County looking to hire part-time for Land Use

   Jones County is hiring a part-time Land Use Administrator.

   During the Oct. 3 Jones County Board of Supervisors meeting, the board took action to direct County Auditor Whitney Hein to advertise for the position.

   Hein had the board review the advertisement and job posting information.

   "The job description is unchanged," she said.

   Previously, Land Use has always been a full-time position, with 50 percent of the job dedicated to Land Use and 50 percent with the Auditor's Office.

   "We're taking away the position-sharing (as an) election deputy," Hein told the board. "Looking at future budget constraints, this makes sense."

   Ideally, she said Land Use would maintain regular office hours Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., roughly 18 hours a week.

   "It'd be a range of 16 to 24 hours," Hein said. "Extra hours would depend on the time of the year and what's going on."

   As in the past, Land Use would continue to be housed in the Auditor's Office.

   "For the time being, I think this is the best route to go," Hein said.

In other county business:

   • Supervisor Ned Rohwedder reported that long-time Jones County Tourism Association Director Brad Hatcher turned in his resignation, effective Dec. 31, 2023. The Tourism board is pursuing the hiring of a new director.

   • The board approved a formal ARPA resolution to spend $33,640 for the replacement and conversion of the ProLaw software system in the County Attorney's Office to Prosecutor by Karpel.

   • The board approved the hiring of Randy Wendt as a Mechanic II for Secondary Roads at $24.11 an hour.

   County Engineer Derek Snead said he interviewed a number of candidates for the job, and that Wendt stood out.

   "He's currently a mechanic for Linn County and lives in Anamosa," Snead told the board. "He has good work history; he'll be a vey good asset to Jones County at his caliber."

   Snead added that Wendt is familiar with the type of equipment Secondary Roads utilizes throughout its fleet.

   Wendt will start sometime in November.