IOWA CITY

During a week when former Lone Tree Mayor Jon Green and Johnson County Historic Poor Farm Project Manager V Fixmer-Oraiz were elected to four-year terms on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, members of the current board continued to argue about a proposed retreat for the board and its staffers.

At its work session Nov. 9, the discussion turned emotional.

Longtime Supervisor Rod Sullivan has been pushing for a retreat for months to talk about board processes and communication, among other things. And he has run into opposition from board chair Royceann Porter and vice chair Lisa Green-Douglass.

“You need a retreat,” Porter told Sullivan in open session. “We don’t.”

“I think you need it a lot more than you think,” Sullivan said.

Due to the tightness of the board’s schedule in December, a proposed four-hour block for the Dec. 20 retreat is now headed for a postponement until the spring. And when Sullivan asked for board members to come up with a list of 10 potential dates, he ran into more opposition from Porter.

“You’re not getting no 10 (potential) dates out of me,” Porter said. “I don’t know where I’m going to be in May. I hope I’m alive.”

Supervisor Pat Heiden, whose term expires Dec. 31, suggested the retreat be postponed. It was not clear whether Heiden would be asked to participate as a former supervisor if it does get held in the spring.

“I still believe in the process and the benefits of a retreat,” Heiden said, “but understand that much planning needs to take place for one to be successful. I have come to the conclusion that trying to squeeze a retreat still into the (2022) year’s calendar is not conducive to any positive outcomes. By postponing until next year, this gives adequate time to hire a facilitator, plan and identify goals and objectives.”

Green-Douglass also preferred to postpone the retreat, considering that the board will have a new executive director in 2023 in addition to Fixmer-Oraiz replacing Heiden on Jan. 1.

Also coming in January is the vote for a new chair and vice chair. Chairs normally fill that position for one year and Porter was the choice for 2022.

“I can’t wait for January to get here,” Porter said during a heated moment.

Zoning/Platting

At its Nov. 10 formal session, the board approved a request from Dale and Audrey Miller to rezone a property located on 500^th Street SW in Frytown from ML-Light Industrial to CH-Highway Commercial for the purpose of establishing a commercial truck wash for livestock trailers and other agricultural vehicles.

The property is 3.17 acres in size and is located on the north side of 500^th Street SW, across Waterway Lane SW from The Water Shop and just to the east of Frytown.

The board approved a rezoning, from agricultural to residential, of 21.3 acres of property in Cosgrove despite an objection by a Cosgrove resident who was at the board session. The request, made by Scott Rohret, is for purposes of future development. The property is located south of 400^th Street SW.

Board action

At its formal session Nov. 10, the board approved Tricon Construction Group of Cedar Rapids as the general contractor for the $1.8 million renovation of the Johnson County Courthouse’s second level courtroom areas.

Tricon was the lowest of three bidders for the project, and its bid of $1.817 million hit the precise low point on the county’s cost estimate range of $1.817 million to $1.95 million. Other bidders were Portzen Construction of Dubuque for $1.835 million and Swanson Construction of Davenport for $1.95 million.

The board approved beginning the bid process for the replacement of a bridge on Utah Avenue SE over Buck Creek, located northwest of Lone Tree. The bid deadline was set for 9 a.m. Dec. 6.

Work is projected to begin in spring 2023. The estimated cost is $570,000.

The board also issued a proclamation in recognition of Veterans Day, Nov. 11.