Road Work And The County Farm Land Deal Focus Of Supervisors
Rural Mahaska County resident Steve Wonders talks about the TARA side of the controversial advertisement placed in the Oskaloosa Herald.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors met on Monday, February 16th, where they made final acceptance of the Mahaska County Courthouse Roof Project contract. Work on the roof could begin in the next few weeks as the weather permits.
The Supervisors heard from Pathfinders Executive Director Detra Dettmann. Pathfinders Resource Conservation and Development is a non-profit organization that focuses on growing the local economy, conserving natural resources and enhancing recreational opportunities.
Pathfinders serves southeast Iowa with an emphasis in Davis, Jefferson, Keokuk, Mahaska, Van Buren and Wapello counties.
Dettmann said that efforts locally, in Mahaska County, have focused on abandoned strip coal mine reclamation. Currently in Mahaska County, the group is working on two projects. The Blizzard site is reclaiming 69.5 acres, and the Logan site is reclaiming 98 acres. In total, 20 sites have been rehabilitated through grants and other funding, in partnership with Pathfinders.
Funding for projects comes from a tax assessed to current coal production. The tax stems to a 1977 law, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. The act outlined specific requirements for the reclamation of lands mined after May 2, 1977. It also established programs and funding for reclaiming abandoned mine lands.
The Supervisors also heard from Mahaska County Engineer David Shanahan about the planned rehabilitation of the intersection G5T and T33 along former state highway 102. The intersection is near Peoria. “It’s a very dangerous intersection because there’s no sight distance in any of the directions you have,” says Shanahan.
Shanahan says the plan currently is to “do grading to open the intersection up”, creating up to 1000 foot of sight distance.
The RPA process for funding needed a resolution from the Supervisors, to potentially have work start during 2016. The cost for the project comes in at 2.3 million dollars.
The Supervisors also approved the purchase of a Volvo tandem-axle truck with slow-plow equipment. The cost for the vehicle and equipment was priced out at $109,365.00.
Since the last meeting of the Supervisors, a conversation over a proposed agreement took place, which would trade farm ground of farms impacted by the proposed regional airport with farm ground owned by the county to help the farmers alleviate some capital-gains taxes. The South Central Regional Airport Agency would then pay the county for the farm ground.
After some concerns about the proposal were raised, Vander Molen spoke with Oskaloosa News about his proposal. “I think the whole idea is a little bit confounded because the airport brings up a lot of strong emotions. Although, since I had altruistic intentions here of helping people at the airport site, I think it may be best to separate the airport issue from the county farm issue,” says Vander Molen.
That type of exchange is known as a 1031 exchange to the IRS. This would have helped the farmers avoid the taxes incurred in capital gains.
During the meeting, Vander Molen withdrew his proposal in regards to the County Farm land proposal.
That emotion spilled out on a full page ad taken out in the Oskaloosa Herald by TARA, or Taxpayers Against Regional Airport. In the ad, it said that “Mahaska County could give away the County Farm that Mahaska County just paid the 1st Installment of the proposed airport.” Full Resolution is available HERE.
Vander Molen address that ad at the end of the meeting. “I never once suggested that the County give away the County Farm.”
“I would consider that to be a bald-faced lie,” says Vander Molen, of the accusation in the ad. “I don’t know if that was in there to mislead, or to drum up controversy that doesn’t exist. It’s not truthful at all.”
Steve Wonders addressed the Supervisors about the ad and Vander Molen’s comments. “When you bring this paper out and say, oh them guys [TARA] are lying. Well, it’s really hard to tell who’s lying. Where, when and how. And I think that’s why the emotions are running so high in this deal.”
Wonders said that the county has never been in on an airport and he would like the county to get out of the airport. He believes that it is time for the county to get out of the SCRAA “and let the cities do what the cities want to do.”
“Well I disagree with your statement that it’s hard to tell who’s lying,” said Vander Molen to Wonders. “I was pretty transparent in my proposal. And it says it in the resolution that the county’s going to be reimbursed. If somebody wants to make the impression that Supervisor Vander Molen wanted to give away the County Farm for that, I think it’s pretty clear who’s on the wrong end of that.”
“I understand,” said Wonders. “But people jump to conclusions because of the past.”
