Local Issues Front And Center At Eggs And Issues
Mahaska County Supervisors Chairman Willie Van Weelden at Eggs and Issues on Saturday.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Eggs and Issues tradition once again got underway under the marquis at Smokey Row Coffee in Oskaloosa on Saturday.
Eggs and Issues is a forum hosted by the Oskaloosa Area Chamber and Development Group that helps connect elected officials and constituents in a comfortable setting.
The first session of the year traditionally starts off with local issues, with questions being fielded by Oskaloosa Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt, Mahaska County Supervisor Chairman Willie Van Weelden, and School Superintendant Russ Reiter. Russ Reiter, Superintendent of the Oskaloosa School District, will more than likely be the only person to sit on the stage this year that is not elected to a position.
Russ Reiter started off the day by giving an overview of what types of issues and topics the school district may be facing in the coming year, including a discussion on what 3rd grade retention rules may impact.
Reiter also touched on the school’s potential partnership with the City of Oskaloosa and Mahaska County in an early childhood development and recreation center. The school district is legally bound to how its funds are spent, but Reiter believes that opportunities for providing funds for the project are available.
Oskaloosa Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt spoke next, where he touched upon the rebidding process for the new fire station. Initial bids for the project came in nearly 1 million dollars higher than what the engineers projected the cost of the project would be.
After the initial bids came in too high there has been some retooling of the project. Some of these changes include the elimination of the third floor renovation, and an elevator to access the third floor. Other changes include a change to the roof line, from a hip/gabled roof to a shed/sloped style roof, and a potential reduction in one bay.
Also touched upon by Krutzfeldt was the corridor and wayfinding improvements that are being planned. Those plans are in the final draft, and could yet be on the agenda in January for city council approval. If the funding for the project is allocated, then construction could occur in 2016. New signs and improvements, including trees, could be part of the final proposal.
“These are historic times where we’re making decisions that will have an impact for many years to come,” added Krutzfeldt.
Mahaska County Supervisor Chairman Willie Van Weelden spoke about the process of closing down the mental health region with Marion County, this came after DHS said that the criteria needed for the region wasn’t being met. The county then joined South Central Behavioral Health Region with Appanoose, Davis and Wapello counties.
Van Weelden also talked briefly about the closure of the county care facility that was located west of Oskaloosa. The sale of the assets from that location may find their way into funding the proposed environmental learning center at Caldwell Park just east of Oskaloosa.
That facility would be home to some of Mahaska County’s oldest residents as Van Weelden said. The facility would be home to the mammoth bones that have been discovered and widely publicized the past few years.
An agreement with the land owner and Friends of Mahaska County Conservation has placed the Mahaska County Conservation Department in charge of the care of those artifacts.
The proposed early childhood development and recreation center that may be the new Mahaska County YMCA was one area of discussion, with former Mahaska County Supervisor Joe Warrick stating that he wants to make sure that the needs of seniors are also being considered. Warrick jokes that one day he will be a senior and may need those facilities.
Van Weelden was asked that if LOST (Local Option Sales Tax) money is used for county roads, what is the plan.
Van Weelden said that County Road G71 from Bussey to Highway 63 is high on that priority list, along with some undefined projects. “To me it has to be used for projects, like paving roads, other than buying rock.”
“If we can’t take care of our roads with rock with our normal budget, then we have a bigger problem somewhere with management,” said Van Weelden.
Van Weelden also talked about the proposed Highway 92 by-pass that was often called the south east connector. This project has now been taken up by the State of Iowa, and is being evaluated and studied.
The proposed early childhood development and recreation center was the center of much discussion among many questions, including if the facility would be sustainable on its own in the future. That question came in reference to the financial difficulties the YMCA found itself in last year.
Rural resident Deb Draper spoke about how she believes that, “We need more support from the County” in regards to the early childhood development and recreation center.
The next Eggs and Issues will take place on January 23rd, 2016 at Smokey Row Coffee beginning at 8:30am.
