By Jim Magdefrau

VINTON – The Benton County Board of Supervisors signed a letter of support for the City of Belle Plaine at a special meeting Wednesday, May 1, 2024, to help the city with its drought.

The meeting was at the Benton County Service Center, Vinton.

The letter to Congresswoman Ashley Hinson read:

Dear Congresswoman Hinson,

This letter is in support of the application for consideration of Community Project Funding (CPF) for the Belle Plaine Strategic Drought Resilience Program project. The City of Belle Plaine has been struggling through the extreme drought situation for several years and it has had a significant impact on their residents and local business.

The innovative approach Belle Plaine is taking to solve this emerging long-term drought crisis has our attention and we believe the practices they are looking to develop will be adaptable and scalable to any size community potentially.

Receiving CPF funding will have profound regional impacts on agricultural sustainability, natural resource management, expansion of economic development and tourism.

The comprehensive plan the City is working on will save taxpayers money by utilizing as many existing resources as possible, adding upgrades where needed, and also building new critical infrastructure. With the level of improvements that are required to create a more drought resilient water system, the assistance from the CPF program would lessen the potential hardship on our region.

Completion of this project will tremendously improve water quality, quantity, and long-term sustainability within their community. Please consider this application and the Belle Plaine Strategic Drought Resilience Program in the upcoming CPF. It is worthy of your support and will have a great impact on the future growth and stability of natural resources in Eastern Iowa.

s/Richard Primmer, Tracy Seeman and Gary Bierschenk

Other business

No action was taken on a fireworks permit for Boomtown in Vinton on Aug. 23-24, since the fairgrounds where the event is to held is in the city limits of Vinton.

Sheriff Ron Tippett discussed getting pool cars for the county. He saw it as a money-saving thing for the county with mileage at 68 cents per mile. There were questions on insurance, maintenance, liability and fuel cards. Tippett said he’d work with the auditor on the costs of pool cars vs. mileage. They will also check with other counties who have pool cars. No action was taken. 

Health insurance rates were discussed and the amount the county pays. They also looked at Cobra rates for retirees. The rates were approved by the board.

In the afternoon the board approved hiring an assistant county attorney. County Attorney Ray Lough and Human Resources Director Sue Wilber recommended Alisha Stach-Lorang. The salary is $122,797.20. She would start June 3. She comes from Black Hawk County. She has 25 years experience. 

Meeting video