E911 proposes change of addresses near Monticello

     Gary Schwab, E911 coordinator, and Sheriff Greg Graver met with the board to discuss changing the addresses for county properties along Business Highway 151 in Monticello.

     Schwab said there have been issues not only with E911 service addresses, but with the name of the road as well. It’s been referred to as S. Main Street, Business Highway 151 South, Amber Road, and County Road X-44.

     “It’s a mess with city and county addresses,” he said, “in a variety of sections of the road.” Schwab said some addresses are four-digits, while others are five-digits. “We want to work with the city (of Monticello) to straighten this all out.”

     Schwab also suggested the county rename that particular roadway S. Main Street, which follows the city, as well as stay in line with the four-digit address scheme. The re-naming would impact those addresses from the intersection of County Road E-16 to the edge of the Monticello city limits.

     “It’s painful to fix, but the time is now,” urged Graver, “with all of the building going on there. And the city is already on board. It’s been ignored for a lot of year.”

     Supervisor Joe Oswald said that some of the properties within the county along S. Main Street could be annexed into city limits at some point in the near future.

     “Those who live out of town get confused when trying to find specific addresses along that stretch,” said Schwab.

     It was the board’s consensus to rename the street S. Main and to change the E911 addresses to four-digit numbers.

In other county business:

     • The board authorized negotiations for the purchase of land for a new JETS facility in Monticello.

     • The board approved the submission of a grant application to the Iowa Department of Public Health of substance abuse services through the Jones County Public Health.

     • The board approved the preliminary plat of the Meyers First Addition subdivision in Cass Township.

     • The board approved a notice to bidders for contract rock.

     County Engineer Derek Snead said he is planning for 400 to 500 tons per mile this year, with more on the heavily traveled roadways.

     With 10 Secondary Road districts in the county, each district usually sees about 9,500 tons of rock.

     This year, Snead has approximately $815,000 budgeted for contract rock.

     “I anticipate a little increase in the cost per ton,” he said.

     June 16 is the contract rock specified completion date this year.

     • The board approved a proposal from the City of Anamosa to pave a portion of Holt Street. This will be a joint project with the county.

     • The board took formal action to place on file the Dec. 30, 2016 Ely’s Stone Bridge report from the University of Colorado-Denver. The report was made public, but not placed on file.