Cherokee County Board of Supervisors Meeting
The Cherokee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Tuesday, February 5, 2025 with Bryan Petersen, Cheryl Ellis, Dave Skou, Ray Mullins II and Shane Bellefy present. Erin Rydgren, Chronicle Times, represented the press. Gary Lundquist, Clay Leavitt, Matt Dreckman, Kelly Puhrmann, Steve Zarr, Chuck Stubbe, Justin Pritts and Kenny Schlenger were also in attendance. Unless otherwise indicated, all votes were offered as follows: Ayes – Mullins, Ellis, Bellefy, Skou, Petersen; Nayes – none; Abstentions – none.
Chairman Petersen called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Motion by Skou, seconded by Bellefy to approve the agenda. Motion carried.
Motion by Ellis, seconded by Mullins to approve minutes of the previous meeting. Motion carried.
There were no comments from the public.
Clay Leavitt Marcus Fire Department Chief and Matt Dreckman Marcus Fire Department Assistant Chief provided an informative presentation of the 2024 year in review comparison to previous years which included details of the department’s annual fire and ambulance calls; with 176 responses and 2379 on-duty hours for their 30 – member unit. They also shared information regarding their Jr firefighter program which includes 5 members at this time that are currently taking EMT classes at WITCC. The supervisors thanked the Marcus Fire Department for their commitment to providing vital services to the area residents and applauded them for their professional administration of the volunteer family of firefighters on their department.
Kelly Puhrmann, County Engineer, presented bid quotes for the F Avenue Project and recommended awarding the low bid from Croell, Inc in the amount of $5,039,104.40.
Motion by Skou, seconded by Ellis to approve Resolution#2025-02 accepting the bid and delegate signing to Kelly Puhrmann, County Engineer for the F Avenue project from 480th Street to C16. Roll call vote: all ayes. Motion carried and resolution adopted.
Update on Secondary Roads activities included the information share that the Diamond 105 project is planned for letting on February 18, 2025.
Kelly Puhrmann, Zoning Administrator asked for process clarification on how the Board of Adjustments and Zoning Commission were to be filled. It was a consensus of the board that each board was to recruit and recommend new members to the Board of Supervisors.
The supervisors provided committee reports and reviewed meeting schedules. Chairman Petersen stated that the Statewide Supervisors meeting he attended last week was beneficial and a great networking opportunity.
Review of the 2025/2026 budget continued.
There being no further business, Chairman Petersen called for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Motion by Bellefy seconded by Mullins to adjourn the meeting at 10:36 a.m. Motion carried.
All board agendas and minutes are available online at cherokeecounty.iowa.gov .
Attest: Karin Cedar, Auditor’s Assistant
Bryan Petersen, Chairman
Published in the Marcus News on February 20, 2025