County, Anamosa officials discuss current, future development

     Several weeks ago, County Engineer Derek Snead approached the Jones County Supervisors about the idea of meeting with Anamosa city officials regarding future community growth throughout the Highway 151 corridor.

   During the Oct. 24 board meeting, Mayor Rod Smith met with the board and Snead to answer some questions and bring the county to light on current and future development.

   Assistant Engineer Todd Postel commented that with the 151 round-about complete and open to the public, he felt the project was a success in diverting traffic.

   “We’ve received nothing but positive feedback on it,” Smith said. “It was a viable project for the county and the city to connect. The price tags are what they are. We would have liked less out-of-pocket, but that’s the way it is.”

   In terms of the north-end of Anamosa, Smith said residential develop is planned, aside from the commercial development that already exists.

   “There is heavy excavation work going on,” Smith continued.

   Snead said there could potentially be room for about 75 homes north of the Anamosa middle school, depending on the size of the homes.

   With the round-about done, the city, Smith said, hit the pause button on phase two, which is a proposed overpass on 151.

   “We’ll let the round-about settle,” he said, “before we start the heavy planning with the overpass.”

   He said the construction costs on the overpass continue to rise.

   “It’s still on the plan, but maybe not for two or three years because of the cost.”

   The City of Anamosa’s corporate limits end at Boomerang, off 151 on Circle Drive. The county has jurisdiction after that to the north.

   “We all have a future vision for what it could possibly look like out there,” Smith offered. “As an elected official, I have a vision and a plan to extend city limits out to the Amber blacktop to accompdate future growth. It’s a strong possibility, but time with set the course.”

   Smith said in a recent conversation with the Anamosa city administrator, Jeremiah Hoyt, the city doesn’t want to “kick the can down the road” when it comes to future planning.

   When it comes to road projects, Smith said the county has been very good to work with.

   “The county has been a very good partner with the city, and I expect as projects advance and move forward, we’ll work together the betterment of the city and the county,” he said.

   “Growth is good,” reiterated Supervisor Joe Oswald.

   Supervisor John Schlarmann asked about the PCC overlay project on Circle Drive, part of Secondary Roads’ five-year construction program. Snead said it’s part of their fifth year, Fiscal Year 2027.

   Postel said they have flown a drone over the roadway to collect survey data already, though.

   Project estimates in April 2023 were $1.2 million.

   Snead said Circle Drive would utilize LOT (local option tax) funds.

   “During the last budget session, we talked about steeling from that account to increase revenue for general (road) maintenance,” Snead reminded the board. “That has a direct effect on projects, and it pushed that project out.”

   Schlarmann asked about the possibility of applying for grants to help fund the project. Snead said grants are not something you can rely upon for road projects.

   “That money is becoming more competitive to get,” he said. “I don’t recommend hanging out hat on (grants).”

   Supervisor Jeff Swisher asked about a DOT traffic study for that area.

   Snead said one is currently in the works to investigate traffic patterns now that the round-about is complete; however, data likely wouldn’t be available until a year from now.

   “It’s a 12-month process to development,” he said.

   The board told Smith they’re happy with how the round-about project went, as well as the curve-correction on 151, which was a safety concern.

   Supervisor Jon Zirkelbach said the county “took a lot of grief” when they closed Old Dubuque Road, but he’s pleased with the timeframe it took to fully open the highway again.

   “No businesses suffered,” he said of the road work.

   “We closed one of the top four most unsafe intersections in the State of Iowa,” Smith said of Old Dubuque.