Joyce Campbell property for the construction of the Sand Road Grading and Paving Project. Construction of the project took place in 2006. The Campbells have requested that Johnson County vacate some of the excess right-of-way on the property that is in an area where the new road was relocated from the old roadway alignment. He said it was also in an area that Johnson County had secured for some safety funding for the project so that the County could try and improve the geometry of the area. Miller said that the relocation created a long sliver of property that was basically an uneconomic remnant of property that Johnson County purchased. He said that the Campbells sold the property, which is approximately 6.95 acres of agricultural ground, as an easement to Johnson County, for $7,300 per acre. Miller stated that Johnson County had also purchased about 2/10 of an acre from the Campbells’ front yard for about $25,000 per acre. The total cost of acquisition was $57,000, which included some fencing and other damages.
Miller explained that the request for road vacation includes 1.95 acres, of which 0.45 acres is a sliver of property that the County purchased in 2004. Miller said that the remainder was an easement that had been there for the old road. He said at the time the County had been looking at a situation where they couldn't have a contract because they didn't know how the Board would vote regarding the road vacation. He said that they took care of what they needed to so that the road project could take place. Miller said that the Campbells had been told from the beginning of the negotiation process that all that his department could say was that they would recommend to the Board that any additional right-of-way be vacated.
Harney asked if the uneconomic remnant purchased by the County was farm ground at the time of purchase. Miller said that the remnant was farm ground at the time, but was between the old roadway and the new alignment. He said that the Code specified that the County had to purchase the ground as an uneconomic remnant. Stutsman asked if the County paid for the sliver of property. Miller said that the County acquired approximately seven acres of land, including the sliver of land that the County purchased in 2004. Miller explained that the sliver of land was right-of-way that had previously not existed on the old roadbed. Neuzil asked if Miller's recommendation would be that the Board give the property back to the landowners. Miller replied that it is his recommendation that the Board give the property back to the landowners so that it would be put back on the tax rolls. He stated that the County could keep the property with an easement over it and maintain it by using it for trail purposes or for installing park benches. Miller said that he did not foresee any such maintenance of the property in the near future although the remaining right-of-way would allow for the construction of a dedicated trail. Meyers asked if there would have to be an access off of Sand Road if there was a trail head there. Miller replied that there would need to be an access, but said that there would have to be a trail there in the first place. He said that it was just a long narrow section of property that didn't have much value to anyone except to the Campbells, who are the adjoining property owners. Miller said that the property was not buildable and that the County did not have a title to the land. He said that a lot of things would have to fall into place in order to make a trail work.
Harney said that the County could make an access point off of Nursery Lane rather than Sand Road. Harney said his only concern was that the price was set at $7,300 per acre when the County purchased the property and now the County would be giving it back at no cost. Stutsman stated that the sliver of property was just a fraction of the $7,300 spent per acre. Miller said that the right-of-way was almost half an acre of the 1.95 total acres acquired. He said that the County did not pay for the new right-of-way on the existing alignment. Miller said that the Board was looking at about $3,200. He said that the production of crop is going be lower than what normal farm ground would be. He said that $7,300 an acre is farm ground plus added value for its proximity to Iowa City and its utilities. Miller said what the land was currently worth versus what was originally paid for it depended on whether the Board was buying or selling it. He said that a good argument could be made that the property was not worth much to anyone except to the adjoining property owner.
R. Sullivan said that the bottom line was that if the County held onto the property it would not generate any tax revenue whereas if they gave it back to the adjoining property owner they get something. Neuzil asked if the adjoining property owner was interested in having it back. Miller said they were interested and they wanted to farm it. He said that this had been one of the issues when the right-of-way had been acquired back in 2004. Miller said the property owner had asked him then what the County was going to do with the excess and he replied that his department would recommend getting rid of it. He said that they didn't go through condemnation on it but if they did the outcome probably wouldn’t be less than what they paid. He said they wanted to stay with the recommendation to vacate the land. Stutsman said she supported the decision. The Board agreed to put the issue on a future formal agenda for approval.
County Attorney Janet Lyness said that April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month. She said that the following day at the Pentacrest there would be a Silent Witness presentation where there would be cut-outs of women and children who had been killed by intimate partners. She said that there would also be 15 minutes of silence for the victims. Lyness said they will be having the clothesline display on the University of Iowa campus. She said the powerful display was made up of t-shirts made by victims or family members and friends of victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, incest, domestic homicide, etc. Lyness said that the week beginning April 7, 2008 was Victims' Rights Week. She said that they had obtained a flag and she would like the Board to put it on the following week's agenda so that it could be flown at the Johnson County Administration Building. She said the flag basically proclaimed that it was Victims' Right Week and shows support of the County for victims of crime. Lyness said that the Victims' Rights Week kick-off presentation would be held at the Iowa City Hall on April 16, 2008 starting at 5:30 p.m. She said people from her office as well as other individuals speaking about victims' rights. She encouraged the Board to attend the event. Harney asked what time the Silent Witness Presentation started at. Lyness said it started at noon the following day. Stutsman asked Lyness when Law Day was. Lyness said April 29, 2008. She added that people were discussing the idea of having a presentation from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan said that the Board will have a Key Issues meeting on April 9, 2008. The annual De Gowin Center Blood Drive will be in the lower conference room from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on April 16, 2008.
Meyers attended an Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development meeting, a Decat meeting, Planning and Zoning site visits, and a liaison meeting with Ambulance Director Steve Spenler.
Harney attended an ECICOG Board of Directors meeting, an ECICOG Policy Committee meeting, the Chamber Business PM, the Chamber Agriculture/Biosciences Breakfast, the Tiffin Fire Breakfast, the Coralville Chamber Roundtable, Planning and Zoning site visits, a meeting on underage drinking, a RAGBRAI meeting, and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee meeting. Harney noted that the Iowa City Community School District pancake breakfast will be April 6, 2008.
Stutsman attended a Decat Grant Review meeting, a Health and Human Services Building Construction meeting, a meeting with Iowa Housing representatives, and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee meeting.
Neuzil attended the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee meeting, the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce meeting, and a liaison meeting with Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Director Kris Artley. Neuzil will be having a Listening Post at Hungry Hobo on April 4, 2008 at 11:00 a.m.
R. Sullivan attended a Livable Communities Subcommittee meeting, a Chatham Oaks Board of Directors meeting, a Liaison meeting with Iowa City Community School District Superintendent Lane Plugge, a liaison meeting with Artley, and Department Head evaluations. He said Senator Harkin’s Office had contacted the County about a meeting with the Board. The Senator’s staff wants to discuss secondary road infrastructure on April 11, 2008 from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Adjourned at 10:08 a.m.
______________________________________________________________________
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By:
On the _______ day of _____________________, 2008
By John Deeth, Recording Secretary
Sent to the Board of Supervisors on April 8, 2008 at 10:30 a.m.