Supervisors Accept Auditors Resignation
April 19th, 2022
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors held their regular session on Monday, April 18th, 2022, in the 3rd-floor conference room of the Mahaska County Courthouse.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Mahaska County Emergency Manager Jamey Robinson highlighted a recent law change relating to 911 and potential Emergency Management oversight of such an operation.
The bill, Senate File 2298, passed unanimously from both chambers and currently awaits the signature of Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.
The bill allows the Emergency Management Commission, if agreed to by a two-thirds majority of the commission and a two-thirds majority of the joint 911 service board, to be responsible for the activities of a joint 911 service board if substituted for a joint 911 service board pursuant to section 34A.3, subsection 3A.
Mahaska County Supervisor Mark Groenendyk and Jamey Robinson discussed the changes at the meeting. Disagreement over the language of the new legislation and its impact on boards’ responsibility and funding were the significant points of discussion.
Another topic was the resignation of Mahaska County Auditor Sue Brown, effective in July of 2022. She announced her retirement in a short statement, saying she was thankful to everybody.
She has served in the Mahaska County Auditors for 28 years.
The Board then went into a public hearing regarding a new HVAC system for the Mahaska County Courthouse. The projected cost would be approximately 2 million dollars. The project will also include an emergency generator for the courthouse in the event of a power failure.
The Board then moved and approved the advertisement and bidding of the HVAC system for the courthouse.
The Board then approved Resolution #2022-16 supporting a RISE Grant Application for the South East Connector Project.
The total project cost for the connector would be just over 11 million dollars, with the City of Oskaloosa and Mahaska County splitting a remaining cost of 4 million dollars.
The process for funding from the Iowa DOT will be decided by the State Transportation Commission later this summer or early fall.
The discussion on moving forward for pavement improvements to 230th Street and Lynn Ave. The project had been a public-private venture between the county and the residents in the early 2000s.
The Supervisors agreed to gather the interested parties to help determine a course of action moving forward.
Supervisors approved the publication of the Notice of Destruction of Noxious Weeds.
The Supervisors met with members of the Mahaska County Conservation Board to work on options to have the new Environmental Learning Center east of Oskaloosa open to the public more often, including some Saturday hours.
The Board approved accepting the Fiscal Year 2021 Mahaska County Audit Report.
The next scheduled meeting of the Mahaska County Board of Supervisors will be May 2nd, 2022.
