Old county shop to temporarily remain in Monticello

     The future of the old Secondary Road Shop in Monticello will remain intact for the time being.

     The Jones County Supervisors and County Engineer Derek Snead discussed the facility during the June 19 board meeting. A new Secondary Road Shop was built a couple of years ago outside of Monticello on River Road. A couple of the supervisors were curious as to how long the old shop would be left standing.

     Supervisor Jon Zirkelbach said they previously discussed the sale of the building and property around the same time they were planning for the new shop.

     Snead said his department still heavily uses the building, especially in the winter to store equipment inside.

     “If we didn’t have the facility, that stuff would probably sit outside,” he told the board. “We will use it a lot, and we have no desire at this time to sell it.”

     Snead said he also didn’t know how much value the property would even bring.

     Supervisor Joe Oswald said the City of Monticello had mentioned the state or condition of the building. “The city would like us to fix it up if we keep it,” he said.

     Snead said he doesn’t see the need to keep the building long term, perhaps tearing it down within the next couple of years.

     “As we improve our main shop and build bigger out-shops, we can reconfigure some things and that will open up more space,” he said of moving equipment around the county. He said the next new shop could be built at Temple Hill, but felt the location would not work to store equipment.

     “We’ve done a lot and still have a lot we’d like to do,” he said of continual improvements.

     Supervisor Wayne Manternach said he sees reason to keep the building as is if it’s being put to use. “If it were empty, I’d be more likely to say get rid of it,” he said. “Id hate to have equipment sitting out if it’s not necessary.”

     Zirkelbach said he has heard from people who might be interested in purchasing the property or developing something on the site.

     “It could clean up the area a bit,” he said.

     Both Zirkelbach and Oswald said they would like to see a short-term plan for the old Monticello shop.

In other county business:

     • The board heard from Mary Loops with DECAT and Sherri Hunt with CPPC regarding the hiring of a new coordinator for the DECAT and CPPC programs.

     Heather Weers of Anamosa has been hired as the coordinator, and will work in office space provided by the Anamosa School District. Hunt and Loops asked the supervisors if they would be willing to approve an Employer of Record Agreement and a lease with the ACSD.

     Hunt said the hold-up with the agreement, though, is feedback from DHS. While Weers would be an employee of Jones County, DHS feels an agreement is not necessary. Hunt said the agreement simply protects the county.

     “The more you have in writing, the better off you are,” she told the board.

     Sulzner said she has yet to hear from DHS.

     While the board approved the lease with the Anamosa District at Strawberry Hill Elementary School, they held off on approving Weers and the Employer of Record Agreement.

     • The board approved a GIS Data Agreement with the Iowa DNR, and denied an agreement with Swick Cable, which would have paid to have access to county data and sell it to mobile devices.

     • The board approved a three-year contract with Encompass for technology assistance services for IT. Lisa Mootz, IT coordinator, informed the board that the contract increased by $259 a month.

     • The board set a re-zoning public hearing for Tuesday, July 17 at 9:15 a.m. This is for conditionally re-zoning of two parcels at Camp Courageous, from A-Ag to C2-Highway Commercial. Land Use Administrator Michele Lubben said the main reason for the re-zoning is due to Camp wanting to install additional signage.