County updates mitigation plan, holds off on comp. plan

By Kim Brooks, Express Editor

During the Jones County Board of Supervisors meeting on April 24, Emergency Management Coordinator Brenda Leonard requested approval of a grant application to update the county’s multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan. Leonard said the plan needs to be updated every five years through FEMA. She said it helps with funding should the county receive a Presidential Disaster Declaration.

While the application is not due until 2015 Leonard explained the process does take time to complete, so she wanted to get a head start on the application. The process also includes $5,000 of in-kind donations from the county.

“There are not a whole lot of changes to the plan,” said Leonard. “It is also not a guarantee.”

In all, the plan costs $30,000 to update. Leonard said the cities within Jones County also participate.

“They could be disqualified for funding if they don’t participate,” she explained.

“It’s something we have to do,” said Supervisor Keith Dirks. “We need to take advantage of the funding while we can.”

The Board approved the grant application.

Cargill representatives were on hand to present a check for $20,000 towards the Central Park Lake Restoration Project. The lake was built almost 50 years ago and will soon receive a face-lift to bring the lake back to life. Conservation Director Larry Gullett said the entire project could cost around $1.7 million.

“Cargill wants nothing but the best for Jones County,” said Kenny Armstrong, with Cargill. “We are tickled to be part of it. We are fortunate to have a nice park like this in this county.”

Gullett said the project could take a few years to complete, depending on funding. “If it all goes smoothly, it could just take a couple of years,” said Gullett optimistically. “We appreciate Cargill for this and all of the county projects they support.”

Chad Sands, ECICOG, met with the Board as they considered the 2012 Comprehensive Land Use Plan for approval. After a lot of response from county residents, the Board felt they needed more time to consider any changes or amendments to the comprehensive plan. The Board formally voted to make any changes to the plan on Tuesday, May 29, at 9:15 a.m. A final draft will be formally adopted on Tuesday, June 12.

County Engineer Mike McClain presented a map of the contract rock plan for the county this season.

“It’s basically the same as last year,” he said.

For Fiscal Year 2011, 213.68 miles of contract rock were covered, coming to 75,662 tons of rock. This fiscal year, McClain estimates roughly 213.3 miles of contract rock, or 76,655 tons. McClain said this respresents about a third of the county roads.

“We had a lot of spot-rock early on this year,” said McClain of the county roads.

The 98^th Street Bridge project was let in Ames, with Jim Schroeder Construction, Inc. receiving the award at $334,801.06. There were six other bids for the project. The money for the project will come from federal bridge funds.

Students from the HACAP center visited with the Board of Supervisors and thanked them for their continued support in the program. Their visit also signified The Week of the Young Child.