The Cherokee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 with Gary Lundquist, Rick Mongan, Duane Mummert, Wane Miller and Bryan Petersen present. There were no representatives from the press. William Gauthier, Kelly Puhrmann, Sarah Tracy, Justin Pritts and Kenny Schlenger were also in attendance. Unless otherwise indicated, all votes were offered as follows: Ayes – Lundquist, Petersen, Mummert, Miller, Mongan; Nayes – none; Abstentions – none.
Chairman Mongan called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance being recited.
Motion by Mummert, seconded by Lundquist to approve the agenda. Motion carried.
Motion by Petersen, seconded by Mummert to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. Motion carried.
Motion by Lundquist, seconded by Petersen to approve the claims for payment as presented. Motion carried. A complete listing is available for review in the County Auditor’s office and online.
Claims Approved February 22, 2022:
Alliant Energy
Serv 869.04
Gary Anderson
FireMtg 10.00
Auditor – State of Iowa State
Fee 625.00
Aurelia Municipal Utility
Serv 144.18
Bell Optical Payment
Safety 299.77
Robert Berger
Travel Reimb 159.00
Patrick Bird
Twp Mtg 10.00
Bomgaars
Supp 195.66
Builders Sharpening & Serv
Parts 2,500.45
Patrick Bunt
Travel Reimb 32.60
Central Bank
Supp 855.22
Champion Electric, Inc
Serv 36.00
Chase Card Services
Supp 976.71
Cherokee County Sheriff
Fee 63.00
Cherokee State Bank
Flex/Self Fund 8,494.83
Cherokee Regional Medical Ctr
Health Serv 706.00
Cherokee Regional Medical CTR
Contract 563.27
Cherokee Rural Water
Serv 143.85
Christenson Brothers
Repair 27,500.00
Chronicle Times
Publ 422.32
Cintas
Supp 46.26
City of Cherokee
Serv 88.40
City of Meriden
Serv 25.00
CJ Cooper & Associates
Serv 70.00
CML Telephone Coop
Serv 834.56
Continental Fire Sprinkler Co.
Serv 135.00
Counsel
Serv 89.98
Dearborn Life Insurance Co
Life Ins 1,041.17
Joseph W Draper
Per Diem 50.00
Don Drefke
Per Diem 50.00
Fareway
Supp 1,800.56
First Cooperative Association
Fuel 10,918.52
FORCE America
Distributing, LLC
Parts 285.30
Foundation Analytical Lab
Serv 124.05
Frontier
Serv 129.95
William Gauthier
Per Diem 50.00
GovConnection, Inc.
Supp 132.76
Grainger
Parts 167.91
Graves Construction Co., Inc
Stockpile 68,827.32
GreatAmerica Financial Svcs
Serv 109.73
Steven Hueser
Twp Mtg 10.00
Brad Husman
Twp Mtg 10.00
Hy-Vee Inc.
Supp 40.00
I.C.C.S CCDA
Fee 40.00
Iowa Lakes Electric Coop
Serv 2,856.00
IA Lakes Regional Water
Serv 65.34
Iowa State Assoc of Counties
Dues 70.00
Jacks Uniforms & Equipment
Clothing 104.98
Dan James
Mileage 16.20
Janitor’s Closet, Ltd
Supp 148.38
John Deere Financial
Parts 134.94
Julius Cleaners
Serv 35.20
Klass Law Firm, LLP
Serv 1,068.00
Thomas J Kohn
Reimb 148.30
Jeff Letsche
Twp Mtg 10.00
Evan Magnussen
FireMtg 10.00
Mallison & Waldner LLC
Serv 720.00
Microfilm Imaging Systems Inc
Serv 480.00
Mid American Energy
Serv 468.17
Mid-American Benefits, Inc.
Caf Admin Fees 55.00
Midwest Technology Services
Serv 2,721.60
Midwest Wheel Companies
Parts 224.63
Wane A Miller
Per Diem 50.00
Modern Heating & Cooling, Inc
Serv 185.72
Rick Mongan
Travel Reimb 89.59
Motor Parts Sales
Parts 52.93
Ray Mullins
Twp Mtg 10.00
Northside Tire
Serv 130.01
O’Brien County
Fee 300.00
One Office Solution
Supp 178.56
Don Parrott
Mileage 32.20
Michelle K. Pedersen
Per Diem 50.00
Tim Perrin
FireMtg 10.00
Bryan Petersen
Mileage 25.20
Pilot Rock Sign Shop
Supp 45.00
PJ Greufe & Associates
Serv 1,575.00
Productivity Plus Account
Parts 290.00
Karla Prunty
Mileage 25.80
Quadient Leasing USA, Inc.
Serv 2,217.00
Rees Mack Sales & Service
Parts 696.16
Bradley Rohwer
Mileage 16.60
Neal Rupp
Twp Mtg 10.00
Sanitary Services Inc
Serv 151.80
Schmillen Construction Inc
Serv 57,682.14
Dean Schnoes
Mileage 11.40
DJ Sechler
Mileage 13.40
Secretary of State Notary Div
Dues 30.00
SHI International Corp
Supp 235.20
Jerry Slota
Twp Mtg 10.00
Cathy Smith
Twp Mtg 10.00
Solutions, Inc.
Serv 4,135.32
SRF Consulting Group, Inc
Serv 1,197.20
The Storm Lake Times
Publ 687.34
Cody Stowater
FireMtg 10.00
Gene Suhr
Mileage 16.60
CW Suter & Son, Inc.
Serv 921.80
Swain Motor Company
Serv 500.55
Heidi Taylor
Mileage 21.00
Truck Center Companies
Parts 3,145.15
U.S. Postal Service
CMRS-POC
Postage 3,500.00
Valley Veterinary Center
Fees 53.49
Verizon Wireless
Serv 174.71
Wellmark BCBS of Iowa
Insurance 87,516.85
WesTel Systems
Serv 405.59
Paul Wilberding
Twp Mtg 10.00
Timothy R Wych
Travel Reimb 96.19
Xerox Financial Services
Serv 76.23
Ziegler Inc
Supp 64.77
360 Custom Designs
Serv 185.00
Grand Total $305,871.61

Sarah Tracy, County Engineer, presented construction documents and a wage authorization for consideration.
Motion by Mummert, seconded by Miller to authorize board signatures on the title sheet for Project # BHS-SWAP-CO18(86)–FC-18 as presented for repairs on the Hwy 977 bridge east of Cherokee city limits. Motion carried.
Motion by Petersen, seconded by Lundquist to authorize the chairman to sign an Iowa DOT Preconstruction Agreement for Primary Road Project #STP-031-3(11)–2C-18 to provide a detour on C66 during resurfacing of Highway 31. Motion carried.
Tracy requested the board table action on Resolution #2022-08 until all information is available.
Motion by Lundquist, seconded by Petersen to accept a denial of employment from Zachary Murphy for a full-time Secondary Roads Operator position that was previously offered by the County Engineer and approved by the Board of Supervisors on February 8, 2022. Motion carried.
Motion by Mummert, seconded by Miller to approve a $24.61 wage authorization for Alexander Hammond, Secondary Roads Operator, effective March 14, 2022. Motion carried.
Steve Zarr, Survey Technician, and Nick Patterson, provided an informative presentation reviewing sections of the Secondary Roads Right-Of-Way Ordinance and gave examples of non-compliance that have created safety and drainage concerns. Sarah Tracy commented that rural mail boxes must be break-away for safety reasons, however, the first priority will be to resolve issues with snow and junk piles in the ditch along with landowners changing the profile of the ditch by farming beyond the right-of-way line where fences were previously placed.
Zarr and Patterson proposed the following action plan:
Spring through Fall 2022

1. Identify right-of-way issues
2. Document issues including date, location, picture and landowner
3. Verbal conversations and education efforts with the public: put information in the paper, Facebook, etc.
   Fall 2022
4. Send letters to land owners with continued right-of-way issues
   Letter will include:
5. Copy of ordinance
6. Picture(s) of issue and why it is a problem
7. Timeline of when the issue needs to be fixed
8. Statement that Roads Department will be marking the right-of-way with sign/post
9. Statement that if the signs/posts are damaged after installation, the landowner will be billed for the cost to replace
10. Contact information for any questions or concerns, landowners will be encouraged to call
    Spring 2023
11. Review locations to determine if issues were addressed
12. Continue conversations to seek cooperation
13. LAST RESORT: Work with the County Attorney to follow the enforcement section of the ordinance
    Lundquist stated that this timeline gives people plenty of time to remedy their issues but Secondary Roads staff should still be prepared for pushback from some landowners. Miller added the plan probably gives more time than is necessary, however, the county should take care of “our house” first before calling out other landowners. Patterson agreed the county has been cutting trees in ditches and has piles that need to be burned when sufficient snow coverage reduces open burning concerns.
    Consensus of the supervisors was to advise Zarr and Patterson to move forward with their proposed action plan to bring the county in compliance with the Secondary Roads Right-Of-Way Ordinance adopted in 2009.
    Motion by Mummert, seconded by Miller to approve the 2020/2021 Fiscal Year Audit Draft as prepared by Winther, Stave & Co. and to submit the report to the Iowa Auditor of State. Motion carried.
    The supervisors provided committee reports and reviewed meeting schedules.
    Mongan called for comments from the public.
    Sarah Tracy discussed agreements for transfer of state funds to cities with farm to market roadways that pass-through city limits. These funds are given back to Cleghorn, Larrabee, Quimby and Washta for maintenance of the roads proportionately by each city.
    There being no further business, Chairman Mongan called for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
    Motion by Petersen, seconded by Miller to adjourn the meeting at 10:17 a.m.
    All board agendas and minutes are available online at cherokeecounty.iowa.gov .
    Attest: Kris Glienke, County Auditor
    Rick Mongan, Chairman
    Published in the