By Jim Magdefrau

VINTON – Help for a fire department, land use changes and a proposed open records policy were topics for the Benton County Board of Supervisors at their meeting Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, at the Benton County Service Center in Vinton.

LOSST

Larry Hlas was at the meeting to get pre-approval for LOSST (Local Option Sales and Service Tax) for the Van Horne Fire Department. They are looking to get wild land fire gear, which is lighter weight gear to battle grass fires, forest fires and for extraction vehicles. The department is looking for around $35,000 to finish ordering this equipment. They are getting bids for a new fire truck. “They’re quite expensive,” Hlas observed. He expects it should be about $500,000. They will know in a few weeks. 

For budget purposes, Hlas said the department is looking for commitment on those two projects. The LOSST fund usually pays for 10 percent of the project. 

Supervisor Chairman Tracy Seeman pointed out the board can’t vote on anything until they get the invoice, but he was giving a “thumbs up” for right now.

Engineer

The board approved Resolution #25-76: Temporary Construction Closure on 69th St. in Fremont Township for bridge replacement. The contract allows for 75 working days. The board also met with Engineer Myron Parizek on traffic painting. 

Land use

A land use change hearing was set for Oct. 21 at 9:15 a.m. for Scott Schulte, for land in Section 17, Florence Township.

A land use change  hearing was held for Jearid Merchant for land in Section 30, Benton Township. It is three miles east of Vinton. The board approved the land use change. 

Benton County Assistant Attorney 

The board met with Assistant Benton County Attorney Derek Marsh regarding:

Sale of conservation properties – Public hearings are required to sell the two pieces of land, the old animal shelter and Cherveny property. The board agreed with the conservation board’s resolution on the sale of these properties. Hearings are set for Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 12:30 and 12:45 p.m.

Establishing a Benton County Open Records Policy – Marsh explained there are a lot of open records requests. Benton County needs a system to track the requests. Marsh said it will involve a written request form. He will meet with department heads on the process. He stressed he is trying to do this uniformly and make sure everyone is on the same page. The board and officials discussed costs and fees. 

Other business

Seeman was authorized to sign the East Central Iowa Workforce Development 28E agreement. 

A resolution was approved regarding compromise Settlement Agreement on behalf of the Central Iowa Juvenile Detention Center and Hardin County.

The board approved Benton County Transportation’s hiring of Christine DeVore as a part-time driver in Belle Plaine. She will start with an hourly wage of $16.52 on Sept. 29.

The board discussed room for the ASAC (Area Substance Abuse Council) in the Benton County Service Center. They are looking for two small rooms and one big room. The only thing available now is the old human resources room. He said ASAC will visit about their long-range plans. 

A recess was taken before a closed session with the county attorney, pursuant to 21.5(1)a: to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that governmental body’s possession or continued receipt of federal funds. 

Meeting video