MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
JUNE 5, 2008
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Coralville Assistant City Administrator Ellen Habel: County Financial Support for Coralville Center for the Performing Arts Vision Iowa Grant Proposal............................................................................................... 2
County Engineer Greg Parker: Quotes Received for Pavement Markings for Paved County Roads........... 2
County Engineer Greg Parker: 28E Project Agreement with the City of Coralville for Engineering Design and Construction Management for Improvements on Oakdale Boulevard Extension........................................ 3
Peter Feldstein: Artwork in New Health and Human Services Building...................................... 4
Early Childhood Specialist Laurie Nash: Contract for Johnson County Board of Supervisors to Continue to be the Fiscal Agent for Johnson County Empowerment; and Compliance Assurances for the Iowa Empowerment Board 7
Johnson County Public Health Women, Infant, and Children/Maternal Child Health Manager Nadine Fisher: Combining Oral Health Coordinator Positions...................................................................................... 7
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: FY08-09 Johnson County Sheriff's Office Collective Bargaining Agreement....................................................................................................................... 7
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Employee Mileage Reimbursement Rate.......... 8
Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Director Kris Artley: FY09 Provider Agency Contracts and FY09 Provider Agency Rates.................................................................................................................. 9
Trails Advisory Committee Members Janelle Rettig and Terry Dahms: Dubuque Street Trail Sweeping 11
Trails Advisory Committee Members Janelle Rettig and Terry Dahms: Recreational Trails Grants for Dubuque Street...................................................................................................................................... 14
Trails Advisory Committee Members Janelle Rettig and Terry Dahms: Trails Advisory Committee Grant Application for Mehaffey Bridge Trail..................................................................................................... 16
Trails Advisory Committee Members Janelle Rettig and Terry Dahms: Hoover Nature Trail From Solon to Ely 18
Trails Advisory Committee Members Janelle Rettig and Terry Dahms: Alternate Funding for Johnson County Bicycle Tourism Road Routes Project.......................................................................................... 23
Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan: Substance Abuse Memorandum of Understanding Between the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Johnson County Board of Supervisors.............................................. 24
Reports and Inquiries from Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan.................................................. 24
Board of Supervisors: Appointment to the Civil Service Commission......................................... 25
Board Of Supervisors: Appointments to the Johnson County Rural Advisory Committee............ 25
Chairperson Sullivan called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:12 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Larry Meyers, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Coralville Assistant City Administrator Ellen Habel said Coralville went to Des Moines to present the Center for the Performing Arts project to Vision Iowa and the Community Attraction Tourism (CAT) Board. The project was well received. She added that they submitted the letter of support received from the County. Habel said Vision Iowa and CAT noted the importance to them of the four pieces of support: Municipal, State, County, and Private. She said all those are in process or in place except for County support. Neuzil said he had a chance to meet with Iowa City Mayor Regenia Bailey, who serves on the Vision Iowa Board. He said that Bailey told him that one Vision Iowa member would never support anything unless there is some County commitment.
R. Sullivan said there have been seven or eight Vision Iowa projects that received money from the County. He added that the County has consistently supported these projects with $20,000. He asked Habel if that is the amount requested. Habel said yes. Habel said Coralville has already requested $1.8 millions from the State. Stutsman asked if the $20,000 would be given over five years. Habel said that was correct.
Harney said it is a minimal investment for the return on the Center. Habel said excitement is really building for the project. She noted that there are more groups interested in using the Center. Neuzil said the project can be a collaborative project within the community. He added that these are exactly the kinds of projects the Board has consistently supported in the past. Stutsman asked when is the ground breaking for the project. Habel said he plan is to start construction in fall 2008. Habel said they raised about $300,000 from private fundraising.
Recessed to the formal meeting at 9:16 a.m.; reconvened at 9:26 a.m.
County Engineer Greg Parker said Secondary Roads makes markings on paved county roads on an annual or bi-annual basis depending on the wear of the paint. He said during the past winter a lot of paint material was peeled from the county roads. He said that at night the roads do not have the reflectivity wanted from a safety standpoint.
Parker said they sent out bid notifications to 13 companies and received two quotes. Vogel Traffic Services sent a quote of $12.50 per gallon and Land of Painting submitted a quote of $13.31 per gallon. He said the recommendation from Secondary Roads is to proceed with Vogel Traffic Services. Parker said the total quote from Vogel Traffic Services is $64,800. He noted that the total quote from Land of Painting is $68,999.04. Parker said Secondary Roads is very happy with the bids. He noted that the bid from Vogel Traffic Services is less than the what they had two years ago. He said that is very odd.
Harney said that in the past the County has used epoxy paint because it lasts longer. He asked if that is still the case because it is not stipulated in the quotes. Parker stated that two weeks ago he and Leadperson/Sign Foreman Gary Tigges drove all of County roads. He said that the epoxy is holding up nicely. Parker said that for this project they are only considering the fast dry waterborne paints.
Stutsman asked if Vogel does the actual application of the paint markings. Parker said yes. He added that Vogel makes the paint and applies it. He said he thinks Vogel is currently working on a project in Cedar County. Parker said that might be part of the reason why Johnson County received such a favorable quote. Parker said Land of Painting is very disappointed they did not get the job. Stutsman asked if the County could ask Vogel to sweep the roads before laying down the paint. She noted that sometimes the paint is applied over gravel or whatever might be on the road and it results in splotches. She asked if that is part of the contract. Parker said they do include that as part of the bid. He explained that the company is required to brush the pavement before applying the paint. He said Vogel is a very good and very professional company. Parker said the rain has helped clean the roads. Parker said he is hoping to get the job done before agricultural dirt gets on the paved roads. Parker said he hopes everything will be completed by mid July 2008 or earlier.
Harney said it might be a good investment to put epoxy on all roads instead of just in certain locations. He said it would last longer and would not incur the cost of more applications. Parker said Secondary Roads tries to put epoxy in locations where the County seems to spend a lot of money because of traffic and curves. He said epoxy is more expensive. Parker said the County may get more longevity out of the epoxy but the cost to apply it may outweigh that benefit. He said waterborne paint might last 12 to 24 months. Parker added that epoxy paint could last five to eight years. Parker said any new paved road in the County would have epoxy on it. Harney said he just wants to know the cost difference. Parker said epoxy is a very expensive paint. He noted that the roads with waterborne paint on them have lasted over two years. He said that is very good. Parker said the past winter was tough on the waterborne paint and peeled a lot of it off. Parker said they feels confident that the waterborne paint will service the County well for the upcoming application. He said Secondary Roads is always evaluating cost differences.
Parker said the 28E project agreement for engineering design and construction management for improvements on Oakdale Boulevard Extension has been approved by Coralville. He said Oakdale Boulevard is in the County’s 5 Year Road Plan. He noted that the agreement spells out that the estimated construction cost is about $3 million. Parker said $1.5 million would be received from Surface Transportation Program funds. He noted that the other 50% of the project cost would be shared equally between Coralville and the County. He said the fees for all consultants or contractors hired outside of the scope of the agreement will be split equally between Coralville and the County. Parker said the County is doing the engineering design and construction management of the project. Upon project completion the County would send a fee back request to Coralville for 6% of the construction fees to cover half the County’s staffing costs.
Harney asked if the Corps of Engineers has provided any feedback on the project. Parker said they are still waiting for the environmental assessment. He said they signed a contract for the project bridges. He said the bridges are currently being designed. Parker said he is planning for a December 2008 or January 2009 bid letting for the project.
Parker said the archaeological assessment might delay the project. He said they are optimistic and are planning for as early letting day as they can. Parker said there are things that can delay the project. R. Sullivan said any questions about where floodplains are were answered by the weather. Parker agreed. Stutsman asked when the results of the initial archaeological phase will be available. Parker said there are three phases. He noted that Phase I is completed. There is a request to move on to Phase II. He said that depending on the results of Phase II they may have to go to Phase III. He said the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the State Historical Preservation Office (SHIPPO) will be involved in the decision process and will tell what can and cannot be done.
Stutsman asked if the Phase II findings would reflect where the project will go. Parker said he doesn’t know what directions will be given to staff. He said the worst case scenario is that the alignment would be changed. He added that the best case scenario would be that DNR and SHIPPO give the consent to proceed. Parker said he wants to make sure they are being friendly and protecting of any archaeological finds. The Board agreed to move the project on the formal agenda.
Peter Feldstein said he wants to start a discussion about artwork in the new Health and Human Services (HHS) Building. He said the Oxford Project has been displayed on a monitor on the first floor of the Administration Building and is quite popular. He said that there are people standing in front of the monitor for up to half an hour. He said there is a book coming out in September 2008 that he is very excited about.
Stutsman asked Feldstein if he could give a brief summary of the Oxford Project for people who are not familiar with it. Feldstein said he has lived in Oxford since 1978. In 1984 he decided to photograph all the residents of Oxford. He photographed 670 of the town’s 676 residents. Feldstein said about three or four years ago he retired from the University of Iowa and decided to re-photograph as many people as possible. He added that Steve Bloom interviewed the people photographed. Feldstein said the project caught on immediately. He said they got a lot of press from The New York Times, ABC World News, Smithsonian Magazine and others. He said he was surprised by the appeal of the project across the country. He said the response has been unbelievable.
Feldstein said they have three different sizes of prints, some of which are bigger than life size. Stutsman asked if the prints need to be matted and framed. Feldstein confirmed. Stutsman asked Facilities Director Dave Kempf if the County has a budget for building artwork. Feldstein said it has been determined that the average person stands in front of a work of art in a museum or gallery for seven seconds. He said he saw people at the Des Moines Art Center standing in front of the monitor for up to an hour.
R. Sullivan said that having the photos and text on the first floor monitor has been a fantastic addition to the Administration Building. He said it is amazing how people, including the Supervisors, stand and look at the monitor. R. Sullivan said the people photographed seemed to think they didn’t have much of a story to tell but they were wrong. Harney agreed.
Harney said the Communications Committee was given the challenge of putting something together for the Administration Building and the new HHS Building. He said he could certainly support integrating something like the Oxford Project. Harney said he thinks the process needs to go through the Committee. Meyers said there is an Art in Public Buildings Program. Kempf said he thinks the Oxford Project fits right into the direction in which the Committee is moving. He said the Committee is in the process of coming up with the Selection Committee to decide what type of art they are looking for. Kempf said the Committee plans on having some type of established art exhibition program space in the HHS Building. He said there is no specific dollar amount set aside for art. Kempf said the County set aside money for overages and extras that can possibly be used for this type of project. He said he thinks having the first floor Oxford Project monitor has been a great addition to the Administration Building.
Neuzil said that maybe setting up two or three flat screen televisions to display the Oxford Project might be more cost effective than matting and framing all the photos. Kempf said that is certainly some of the conversation that will need to take place within the Committee. Stutsman asked if the Committee involves the artists in the discussions. She said some artists have very specific expectations on how their work will be handled and displayed. Kempf said there is also a liability issue and waiver that need to be considered.
R. Sullivan said that there is no State requirement that a certain percentage of the building go into art. He said that requirement is only for State buildings. R. Sullivan said Iowa City doesn’t have any type of requirement like that except for the City's own buildings. He noted that it is totally up to the County to decide what to do. R. Sullivan said there are some grants available at the State level. He asked if the Committee is pursuing those grants. Kempf said yes. He said the deadline for the grant applications was April 1, 2008 but the committee just didn’t feel ready to apply. He noted that the Committee would apply in 2009. Neuzil said the Committee might be successful securing a grant from Humanities Iowa.
Kempf said the Committee has areas in the HHS Building designated for flat panel TVs. He said there would be quite a bit of wall space in the building. He said he thinks there will be a lot of opportunities to display various types of art. Kempf said the art display would be an important component to the atmosphere of the building. Regarding size, Kempf said, the larger the piece the harder it is to find the appropriate space to display it. Kempf said he still thinks there are some neat opportunities for a variety of things to take place in the HHS Building. Harney said he and Meyers are on the Committee. Harney said the Committee plans on determining what they want in the buildings and then making a recommendation to the Board. He said the Board would have the final say on the process and what artwork goes in the buildings.
Stutsman said she feels artwork in the building is very important and she wants it done right. She said the community has a wealth of people with incredible experience and expertise in art. She asked if the Board is interested in forming a committee that invites some of those people in. Kempf said he doesn’t think the committee is at that stage since not much of the HHS is built yet. Stutsman said she hopes the Board would seriously consider that. She said she thinks it would be a great opportunity to involve some people from the community. Kempf said absolutely. R. Sullivan said Feldstein might be a great person to start with.
Neuzil said there could be an anchor project and an amount of traveling art. Neuzil said that everything goes back to the cost factor. Stutsman said there is a possibility that people will be willing to donate some work. Kempf said absolutely. Kempf said the project needs to be approached carefully. He said there are liability issues that need to be worked out. Meyers said the Committee has had some discussions about whether the pieces will be on loan or donated. Harney said another issue is trying to maintain the selection to historic and tasteful art. Stutsman said art is in the eyes of the beholder. She said she doesn’t want to encourage anything that is off-color but everybody has different ideas about the kind of art that they like.
Feldstein said the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has an amazing collection of art. He noted that the University always hangs the artwork so that it cannot be easily removed. Kempf reiterated the Committee is taking the right approach to the project. R. Sullivan said the Board wants to clearly send the message that they have been exposed to Feldstein’s work and are very glad it is displayed on the first floor of the Administration Building. Kempf said he thinks the Oxford Project is exactly the type of art the Committee is moving towards. Meyers said the local angle is just terrific and the project is fascinating. He said adding the text and the updated photographs make it amazing to look at. Meyers said using local art in the building is terrific.
Early Childhood Specialist Laurie Nash noted that the contract for the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to be the fiscal agent for the Empowerment Board is a renewal contract. She said Johnson County has been the fiscal agent for the Johnson County Empowerment Board since 1999 and the contract is renewed yearly. Nash said as part of the contract the Johnson County Empowerment Board does not pay for fiscal agent services. She noted that all of the services are provided in-kind by the County. R. Sullivan said they are talking about writing checks and doing payroll. Nash said they are talking about processing payroll, writing checks, and keeping an accounting system in order in case of federal audits. The Board agreed to place the item on a future formal agenda for approval.
Nash said the Iowa Empowerment Board requires that each of the local empowerment boards have a non-profit public entity as their fiscal agents. She said this is a way to say that the Board will comply with the State regulations as a fiscal agent. R. Sullivan asked if the County Attorney's Office had a chance to review the State regulations. Nash said the document is done yearly and has been reviewed by the County Attorney. The Board decided to place the item on a future formal agenda.
Women, Infant, and Children/Maternal Child Health Manager Nadine Fisher said Public Health has been employing an Oral Health Coordinator for the last year and a half. She said the position was funded through a Nice Smile grant from the Iowa Department of Public Health. Fisher said Public Health would like to expand that position using Title 19 funds and grant money. She explained that they would like to expand the position 10 hours and combine the part-time 30 hours with the 10 hour expansion. Stutsman asked if the position would be grant funded. Fisher said the expansion is budget neutral. R. Sullivan said the item will go on the following week's formal agenda.
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek said that HR started negotiations with the County Sheriff's Office in fall 2007. She said there were three meetings in October, November, and December. Shramek said there is a one-year contract with a 3.25% increase. She noted that there is no change in insurance. Shramek said the next step is for the Board to sign the contract. R. Sullivan said the item will be moved on the formal agenda.
Shramek said Johnson County’s current mileage reimbursement rate is 34 cents per mile. She recommended that the Board consider increasing the rate. Shramek said the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) increased their mileage reimbursement to 50.5 cents per mile on March 19, 2008. Shramek noted that the County's mileage reimbursement has been 34 cents since July 1, 2006. She said that in 2006 a gallon of gas was $2.24. Shramek noted that currently a gallon of gas is $3.84. Shramek said there are employees that refuse to drive their own car because of the low reimbursement rate. She said the problem is that an increase is unbudgeted. Shramek noted that the average mileage reimbursement for the State of Iowa is 39 cents.
Shramek said her recommendation is to have a 10 cent increase in the rate. She explained that the increase would represent a 30% increase in the budget. Neuzil asked how the Board arrived at the current rate of 34 cents. Shramek said that ideally the County would match the State's reimbursement rate. She noted that 34 cents is just a number that the Board approved. Shramek said the last time she was in front of the Board she asked for an increase to 36 cents, but the Board approved a 2 cent increase to 34 cents. Stutsman asked if the money comes out of Central Services. Shramek said the money comes out of the individual department budgets.
Stutsman asked what impact a 30% budget increase would have on departmental budgets. Shramek said she asked Budget Coordinator Richard Claiborne to take a look at that. Neuzil said he wants to see what impact a 10 cent raise in mileage reimbursement would have on the departmental budgets. R. Sullivan said he likes the idea of indexing so that the Board doesn't find itself with such a big gap between the County's reimbursement rate and the State's. Meyers said 44.5 cents is really close to the State and the IRS reimbursement rates. He said he agrees that using the average as a benchmark seems like an easy way to go. Stutsman said she would be interested in seeing what impact an increase to 50 cents would have on the departmental budgets. She noted that the gas prices are not backing down.
Neuzil said the departments can factor in their budgets the increase in mileage reimbursement. He noted that the Board can look at incrementally increasing the rate by a few pennies. He said the Board hasn't been keeping up with the reality. Shramek said she thought about raising the rate by 5 cents now and by additional 5 cents on January 1, 2009. She noted that gas could be $5 a gallon by January 2009.
Meyers asked if the IRS index is a nationwide number. Shramek confirmed. R. Sullivan said Des Moines is the cheapest big city in the country. Shramek said her recommendation is a combination of mileage reimbursements of both the State and the IRS. She said the State of Iowa represents all 99 counties. Shramek noted that Johnson County incurs higher costs than the vast majority of the counties.
R. Sullivan said that as part of the Cool Counties Initiative he would like to see an incentive for departments to lower the amount of miles driven. R. Sullivan said he concurs that the County's current mileage reimbursement rate is too low. Neuzil asked if it would be more economical for the County to invest in a few fuel efficient vehicles instead of having employees drive their own vehicles. Stutsman said she agrees with R. Sullivan that the Board should encourage more carpooling.
Neuzil said Linn County reimburses employees at the same mileage rate as the IRS. He said that Johnson County should do that or split the average of both the IRS and the State. Harney agreed and said the gas prices change periodically throughout the year. Stutsman asked Shramek what she meant by indexing. Shramek said by indexing the County would adopt the average of the State and Federal rates. Neuzil said Shramek will not have to return to the Board every time there is a change in rates.
Meyers asked if the rates adjustment is done once a year. Shramek said she thinks the adjustments are done several times a year. Stutsman asked if mileage reimbursement rate would be changed once a year or as often as the State and IRS changed their rates. Neuzil said the rate would be changed during the budget time. R. Sullivan said he would prefer to see changes be done once a year. He said he is interested in doing exactly what Neuzil suggested.
Harney said he would like to increase the rate to 44.5 cents per mile. He added that the departments should encourage more carpooling. Neuzil said the rates of the State and the IRS are set not just by fuel prices, but also maintenance and oil changes. He said that most counties in the State have a reimbursement rate close to 50 cents per mile. Neuzil said going up to 44.5 cents seems a lot more realistic. R. Sullivan said he is generally supportive he just wants to see what impact the increase will have on departmental budgets. Neuzil agreed. Stutsman said the Board needs some actual numbers because she does not like to decide something without having any facts. R. Sullivan said the Board will put the item on next week's agenda and if they don't have the numbers by then they will just pull it off.
Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities (MH/DD) Director Kris Artley said the provider contracts pertain to pharmacies. She said the County has been under a one-year contract with Hy-Vee Pharmacies, Liberty Pharmacy, Mercy Medical Plaza Pharmacy, NuCara Pharmacy, Pharmacy Matters, and Towncrest Pharmacy. Artley noted that all entities wish to continue contracting with the County. MH/DD is proposing another one-year contract because there have been many changes over the past 18 months. She said she wants to emphasize that in January 2007 MH/DD began contracting directly with local pharmacies for prescription medications coming out of the Medication Fund. Artley said Pharmaceutical Technologies administers the Medication Fund Formulary through their subsidiary National Pharmaceutical Services (NPS).
Artley said Johnson County is in the process of contracting with Pharmaceutical Technologies. She noted that there is no continuation of the process from 2007. Artley said she does not know where the contract is at the moment. R. Sullivan said the Attorney's Office had run into a question that is taking a long time to figure out. Artley said she did not find an individual contract for them.
Artley said the NPS formulary was implemented in the County starting July 1, 2007 and has been very well received by the local pharmacies. She said the Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committee, comprised of physicians and pharmacists, assist in developing formula based on therapeutic classes, adverse events, and the costs of treatment. Artley said the nationwide entity is very well received by the local pharmacies.
Artley said there was an 18% increase in the number of clients served from 2006 to 2007. She noted that the average monthly cost during the same time period went down by 15.4%. She said the average prescription cost in 2006 was $130.95 and in 2007 the average prescription cost dropped to $99.72. Artley said that from 2006 to 2007 there was a cost saving of over $191,000. She said that's the direction the County wants to keep going because it will continue to serve more people and not less.
Artley said currently there are an average of 300 individuals and 675 prescriptions each month. She said although the County is able to serve many more clientele. Artley said her recommendation is that after the Board signs the contracts they will be sent to the respective pharmacies. She said once the pharmacies sign the contracts and mail them back to the County, the County Auditor will sign them and file one set of copies in the Auditor's Office and one set of copies in the MH/DD office.
Harney asked if all pharmacies accept the National Association of Counties (NACo) discount card. Artley said she assumes they all do. Harney said he'd like to make sure each pharmacy accepts the cards. Artley said she wants to send NACo cards with letters to all clients impacted by potential Medication Fund Formulary changes. She said there will be about 300 NACo cards going out in the mail shortly. R. Sullivan said a few years ago a concern was the accessibility of the pharmacies. He noted that the pharmacies are now spread throughout the County and the discount is widely available to the people. Artley it is a marvelous program. She noted that it is extra work for the County but is a very beneficial program to clients.
Artley said the mileage reimbursement issue has been a major source of consternation within MH/DD. She said that all case managers are required to have an accessible vehicle with liability coverage. Artley said her agency is reimbursed 34 cents per mile. She noted that MH/DD expends a lot more mileage than any other department.
Artley said she is very excited about the prospect of having art in the Health and Human Services (HHS) Building. She said her 91 year old father-in-law, Bob Artley, is well known throughout the State for his artwork and editorial cartoons called Memories of a Former Kid.
Artley said there is no specific rate. She explained that the County will pay the average wholesale price, less 12% plus a $2.5 dispensing fee for brand name medications. Artley noted that the cost for generic prescriptions will be the maximum allowable cost plus a $4 dispensable fee. The Board decided to put the item on a future formal agenda.
Recessed at 10:25 a.m.; reconvened at 10:32 a.m.
Trails Advisory Committee Member Janelle Rettig said she believes that trail sweeping should be expanded to include wide paved shoulders. Rettig said Butler Bridge and the County portion of Dubuque Street are in terrible shape. Rettig said all the year's rains and snow have congregated in big sand and rock piles. Rettig said an annual sweeping of the rocks and sands would be in order. She said that during the weekend she rode the wide paved shoulders on Mehaffey Bridge. Rettig said there are parts of the wide paved shoulders that are amazingly dangerous.
Rettig noted that the question is whether the County values wide paved shoulders as a route for bicyclists or not. She said if the wide shoulders are considered part of the roadway that is a different matter. She added that if the County encourages people to ride their bikes on the wide paved shoulders the shoulders should be maintained. Rettig said she was out on Sand Road the other day and noticed that the City was sweeping their wide paved shoulders. She said she doesn't know what the County's equipment is and understands that there isn't a lot of staffing. She added that if the County is going to honor bicycling and trails it will have to maintain them. Rettig said Mehaffey Bridge Road and Sand Road are just two examples. Harney said Secondary Roads has a brush that can be pulled behind the machine to sweep the trails and shoulders. Rettig said the machine is too big to go on the trails. R. Sullivan concurred. He said the County would have to contract with the City. Stutsman said the County could buy a piece of equipment.
R. Sullivan asked what the County's current policy on shoulders is. Parker said the County has a tow behind sweeper. He said typically Secondary Roads sweeps the trails and shoulders when time permits. He noted that Secondary Roads is a month and a half behind in all operations. Parker said they are still putting rock out. He noted that typically they try to sweep the paved shoulders once or twice a year. Parker said the County has been adding paved shoulders to the edge of the pavements but they are not classified as trails. Parker said they are adding width for the safety of the vehicular traveling public. He explained that if there are heavy vehicles driving the edge of the roads where there are no additional extensions it can break down the pavement. Parker said the shoulders minimize the maintenance of the high traffic roads.
R. Sullivan asked if the paved shoulders are swept during years with normal weather. Parker said rural areas do not have a curb and gutter system. He said cities have sweepers to minimize the clogging of the storm systems. Parker noted that the County's runoff just goes off into the ditch. He said that Secondary Roads tries to go out and sweep once in the spring and again in the fall if they have the time and the staffing.
Harney said the Board started the trails policy. He stated that as needed the Board decided to create extra shoulders to accommodate bicyclists. He said the bicyclists can't ride on the shoulders because of the gravel and deceased animals on the road. Harney said the County should look at possibly sweeping the shoulders more often.
Stutsman said there are complaints all the time because the roads aren't mowed. She said the Board is going to really hear a lot of complaints from farmers if they see the County spending time sweeping shoulders for bicyclists. Stutsman said the County won't be mowing roads because it will be busy brushing road shoulders. She said if the County is going to sweep the shoulders the Board needs to allocate the resources to do it. Neuzil said the roads are sandier than usual because Secondary Roads is a month and a half behind on rock application.
Rettig said if the County considers the wide paved shoulders a bicycle accommodation they need to sweep the shoulders. Stutsman asked Rettig if she is talking about sweeping the shoulders more than twice a year. Rettig said she thinks sweeping twice a year would be great. She said it is June 2008 and the road shoulders have not yet been swept. Neuzil said Rettig needs to understand that it has been an unusual year. Neuzil asked Parker what his experience is from other counties that are more progressive and care about biking. Parker said this was a phenomenal year in terms of putting sand on the roads. He noted that as the winter progressed County staff had to mix more sand with the salt. He said that there is probably a higher deposit of materials on the edge of the pavement. Parker said a newly designed road should naturally clean itself off with the help of the rain. He said the older roads probably don't have that function but he and his staff do monitor those things.
Parker said the spring weather and the timing of hauling out rock to the gravel roads have put Secondary Roads six weeks behind the normal schedule. He said if Secondary Roads was on schedule, they would have been done with the rock contract and would start applying dust control. Parker said he understands it is a hazard to have all the material on the shoulders and Secondary Roads is trying to accommodate as much as possible.
Neuzil said the new trail system that will be added to Butler Bridge will somewhat resolve the issue. Rettig said Butler Bridge is horrible. Neuzil said it is always bad because that is where the quarry comes out with rocks. He said in the past the City has done some maintenance work there. He added that he has also seen bicycle groups get permits and do the work themselves. Rettig said she is not aware of that. She noted that there is a single bicycle group in Iowa City and she has never seen that happen. Neuzil said he thinks it was individual bicyclists.
R. Sullivan asked if the County has an agreement that the City would clean Butler Bridge. Parker said the County has a maintenance agreement with the City. He noted that he thinks Butler Bridge is where the City spins around and goes back the other way. Stutsman asked if the County has ever talked to the City about contracting with them to sweep all the way out to Dubuque Street. Parker said no. R. Sullivan said there aren't wide shoulders on Dubuque Street. Rettig said it is her understanding that the County only owns the equipment to sweep the roadway and not the trails. Stutsman concurred. Rettig said at some point the County will have to invest in equipment. She noted that on the Dubuque Street trail one has to cross Butler Bridge on the sides. She said the bridge is a disaster zone. She said the trail has one place that can only be described as a sand pit.
Neuzil said there are a couple of civic organizations looking for a project, the Iowa City Social Club and the Chamber’s Base Organization. Neuzil said the organizations are looking for particular projects and one idea is adopting a trail. Neuzil said it might be an opportunity to start something similar to the Adopt a Creek or Adopt a Roadway programs. He said he thinks one option the County ought to consider is the possibility of using General Fund money to contract the service.
Rettig said there is a long-term and a short-term answer. She said that short-term the paved shoulders and trails are dangerous. Stutsman said she thinks the Board needs to make a decision about how to maintain the trails. She said if the Board will encourage people to use the trails then the County has to provide the resources to make sure the trails are safe and clean. Stutsman said the County might have to contract with the City of Iowa City, buy equipment, or set up a volunteer program. She said if they buy the equipment the County needs additional staff. Neuzil said maybe the bicycle trails are not for bicyclists year-round but also for other recreational activities like cross-country skiing.
R. Sullivan said he thinks the Board expects the wide shoulders to be swept. He noted that 2008 is just an exceptional year where Secondary Roads has an increased workload. Neuzil said the mowing has also been put on hold. R. Sullivan said the Board wants to see the road sweeping continue. He noted that Parker's intent is to do that when his staff has the time. Parker reiterated that in most years the paved shoulders would have been swept by July. He said right now he has everyone rocking gravel roads.
Rettig said the Board might want to send a formal request to Iowa City Parks and Recreations Director Terry Trueblood asking for help in sweeping the trails. Stutsman said she is in favor of that. Rettig said if the Board decides to build additional trails they will have to do more. R. Sullivan said if the Board is interested he is willing to make the contact with Trueblood.
Trails Committee Member Terry Dahms said Butler Bridge is a unique problem because it crosses the Iowa River. Dahms said the bridge is quite lengthy and wide and there is rock there because of the quarry. Dahms said that there is some vandalism and people throwing glass bottles against the bridge. Dahms said it would be nice to ask the City to do the County a favor. R. Sullivan said he will make the contact. He added that he wants to see the Trails Committee get a long term estimate from the City, Coralville, and Quality Care for the cost of maintaining the trail. Stutsman said the estimate would be compared to the cost of the County buying its own equipment and paying for manpower. Neuzil asked what Linn County Trails Committee does to maintain their trails. Rettig said the trails are maintained by the Linn County Conservation Board. She said that may be a model that Johnson County could follow.
Rettig said last year the State funded eight grants for trails. Three of the eight projects were earmarked. The State’s Recreational Trails Budget went from $2 million to $3 million. Rettig said that $1.2 million is earmarked and $1.8 million will be available for competitive grant cycle. She said she understands that at the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) Lobby Day the Board lobbied for an earmark on the Dubuque Street trail. Rettig said that did not happen. She noted that Crawford County has two trails earmarked in 2007.
Rettig said the numbers have been recalculated and there is a $30,000 increase in the cost of the trail. Rettig said the State Grant requires a minimum of 25% local match. She said last year the Board pledged $167,500 but with the $30,000 increase the pledge would total $175,000. Rettig said the Board applied for three grants last year and the match went from $167,500 to $201,000. She said the minimum match is 25% to 30%. Rettig said of the eight projects funded by the State only one asked for the maximum 75% match. She said she doesn’t know if that makes the County uncompetitive. Rettig said the Trails Advisory Committee is in the process of preparing the grant application. Rettig said 2.9 miles of trail will cost $700,000 if built in 2009. She said that if a trail is built in 2010 the cost is expected to increase by 5%.
Rettig said that the County applied for the grant in July 2007 and found out that application was denied in October 2007. Rettig said the Board has to decide the percentage for local match. R. Sullivan asked Rettig if she got the feeling the County’s chances were downgraded because they asked for a 75% match. Rettig said no. She said East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) Transportation Planner Mary Rump spoke to the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) and they said Johnson County submitted a very strong application that was next in line for funding. Rettig said if Johnson County pledges 25%, the State’s maximum match would be $525,000 of the $1.8 million that is available.
Rettig said the Trails Advisory Committee recommends that the Board apply for the State Grant by July 1, 2008 and that a similar application be submitted by October 10, 2008 for the Federal Recreational Trails Grant and the Transportation Enhancement Grant. She said the match will go up to a minimum of $210,000 for the Transportation Enhancement Grant. Rettig said all three grants have to be applied for at once because the County is unlikely to know the status of the first application before the next two need to be submitted. She said at minimum the County is pledging $210,000 to Transportation Enhancement. She noted that if everything goes through the County will have approximately $400,000 for trails. Rettig said pledging half of that available money to one project will leave a minimum of $190,000 available for the next project.
Harney asked Rettig if she is referring to the ECICOG grant. Rettig said it is a different grant. She said the County applied for the trails grant for the Dubuque Street trail. She noted that the ECICOG grant is different. Harney asked if the engineering costs are included in the estimate. Parker said it was not part of the application. Harney said generally most grant applicants will put the engineering cost in there. Parker said adding in engineering design and construction would increase the total costs by 12% to 15%. R. Sullivan said that is a good question to ask. Rettig said the chart could be redone to include the engineering costs in the application. Parker said another line item could show design and construction management costs.
Stutsman asked why the Board doesn’t allocate all trails money for the grant application to make it successful. Neuzil asked how much money is left for trails. Rettig said the Board will have $400,000 by July 1, 2008. Stutsman asked what the grant will amount to. Rettig said the amount is $700,000 until the 12% increase for engineering costs is included. She said she doesn’t think the Board should allocate all $400,000 for the grant application. She noted that the County could make progress on the other trails. Stutsman said she gets frustrated when the County is just accumulating dollars and not spending them. Rettig said if engineering costs are added in to make the total costs more expensive the County could pledge $200,000 for this project. She said the Board could also pledge $210,000 to the Transportation Enhancement Grant.
R. Sullivan said he has had an opportunity to talk to Iowa State Senators Bob Dvorsky and Joe Bolkcom and Iowa State Representative David Jacoby. He said all of them asked if the County had the next highest rated application. R. Sullivan said he told them yes, and their advice was to resubmit. He said he got the sense that they are not fully comfortable with the earmarking system and there might be discussion on that soon. He said they encouraged the County to put in its best application because they want to evaluate the whole earmarking system. Stutsman said she had a similar conversation. Dahms said some of the earmarking went towards completing a trail system in central Iowa. He said for whatever reason a lot of the applications are not successful the first time they are submitted.
Stutsman said she understands that if she was a grantee she would want her dollars to go as far as they can. She said if two counties applied for the same grant and one pledged 50% while the other pledged only 25% she would do the same. Stutsman said she doesn’t know how to approach it. Rettig said the big projects never have matches of 50%. She said the big projects are usually closer to the 25% minimum match. Rettig said the County could pledge the first $200,000 to the Trails Grant because with the added engineering costs it would put the County well over the 30% match mark; possibly 35% which would make for a very strong application. Rettig said if the County were successful they would have $200,000 to move onto the next project. Parker said he thinks that is a good strategy; it shows the County is committed to the project by matching a full $200,000 that is already in the trails budget. Stutsman agreed. Harney said the Trails Grant grantees are far more apt to accept a county’s application the second time. He said they don’t like to see sidewalks being called trails.
R. Sullivan said it sounds like all the Board members are interested in continuing to reapply for as many grants as they can. He said Harney’s suggestion that the engineering costs be included sounds like a very good idea, and Parker said that’s about an $84,000 match. Rettig asked if the County would pledge $200,000 of its own money. R. Sullivan said yes. The Board agreed to include the engineering costs and pledge a $200,000 match.
Rettig said snowmobile users had requested a line be added to the grant which was adopted unanimously by the Trails Advisory Committee because it was always their intention. She said the committee believes adding a line for snowmobile users will make the grant more successful because the trails funding people don’t like to see counties kick other trail users off of the trails. Rettig said if possible the County should find an accommodation for the snowmobile users and recommends that the County add that on to the application. Harney said he knows there has been real controversy about snowmobile users using the trail versus cross-country skiers and their safety. Rettig said the Trails Advisory Committee’s recommendation to the Board is to keep the trail clear year-round because it is not allowed to have any motorized traffic on it. She said the trail should be plowed year round and no motorized vehicles, including snowmobiles, other than maintenance equipment should be allowed on the trails. Rettig said if the trail were in a more rural place the Committee’s recommendation would be different; that the trail not be maintained year-round. She said different trails in different areas have different priorities. Rettig said she also requested letters of support that the Board should be getting from the cities and other entities that gave the Board letters of support the previous year. She said she requested that they either mail the letters to the Board or email her a copy.
Rettig said that the grant application for a Mehaffey Bridge trail came about because of the Board’s interest of putting a trail on Mehaffey Bridge Road. She said she was out there last weekend and is amazed that the pavement is expected to last until 2011. Rettig said the Board should be conscientious of that; she isn’t sure how they judge pavement but it does not appear to have survived the winter very well. Rettig said regardless, the pedestrian part of the bridge is part of the construction project and there was a question of how the trail going from North Liberty to Sugar Bottom Road would be paid for. She said there was a recommendation that the County apply for regional Transportation Enhancement funds as a possibility. Rettig said the funds are programmed out to 2012 so if the County doesn’t apply this fall it won’t have any chance of getting funds in time for construction. She said it was recommended that the County go ahead and apply in the fall even though the road might need to be developed sooner than that, so at least the County is on the radar screen. Rettig said the grant application would be prepared for other uses to be determined later; perhaps for submission the following year for State and Federal recreation trails. Rettig said the problem is the County can’t submit a grant application this year for a trail it doesn’t intend to build until 2011 or 2012. She said the grantees have a timeline of 18 or 24 months in which the project must be completed. Rettig said the other grant applications cannot be submitted yet but they can be prepared, and Rump has agreed to help the County do that if the Board wants to move forward. She said hopefully the Committee would be able to modify the applications themselves and then send them to ECICOG.
Neuzil said that is a good idea but his only concern is that Secondary Roads has gotten direction from the Board that a separated trail is desired at the same time as the road upgrade. He said he is afraid if the trail separation isn’t done at that time it will just be put off for one or more years. Dahms said this is important because obviously the trail will go to Cedar Rapids eventually. Rettig said the regional Transportation Enhancement funds available for trails isn’t a very big pot of money and might not be available until 2012 or later. She said applying for it may not be helpful to the County at all. R. Sullivan said he thinks the discussion the Board had with Parker was that the trail had to be built now. He said the Board said to build it with the understanding that the County does not have all the money needed right now. R. Sullivan said he told Parker the Board would have to look for it everywhere they can and if it’s not available the project would have to be done locally. He said essentially that is what the Board committed to at that time so hopefully there is at least another source that can cover a portion of the costs. R. Sullivan said he doesn’t think that changes the commitment of the Board to that piece of trail. Neuzil said he wants to caution that if the Board holds off on starting the trail it could be many, many years until it is completed. He said he would prefer to see it all done at once, even if it means the County has to put additional dollars to the special project that is a key link to Mehaffey Bridge and North Liberty. R. Sullivan added that it is a key link to Linn County also.
Parker said the Mehaffey Bridge is part of the 5 Year Road Plan and is to be reconstructed with available funds with an added walking path on either side of the bridge. Secondary Roads wants to complete construction in a timely manner but at the same time using dollars from a funny source instead of a local one might mean holding off the project for a year. Parker said he recommends that the Board wait for those available funds to come in before beginning construction. He said certainly it would be best to do the trail separation at the same time as the road upgrade because they are similar types of construction activities, but there will be different crews and possibly a subcontractor. Parker said the sooner the County gets things constructed the cheaper it’s going to be because costs are going up. He repeated that if waiting means possibly getting a huge chunk of funds for County projects he is wholly behind waiting for those funds to come in before beginning construction. Harney asked when the Mehaffey Bridge construction is scheduled to begin. Rettig said Mehaffey Bridge is scheduled for 2011 and the road is scheduled for 2012. R. Sullivan said a grant application showing that the County went ahead and built pedestrian and bike access into the structure would be a huge advantage. Parker said the pedestrian and bike access accounts for 30% of the $3 million total construction costs of the bridge.
Rettig said preparing a grant application for submission does not preclude that the County will come back and pay for the project itself. She said the County can’t apply for State and Federal grants if construction is not scheduled to begin until 2012 anyway. Stutsman said today she cannot commit to paying for the construction. She said there are too many unknowns. Rettig agreed. She said her recommendation is that the Board tell the Trails Advisory Committee to start preparing the grant application because it doesn’t hurt to apply. R. Sullivan said he thought the Board did that already. Stutsman said that is a huge chunk out of the County’s budget.
Neuzil said Mehaffey Bridge Road is in the 5 Year Road Plan construction costs. Neuzil said the project is unique because the Board has added the road and trail to the associated costs with the understanding that they hope to get additional dollars through funding. He said the concept is different from trying to get to Dubuque Street or trying to get from Solon to Ely. Neuzil said he agrees with Stutsman; two years from now is when the Board will get to the nitty-gritty and will have to actually find those dollars. Parker said the Board has to use the matches as Rettig said, and there are roads that the funds cannot be used on because they would be localized 4A projects. He said the County has been very aggressive with the 5 Year Road Plan but his department is typically load heavy. Rettig said she will pursue a grant application and work out the details later.
Dahms said that the proposed Hoover Nature Trail is the old railroad right-of-way which is in amazingly good shape. He said the expectations for trails unfortunately have been raised over the years and a lot of people expect hard surfaces now. Dahms said the old railroad right-of-way could be open in rough state if there were bridges in there. He said SnowDrifters Snowmobile Club Representative Melvin Reinhart has been trying to get some cost estimates for the prefabricated bridges. Dahms said there is a big bridge over 100 feet total and a smaller one that the old pre-soak pilings are in good shape. He said there is a third bridge that could have a culvert. Dahms said an option is to put the bridges in and open the trail in its rough state to allow use. He said there are still some issues in Solon.
Harney asked Dahms what he suggested the Board do with the section of land reverted back to farmland. Dahms said that is Polk Avenue and it is a Level B road. Harney said he had visited with a farmer whose concern was that he needed to get down the roads to the fields for his livestock and farming. Harney said there might be a conflict of sorts and the Board is going to have to evaluate what they are going to do there. Neuzil said there was some discussion about making the road into a Level C road so the farmer would have gated access to the fields. He said there are some issues with that particular section of trail including piping.
R. Sullivan asked Dahms if he is working on getting the costs estimates and if this is just a report to the Board. Dahms said he is just giving the Board a report for their information. Rettig said she wanted to give a heads-up that the Trails Advisory Committee had discussed that the County could spend their own money to build the trail if it didn't get a grant. She said the County should continue down that path because it's the highest priority to focus on the grant application for Dubuque Street. She said it's possible to share funds from local donors, snowmobile users, and community members for the County to match so that part of the trail could be opened up. Neuzil asked if the County has to acquire pieces of property along the section of trail, and Dahms said no, the County does not. Neuzil said it sounds like the County needs three significant structures. Rettig said the Linn County Trails Association, a nonprofit organization that owns the sections of property in question, would like to give the sections to Johnson County as soon as they figure out who to give them to. Rettig said the Linn County Trails Association has been asking to do that for a while now, and she thinks they should honor their request.
R. Sullivan said he doesn't understand the question of who to give them to. Neuzil said the Conservation Department. Rettig said they don’t know who to put on the deeds. Harney asked if the deeds should go to the Trails Advisory Committee or the Conservation Department. R. Sullivan said he would think they would want the deeds to go directly to the County. Assistant County Attorney Andy Chappell said he is not convinced that he wants the deeds to go to any Johnson County entity at this point. He said as soon as the County has an ownership interest in the property the County has the obligation to maintain it. Stutsman said the County would also assume liability responsibility too. Chappell agreed. He said he suspects most of the deeds Linn County has are quit claim deeds as opposed to warranty deeds which means the title to the deeds may well be suspect.
Chappell said sometimes the deeds to railroads were given to the County years after being abandoned. He said by some interpretations the property would have already reverted back to the farmers. He said there are some real questions as to how much value the deeds hold. Chappell said before accepting the property the Board should have those questions answered and an idea of what they plan to do with the property. He said regardless if the County accepts some ownership interest it will have some responsibility and liability. R. Sullivan said that is probably why Linn County wants to get rid of the property. Parker said once a structure is constructed it must be inspected biannually which could result in additional costs.
Neuzil said the County has only used the Rural Fund to upgrade trails, and as far as the County's Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) goes the Board will have to have some discussion soon. He said if the Board determines that the property is a general use residence more than just rural, and obviously it is, then maybe the Board ought to take a closer look at the General Fund use. R. Sullivan said he thought the Board put money from both funds into trails. Stutsman and Neuzil said yes, they did. Rettig said it is her understanding that $100,000 was put forth both this fiscal year and the next. Neuzil agreed. He said additional dollars are going to have to come out of the Rural Fund to keep up with regular maintenance with some General Funds because it sounds to him like this is beyond rural use. Rettig said she is not on the Conservation Board but other counties do these things through their Conservation Boards. Neuzil agreed and added that Conservation is funded from the General Fund.
Stutsman said she questions whether any money should come out of the Rural Fund. Harney asked Dahms if the Linn County Trails Association possesses the deeds. He said if he remembers correctly the deeds were handed over to Johnson-Cedar Counties’ defunct committee. Rettig said the Hoover and Linn County Trails Association turned the deeds over to the Linn County Trails Association because they were the only existing entity that would take them. She said the City of West Branch actually owns a piece of the Hoover Trail in Johnson County. Rettig said the City of West Branch owns a part that is not developed and she thinks they might want a governmental body in Johnson County to assume the property for the trail. Harney said that is the money Johnson County gave Linn County to complete their trails a year ago, and Neuzil said no. Stutsman said it's been longer; the Linn County Trails Association has always talked of wanting to give the deeds to Johnson County. She asked Rettig what she is asking for. Rettig said she is here just to give the Board a heads-up. She said she wanted to know if there was some potential to move forward with the project outside of a grant. Harney asked if there is a way that some information could be provided to the County Attorney's Office to be reviewed. Rettig said she did that and while she does not want to speak for County Attorney Janet Lyness, Lyness did not seem interested.
Chappell said he can speak for Lyness because he and she spoke briefly about it. He said he raised some issues because these are terribly difficult, terribly complex matters to look into. Chappell said Rettig is talking about not wanting the County to take title to something until 1) the County knows what it is getting title too and 2) the Board is really ready to accept responsibility. He said it can occasionally be seen that lots that the County has ownership interest in, but more often than not they create more problems than benefits for folks. Chappell said he doesn't know; he hasn't seen the particular deed Rettig is talking about it but he has a strong assumption that those deeds are quit claim deeds. He said all a quit-claim deed does is says, "Whatever right or interest I had in this property I am giving to you." Chappell said it doesn't give the entity a warranty deed so the County would start out with problems with the deeds themselves. The County would have several different deeds based on several different pieces of property that were acquired by railroad companies often in excess of 100 years ago.
Chappell said Iowa Law has provisions in it whereby when a railroad company abandons a railroad there are reversion rights. Chappell said at some point the Board is going to have to determine when the railroad left the property, which is terribly difficult. He said there are some documents filed in this regard and some that aren't. Chappell said the Board has to determine when the railroad company abandoned the property to determine whether the railroad company has any right to give to anyone at all some 50 years later.
Chappell said what he thinks happened with some of these properties is that at some point the Hoover Nature Trail folks probably approached the railroad companies, asking them to donate all the unused railroad right-of-way for a nature trail. He said the railroad companies probably decided at some point to give the Hoover Nature Trail folks a quit claim deed. Chappell said that doesn’t mean the railroad companies still own the properties, it just meant that the railroad company wasn't willing to do the investigation and spend the money. He said he is sure they didn't get paid anything for the deed; they just figured at least they would get rid of it. Chappell reiterated there are really complex issues to review and taking the property from the Linn County Trails Association will take a title review that will cost money. He said no one has asked his department to make this a priority; he said if it is made a priority, quite honestly it will end up being a huge project, and something else will end up getting pushed back.
Stutsman said she remembers when former County Attorney J. Patrick White was in office and he said the same thing; taking the property deeds was just going to be a huge project. She said if the Board was interested in doing it she would be willing to entertain contracting out the project. Stutsman said she too doesn't know if she is comfortable asking the County Attorney's Office to put something else off. R. Sullivan said the Board isn't asking them to work on the deeds right now. Rettig said she is asking the Board to identify the title review as the second or third highest priority in the Trails Plan. Rettig said the Board did ask for an earmark from the Federal government. She said figuring out what is owned, what is legal, and what can be conveyed should be a priority in lieu of the fact that the trail is the second or third highest priority in the Plan. Rettig said sometime the Board is going to have to get around to investigating the deeds. Neuzil said the Trails Advisory Committee might have to not use the route. He said that is a possibility. Rettig said the Trails Committee did not create the route but the Trails Plan did. Neuzil said he is just saying if the Trails Plan can't be done then it might have to be changed.
Dahms said he wants to point out that yes, Chappell raises some concerns. He said those concerns need to be addressed, but what the Trails Advisory Committee is asking for is not a precedent. Dahms said there are many, many trails all over the State on old railroad right-of-ways and he is not aware of any problems. He said he is not sure there isn't a Statute of Limitations on them; he said the railroad right-of-ways date back 100 years. Dahms said many of them have been abandoned for over 25 years and often there aren't claims with reversionary rights. He said there is a certain amount of time for people to come forward and claim the property and no one has come forward.
Dahms said maybe the deeds are quit claim but they have not been challenged. Chappell said the claimants the County is going to hear from are not going to be the railroad companies, but current adjacent property owners. He said there are a lot of times there have been farmers farming the trail for many years, or at least assume they own the property. Dahms said one thing the Trails Advisory Committee could do is start making contact with some of the property owners who own property adjacent to the railroad right-of-ways and determine from the property owners if they have any interest in the property. He said a level of confidence could be built that way and those are things that are certainly good to know sooner rather than later.
Harney said it does need to be researched but this particular trail ties into Linn County through Marion along the railroad that runs all the way to Waterloo. He said the precedent is there and has been done, and this particular trail between Solon and Ely does have one farmer with the title to the property who is currently using it. Harney said the quit claim deeds that the Trails Advisory Committee are talking about have been brought to the attention of the property owners and none have challenged it so far. Rettig said she wants to remind the Board that she is part of the Trails Advisory Committee; they set out to advise the Board and not necessarily do all the work. She said the committee has no staff, no funds, and no power. Rettig said the committee's job is to review the trails and give recommendations to the Board; clearly the Board adopted the trail as a priority before the Trails Committee was established. She said the committee has done an enormous amount of work as volunteers and sooner or later that will have to change. Rettig reiterated that it is an advisory committee; the Board adopted and appointed them. Stutsman said that is a good point.
R. Sullivan said he is curious to at least ask Chappell to go back to Lyness and ask her to give the Board some sense of what kind of time commitment and costs would be required. Chappell said the Board wants some idea of how many parcels they are talking about and where they are at. He said the Board to some extent will be ordering updates and lean checks; maybe if the Board had a starting point they could use it as a pilot to base costs off of. Rettig said she doesn't know how many parcels are involved; all she knows is that former Linn County Trails Committee member Ron McGraw emailed her saying he is getting older but still has the collective memory that the Linn County Trails property was supposed to come to Johnson County. She said McGraw said in an e-mail there is an attorney handling all of this and asked if she could connect them to the Johnson County people. Rettig said she sent a letter to both the Board and Lyness and that is her only involvement. Stutsman said Rettig doesn't need to be counting parcels or anything else. Rettig said she is sure a simple call to their attorney would answer the question.
Chappell said he can ask Lyness if she ever received that information. He said he recalls that there are several abstracts and the County may get lucky that there may only be one farmer owning property on that section of land between Solon to Ely. Chappell said he knows there are multiple abstracts because the nature trail bisects at an angle, but if the County is lucky they will only have to deal with one abstract. Rettig said the land between Solon and West Branch is not even on the radar screen yet because they need a lot more funding.
Rettig said the Trails Advisory Committee applied for a grant to create a tourism map funneling out of Johnson County to a number of surrounding counties. The committee applied to the Washington County Riverboat Foundation but was unsuccessful. Rettig said there is an e-mail circulating that suggests it was just a bad cycle and the Trails Advisory Committee should reapply. She said she knows there has never been a Johnson County project funded. Rettig said the committee can certainly reapply in October 2008 but she is appalled that they did not fund it. Stutsman said they weren't asking for much money. Rettig said it was $15,000 and the Washington County Riverboat Foundation gave away $1.8 million last year. She said frankly the County gets a lot of credit for being a cool county and putting out the map, but the surrounding counties would benefit as much or more than Johnson County. Rettig said the County is taking their traffic and funneling it out to other counties. She said the other counties stand to gain every bit as much as or more than Johnson County. Rettig said towns like Swisher, Hills, Solon, and Lone Tree would get traffic from the map but Kalona and the Amana Colonies will get even more.
Rettig said she thought it was a no-brainer for the Washington County Riverboat Foundation to fund but obviously she was wrong. Rettig said her committee can certainly resubmit the proposal but the question is whether the Board is interested in pursuing something else. Stutsman said she thinks the committee should just resubmit the application in October. Harney agreed. Rettig said the solution is for her committee to fund it themselves or the County writes them a check. She said they could reduce the project and ask the Convention and Tourism Bureau and the cities to contribute, and another way to fund the project is to sell advertising but that is a real problem. Rettig repeated the Board can fund the project itself, the funds can be piecemealed out from other cities, or the Board can put the application on the table and resubmit it. She said if they are unsuccessful in the winter they can reevaluate it next year.
Neuzil said the only other option is going to a particular newspaper entity to see if they were interested in doing it. He said sometimes the newspapers have special individuals who at certain times during the year are looking for a particular project (i.e. selling advertising for the map). R. Sullivan said they are talking about the Washington County Riverboat Foundation which is the Foundation of the Riverside Casino; the Board could ask the casino themselves. Rettig said she would be happy to do that and explain how the map would benefit them. Neuzil said Rettig could talk to the Riverside Casino's Marketing Director. R. Sullivan said the map would drive traffic to the casino. Harney said he visited with an individual who sits on the committee, and the individual told him they are very favorable to the grant but had a commitment to a trail and other obligations. He said the committee encouraged Rettig to reapply. R. Sullivan it wouldn't hurt to ask Riverside Casino. Stutsman said Rettig should make an appointment because she would be happy to go to the casino with Rettig. Rettig said it is worth trying. Stutsman agreed. Rettig said the budget size can be reduced.
Rettig said bike racks for the new Health and Human Services Building can be public art. Rettig said the most obvious example in Iowa is in the East Village in Des Moines where all bike racks are art pieces. She said bike racks and art go hand-in-hand. Rettig said there are cities, counties, and corporations that provide reimbursement for bicycle commuting to encourage employees not to drive short distances to work. Rettig said bicycles don't use fuel and oil but need other kinds of maintenance. She said it's something to think about for the Cool County plan for County employees. She said that it has been proven that getting to work by bike does not take any longer than traveling by car in the urban areas.
Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan said the Memorandum, MOU-2009-CO52, between the Board and the Iowa Department of Public Health is to provide substance abuse prevention and related services to include education, prevention, referral or post-treatment services. The County has done this for a number of years with the Iowa Department of Public Health and the language remains the same in the contract. M. Sullivan said the Iowa Department of Public Health provides $10,000 as a grant to the County, which in turn the County matches with $30,000 for a total of $40,000. He said this has been budgeted for and he has worked with the Iowa Department of Public Health and MECCA. Harney asked if the services provided by MECCA discussed during the Criminal Justice meeting the previous day be part of this contract. M. Sullivan said that is a separate issue from the grant. R. Sullivan asked if there is interest moving this forward to next week’s agenda. Stutsman said yes.
M. Sullivan said he scheduled a Rural Animal Ordinance Workgroup meeting for June 10, 2008. He said the Board will also have a Key Issues meeting on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. M. Sullivan will be participating in the Region 6 Public Health Exercise on June 12, 2008. He will also have a Pandemic Influenza Steering Committee meeting on June 11, 2008 at 1:30 p.m.
M. Sullivan said there is one vacancy created by the resignation of Joseph Fowler and two applicants; one of which will need to be appointed to the Civil Service Commission. The two applicants are Thomas Immermann and Douglas Vance. R. Sullivan asked Board members to submit their votes to M. Sullivan. The Board agreed to put the appointment on a future formal agenda for approval.
R. Sullivan said the Johnson County Rural Advisory Committee is actually the Rural Subcommittee of the Housing Trust Fund; he doesn't think it is named correctly. M. Sullivan said that is correct and he will make sure that is changed. M. Sullivan said there are two applications and three vacancies opened by resignations. M. Sullivan said it is a ten-member subcommittee. R. Sullivan requested that Board members get their votes in to M. Sullivan. He said that the Board will put the appointments on a future formal agenda for approval.
Adjourned at 11:58 a.m.
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By John Deeth, Recording Secretary