A man from Pottawattamie County was arrested Tuesday on drug charges, in Cass County. The Sheriff’s Office says 47-year old Robert Lee Olwell, of Avoca,  faces felony charges that include two Controlled Substance Violations, and a Drug Tax Stamp Violation. He was also charged with Prohibited Acts, an aggravated misdemeanor. Olwell was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $35,000 bond.

The Atlantic School Board, Wednesday evening, discussed at length, the placing of a measure on the September School Board Election ballot, a Physical Plant and Equipment (PPEL) Income Surtax charge, in addition to a renewal of the PPEL Levy. The Board decided to act on a Resolution to that effect during their regular meeting in June.

The levy may be used for, among other things: the purchase and improvement of grounds; construction of schoolhouses or buildings and opening roads to schoolhouses or buildings; purchase, lease, or lease-purchase of equipment or technology. District Business Manager/Board Secretary Mary Beth Fast said the current, voted PPEL incorporates an 85-cent/per thousand dollars valuation property tax rate.

She says the Income Surtax would be an added component to the PPEL so that both would raise money for repairs and facility needs. The District has used the surtax in the past, according to Mary Beth. Iowa Law says a school board may annually certify a regular Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) in an amount up to 33 cents per thousand dollars of assessed valuation, which most of the schools in the Hawkeye 10 District have. Voters may authorize a voted Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (VPPEL) for a period not exceeding ten years and in an amount not exceeding $1.34 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation.

And, while the Atlantic Board of Education also has the option of raising the voted PPEL to a maximum of $1.34/per thousand, they weren’t in favor of stepping in that direction. They thought it would be best to leave the current 85-cent levy in-place. Fast said there is an option, where the Income Surtax is concerned. She says the Board can leave the income surtax percentage open to the maximum of 20-percent. It would be up to the Board to change that every year as they see fit, but it would also be dependent on the amount of property tax that was raised.

The Board was in favor of leaving the Surtax rate open when it comes to the Resolution they’ll act on next month. It’s a moot point though, if the voters fail to pass the measure in September. In past years when the Income Surtax was in-place, the rate was a maximum of 4-percent, which would have generated in the current year, about $280,000, if it had been in effect.  It’s dependent on two-years prior income tax because the calendar year 2014 data is not in yet, which means the money is also delayed a year.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, today (Thursday), approved a change of zoning classification from General Agricultural to a Light Industrial District, for a 1.32-acre parcel of land in Cass Township on property owned by Todd Leighton.
Rich Hansen, Zoning Administrator, and Assistant to Cass County Engineer Charles Marker, said the Zoning Board approved the request at an earlier meeting and recommended the Supervisors also approve the change. Hansen said Leighton wants to be a 60-by-100 foot cold storage facility for materials designed for the production of specialty tools he manufactures.

In other business, the Board approved the placement of outdoor warning sirens for the City of Lewis, on County-owned property just east of the Lewis School building and west of the road. Engineer Charles Marker recommended the request be approved, with a stipulation. That being the siren not be placed in a position where it would obstruct drainage in the area. Marker reported also, A-M Cohron has agreed to  delay for about a month, the start of construction on a bridge near the Griswold Golf Course. Work wouldn’t begin until August 3rd, under a Change Order Marker must submit and Cohron officials sign-off on. The delay is designed to allow the Golf Course be in operation without diverting traffic on unpaved roads, during the busiest part of the golf season.

The Board also moved to appoint Duane Weirich, of Lewis, to fill a Cass Township Trustee vacancy term through 2016, and they approved the appointment of Bruce Henderson, from Atlantic, as a commissioner to the Southern Iowa Regional Housing Authority, representing Cass County.