IOWA CITY

An unnamed creek in southern Johnson County may be about to get a name.

Not that Lisa Green-Douglass, chair of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, is in favor of it.

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) received a request to name the creek in honor of Glen Yoder, Glenn Miller and Woodrow Weeber, who were all farmers of land the creek passes through from northwest of Hills and into Sharon Township. All are deceased, the last of them Weeber in 2011.

A resident of Rock Island, Illinois, proposed to BGN that the small waterway be named Glenwood Creek, a combination of the Glen, Glenn and Woodrow names. BGN board members will vote on the name once hearing back from local government, which in this case is Johnson County.

Green-Douglass questioned supporting the proposal because little was known about the three men and if they were in line with Johnson County values.

“We are doing a commemorative thing based on … you’re honoring somebody. They were there. Is that the only criteria that we would require for commemorative naming, that they were there?” Green-Douglass said during the board’s work session May 24. “Was there anything that was different, unique, the first of, something that has added value to who we are now?”

Josh Busard, Director of Johnson County Planning, Development and Sustainability, recommended the board take no opposition to the proposal and said he wouldn’t feel comfortable attempting to find reasons why the men aren’t worthy of the honor.

“I don’t want to be a position where I have to dig up dirt on someone who’s been dead 30 years …,” he said.

“We need more than they were there, I think,” Green-Douglass said. “I would like there to be a reason for the renaming, not just, ‘Oh, gosh, I’m getting old, we want our name on this because our family was there.’ “

“The fact of the matter is,” Supervisor Rod Sullivan said, “you look at where we’re at, we’re right outside Sharon Center and one of the people’s names is Yoder and one of the people’s names is Miller. I mean, that’s 90% of the population in that area.”

Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz suggested maybe the creek could be named another way.

“Maybe we don’t want to name it after people,” Fixmer-Oraiz said. “I mean, we have Old Mans Creek, we have Muddy Creek, we have Iowa River. We often name things after stuff that’s not here.”

At the end of the lengthy discussion, four of the five supervisors agreed to go along with the naming of Glenwood Creek. Green-Douglass still opposed it.

Youth Crisis Shelter

Sarah Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of CommUnity Crisis Services, and Talia Meidlinger, Executive Director of United Action for Youth, appeared in front of the board to ask for $1 million in funds and a rezoning approval as a new property is considered to be purchased to shelter youth who are in crisis and need immediate help.

As of July 1, the Four Oaks Youth Shelter will not exist.

“What we’re talking about is life and death,” Meidlinger said.

The organizations have found $500,000 in property funding, leaving it about $1 million short. Other arrangements are being made for actual staffing and help with youth needing a temporary shelter and mental-health care.

“This is the state failing to serve its children, not us,” Supervisor Rod Sullivan said. “This is a complete abdication of duty by the state of Iowa over the years.

“They were doing a shitty job 30 years ago when I was working in this field,” Sullivan added. “And they’re doing a worse job now. Now they act like it doesn’t even exist. At least then they were doing a bad job and pretending they cared. Now they don’t even pretend they care.”

Due to state law, the state now funds mental health. The county cannot provide those services, but it can provide physical properties used for those services.

A potential property, located on Highway 6 in Iowa City, is big enough to offer shelter for 12 youth, along with programming space, a pond, and open space for walking and other activities.

Nate Mueller, PDS Assistant Director, said a rezoning could be completed by September.

Board supervisors were in favor of trying to find money for a shelter, possibly through interest accrued from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, and were expected to discuss it again at a board session this week.

Board Action

The Board approved the Fiscal Year 2023 spring amendment budget.

The Board approved a change order of $17,078 for work on the county courthouse remodel by Tricon General Construction.

The Board approved a service agreement for the Workplace Learning Connection at Kirkwood Community College.

The Board issued proclamations in honor of Memorial Day and Child Care Provider Appreciation Month.

Next board meeting: The board will hold its next formal meeting at 9 a.m. June 1.