Offered a 16,000 square foot building for half of the original $1.6 M asking price as a facility for relocating county administrative offices, Washington County Supervisors December 6 acknowledged the offer, but could not address a non-agenda item. 

Later, during discussion about the long-considered proposed renovation/remodeling for administrative offices at the county-owned Orchard Hill Complex and at the county courthouse they noted interviews with three possible architects for the project were set for December 7.   By Friday, agenda for the December 13 meeting listed selection of an architect for the remodeling project, as well as a lease agreement with HACAP involving its use of Building 2 at Orchard Hill.   HACAP owns the Old Main building on Lexington Blvd. just north of Orchard Hill complex.

Following a public hearing on a request to vacate a portion of 140th Street in the unincorporated town of Nira in Lime Creek Township, the board approved a resolution vacating and closing part of 140th Street in Section 19 and 20 of the Township in Block 4 of the original plat of Nira.

County Engineer Jacob Thorius, referring to the section, told the board “There is no reason to keep it.”  A resident, who owns the adjoining hunting land on both sides of the roadway, said closure of the roadway would alleviate the trespassing and trash problem that has arisen there.

In other business, the board:

•Discussed the possible creation of a road assessment district to provide improvements (specifically paving to 135th and 140th streets) south of Riverside, primarily involving residents in the Timberline subdivision and some of Deer Run.  During an October work session Attorney John Danos of Des Moines, consultant for bond issues, told the board that while it appears to have met the 50 percent minimum state requirement of homeowners seeking the assessment district, it would be far better to have at least 60 to 80 percent in favor, submitting the required petition to create the district and their payment method.  Thorius told the board he would prepare a letter to the homeowners summarizing what is involved in such a district.    However, Thorius noted that the developer, who still owns the most land, would have the highest assessment.   And, once the road lists, it becomes a county one, maintained by the county. The board approved his drafting and review by the county attorney of the letter, for consideration at the December 13 meeting.

•Received a funding request from Workplace Learning connection for $2,250.50, unchanged from last year’s allocation.  The board also received a detailed report about the Kirkwood-based program that aids students with work/career choices with job shadowing opportunities and some hand-on experiences.

•Were asked to approve the updated shared liability agreement and local grant recipient designation with the East Central Iowa Workforce Development Board from the US. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Management.   The agreement was reviewed and approved by attorneys for the seven counties involved.

•Approved a letter of support and pledged a $10,000 donation to the YMCA of Washington County’s indoor pool (aquatics center) project, to aid in leverage for a $845,000 grant from Enhance Iowa (formerly Vision Iowa) program.  The allocation will be made in two payments.  The City of Washington has also allocated $10,000.