Eggs and Issues Dishes Up Transportation Discussion
Oskaloosa Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt (left) and Mahaska County Supervisor Greg Gordy (right) discuss topics impacting area residents Saturday morning.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Eggs and Issues is an Oskaloosa tradition that returned for the 2013 year. The first such meeting has always been local leaders placed on the hot-seat so to speak, and Oskaloosa Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt and Mahaska County Supervisor Greg Gordy each represented their respective branches of government.
Krutzfeldt touched on the topic most talked about by citizens of Oskaloosa, and that is the condition of the streets. Krutfeldt talked about how the street condition inventory has helped Oskaloosa prioritize the road work that needs to be completed, barring any road repair emergencies that may arise.
Krutzfeldt shared maps that outlined the completed chip-seal and proposed repair work for the coming years through 2023, which included the completed work on Highway 432 that runs from Highway 92 north towards the Oskaloosa Elementary School. That resurfacing project cost the city approximately $300,000.
Also nearly completed is the Green Street project that will have set the city back nearly 1.4 million dollars. South 7th Street from A Ave south towards 6th Ave East is scheduled for work in 2013.
Krutzfeldt then touched upon the street maintenance work that continued during 2012 with approximately 1 million dollars being spent on chip-sealing and crack-sealing of existing roads, with up to 80 blocks per year “that is the kind of maintenance that we do that is beyond the normal new construction and reconstruction,” Krutzfeldt said.
Krutzfeldt added that the road work was being completed without borrowing money, saying the council has taken the stance of “pay as you go”.
The South Central Regional Airport was Krutzfeldt’s next item of discussion. A handout located on tables throughout Smokey Row illustrated the three working locations the board has submitted to the FAA in Kansas City for approval.
Snyder and Associates had originally evaluated 9 sites that would be able to handle a precision approach landing. The final three were presented by Snyder and Associates as the “prime” locations.
“What I want to emphasis at this point is, is the airport is definitely going, and it’s proceeding. These three locations were approved by the agency for consideration,” Krutzfeldt said.
The FAA will then evaluate the three sites to see whether or not “they would give a thumbs down to any of the three,” Krutzfelt explained. The FAA should respond to the site selection within 8 weeks. The agency will then determine which of the sites that survived the FAA cut will best suit the needs for the regional airport. To see a PDF document showing the three possible sites, follow this link HERE.
Transportation issues continued to be the topic of discussion for Mayor Krutzfelt as he highlighted the continuing work to bring improvements to Highway 63. “You may remember that we’ve been working with a number of other communities to enhance Highway 63 the way it goes between Oskaloosa and Waterloo. There is a multi-step approach that is necessary on this.”
One of the first steps was to get the highway added to the commercial industrial network. During last year’s legislative session, then Senator Tom Rielly introduced a bill to add 100 miles to the inventory of the CIN (commercial industrial network).
After some lobbying, the Department of Transportation added the nearly 100 miles from Oskaloosa to Waterloo to the CIN.
The environmental study for the Highway 63 project is now ongoing. When that nears completion, the route selection process will begin. “The route selection process should be finishing up sometime in July, but at that point we will be talking about… a bypass that is going to go around Oskaloosa to the northwest. What does that look like?”
Krutzfelt said that we have a compelling argument for a four lane road. This is based upon several factors including the amount of traffic, in particular truck traffic.
Krutzfelt also touched on an efficiency study “in concert with the water department.” Consultants are due in Oskaloosa on January 17th and 18th, when they will meet with board members and staff along with city council members. “After that they’re going to be making recommendations as to what would be the most efficient way for the city and the water department to work together.”
“If you want to talk to the city council members and want to see their eyes light up a little bit, mention the water department to them. They’re proceeding with plans to build offices in the building they purchased over on South 7th Street. This is after the city has offered them office space in City Hall free of charge. We’re thinking the better short term plan for them would have been to move their offices into City Hall for the short term and then wait for this efficiency study to take place, but they have chosen their own direction so we wish them all the best,” Krutzfeldt said.
Next up was Mahaska County Supervisor Greg Gordy. “Like usual, there is a lot of overlap with the city and the county projects. Last year, I went first, said a lot of things maybe the Mayor was going to say, but as well, again from the county side, the Highway 63 project, just a few additional things I want to say on there.”
“That has been moving a lot along behind the scenes. There’s a steering committee, there’s about a half a dozen of us that meet on that, as the steering committee, with Snyder and Associates and DOT representatives that come down.”
Gordy explained that nearly a week ago, they had a meeting with Snyder and Associates that outlined a couple of “broad routes”. Gordy said that the engineers are attempting to utilize as much existing road as they can during the planning phase.
Also discussed was a northwest by-pass to help funnel truck traffic out of Oskaloosa and to also provide a better access route to the Pella area. This by-pass would also tie in well with the proposed regional airport.
Mental health issues have been a point of discussion at both the county and state levels in the past years, and this trend continues as counties form regions to provide the service to its residents versus the county by county implementation of the past.
Mahaska County has signed a 28E agreement to form a partnership in a region with Marion, Jasper and Poweshiek counties. After the letter of intent to merge services, it then moves on to the Department of Human Services to approve the agreement. The changes will take effect in approximately a year and a half or less if approved. That letter of intent has been waiting for the approval for approximately 6 months Gordy said.
Differences in how mental health is funded as well as possibly services are yet to be worked out Gordy says.
The next Eggs and Issues is January 26th. This session will start the regular morning conversation with those representing Mahaska County at the state level.
