ECIHTF asks county for funding increase

     “Your support is appreciated and I hope you continue,” expressed Tracey Achenbach with the East Central Iowa Housing Trust Fund.

     Achenbach spoke with the Jones County Supervisors during their Jan. 2 board meeting.

     Last year, Jones County contributed $1,555 to the ECIHTF. This next fiscal year, they are asking the county to consider an increase of $1,944 in order to help fund their FY 2019 programming.

     In all, the ECIHTF is requesting a total of $8,000 from its participating counties of Benton, Iowa, Jones, and Washington.

     The ECIHTF Board of Directors, Achenbach explained, is comprised of two representatives from each county. With Dusty Embree stepping down as Economic Development Director, Achenbach said the supervisors need to replace her with a non-elected official. Supervisor Jon Zirkebach also serves.

     Since the ECIHTF began in 2011, they’ve been awarded nearly $2 million in state housing trust fund dollars. Thirty-one households in Jones County have benefitted from the housing trust fund program, providing assistance to lower income homeowners to help them complete minor repairs to their homes.

     “This is a good program and as helped quite a bit,” praised Supervisor Wayne Manternach. “It’s a small investment on our part for an amount that goes a long way.”

     Achenbach said typically it’s the cities or counties that apply for the housing dollars, then passed down to the individual homeowners.

     “The program is more than people think,” she said. “We even work with landowners for improvements or renovations.”

In other county business:

     • Assistant County Engineer Todd Postel informed the board that he is working on the plans for the Lead Mine Road project.

     “We extended the plans to Shaw Road, about 1,000 feet,” explained Postel. “This is one of the highest traveled gravel roads in the county.”

     • The board appointed Russ Dunn to the Jones County Pioneer Cemetery Commission.

     • The board authorized permission to the Anamosa Penitentiary to allow them to work on clearing brush away from a shared fence line.

     • The board set a public hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. to accept bids for the sale of the former Secondary Road Shop at 8220 County Road X-75 in Wyoming.

     • The board appointed the Monticello Express and Anamosa-Journal Eureka official county newspapers.

     • The board appointed Dr. Michael Weston as county medical examiner, and Kevin Weber and Victoria Weston was medical examiner investigators.

     • The board re-appointed Berrty Weimer, Anamosa City Council member, and appointed Doug Herman, Monticello City Administrator, to the ECICOG Board of Directors for three-year terms.

     The tabled the appointment to the ECICOG Revolving Loan Fund Committee.

     • The board appointed Wes Gibbs as County Weed Commissioner.

     • The board reaffirmed appointments to the Region 10 Transportation Committees. This included adding Dusty Embree Wapsipinicon Trail Committee, to the Trails Advisory Committee, and Lucia Herman, Community Services, to the Passenger Transportation Advisory Committee.