A meeting was held Wednesday evening in Atlantic to discuss how to help offset future expenses that have outpaced the Cass County Landfill’s current revenue source: the tipping fees. Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones, City Administrator John Lund and City Clerk Barb Barrick sat down with members of the local media Thursday afternoon to discuss what transpired at the meeting Wednesday, which was attended by about 30 officials from around the County, the Atlantic City Council and Cass County Board of Supervisors and John Danos, the City’s Bond Attorney, who’s with the Dorsey and Whitney Law Firm in Des Moines.

Wednesday’s discussion, according to John Lund, was “To figure out how we were going to pay for the per capita fee the Landfill is levying against the municipalities and the County. Exploring what our options are.” He said at this time it appears the County will divert some of the Local Option Sales Tax or other sources of existing money to make payment for the rural residents. As far as the other incorporated cities, Lund said Lewis will use some of their franchise fee money from Mid-American Energy to pay for the city’s share. “Atlantic will just do a one-day debt service and levy that on property taxes.” Mayor Jones said “It’s going to be a tax on the citizens of Cass County, one way or another.”

The increase amounts to 38-cents per thousand dollars property valuation, since the Landfill calculated the fee for the 28-E constituent members, based on 12-dollars per household., or one-dollar per capita per month. Lund said people should notice the change on the property tax bill in January, 2019. Mayor Jones said the City of Atlantic will contribute about $85,000, rural county $42,000. Atlantic will receive its first bill and the end of the 1st Quarter, which is in Sept., 2018.

The new rate will not affect the $100 per ton tipping fee. The Landfill he says, started out being a tipping fee-based only, but it’s not enough to meet the costs of DNR requirements. Jones says Cass County has one of the highest landfill rates in the State.
The option of using the landfill as nothing more than a Transfer Station was also discussed Wednesday night. Jones said because the budget needs to be finalized by the end of March, but after that, the Landfill operators need to seriously look at making it a Transfer station, because “My gut feeling, says, in three or four-years, you’re going to come back for more money.” They have a 10-year pay-out, but they will eventually need more money. He said “It’s not a pretty situation out there, right now.”

Issues with the Cass County Landfill arose when Iowa DNR, on behalf of the EPA, ordered the Landfill to set up a “post closure” fund before the facility could close, if a leaking cell can’t be cleaned-up in a timely manner and another cell is built. That would cost at least $900,000, which is the landfill’s annual budget. They currently have only $300,000 in the bank.

With the adjusted fee structure, Jones said in 10-years they should have more than enough money to take care of the costs, but in an ideal situation, the County would take over the Landfill. That, he said, “Is not going to happen.”

A power outage affected a large area of Atlantic Municipal Utilities customers today (Thursday). Officials with AMU said the incident happened at around 11:58-a.m. and ended at around 12:25-p.m.  Atlantic Schools Superintendent Steve Barber said the District was without power this afternoon. The outage was said to have spread south for a few miles. Crews flipped a breaker switch and restored power to those affected. A cause of the outage was under investigation.

DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — A 20-year-old man has told authorities that he drove onto and damaged the Iowa baseball field made famous by the 1989 “Field of Dreams” movie. Court records say Austin Pape, of Dyersville, is charged with felony criminal mischief in Dubuque County. His attorney, Todd Klapatauskas, said Thursday that Pape will plead not guilty but will work with prosecutors on resolution. He says Pape hasn’t expressed any particular grudge toward the field. It sits 2 miles outside of Dyersville.

The records say the deep gashes in the field and sprinkler damage that occurred Jan. 22 are expected to cost nearly $14,300 to repair. Thousands visit the eastern Iowa field, running around the bases and walking to the surrounding cornfields.

Red Oak Police report the arrest at around 10:16-a.m. today (Thursday), of 30-year old Charles Randall Brown, III (aka “Charlie Brown”), of Red Oak. Brown was taken into custody in the 1800 block of E. Summit Street, after Officers witnessed the man smoking marijuana in his parked vehicle, while the Officers were responding to another call. Brown was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond.

A man who led police on a chase through three northwest Iowa counties last year is going to prison. A Clay County Sheriff’s deputy started pursuing a pickup on the night of September 14 after receiving a report it had stolen plates. The man driving the truck, 33-year-old Blaine Stockwell, of Laurens, refused to stop and the pursuit continued into Buena Vista and Palo Alto Counties.

Stop sticks were deployed, Stockwell then ran from the truck before officers used a Tazer to take him into custody. The pickup, later determined to be stolen from Algona, caught on fire and was destroyed. Stockwell pled guilty to second degree theft and eluding. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $1,500 in restitution and fines.

(Radio Iowa)

A bill that would reinstate the death penalty in Iowa has cleared initial review in the Iowa House, but it’s future is in doubt after the legislator assigned to guide the bill through debate says he’s a “no” if it comes up for a vote in committee. Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison, says “conceptually and morally,” he believes the death penalty is appropriate for certain horrific crimes. “Yet practically, I arrived at a different conclusion than I expected,” Holt said. “I have always believed that life in prison costs taxpayers so much money, yet I found out in researching this legislation it costs more to have someone on death row.” Holt says he’s also struck by how many individuals have been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death row. “As a result of DNA evidence, we’re seeing that more and more today,” Holt said. “And it really strikes me deep, the thought of executing someone who is innocent.”

Holt says administering the death penalty fairly was something he struggled with the most. “Statistics show, without a doubt, that those of lesser means are more likely to receive the death penalty than are those with greater assets and ability to hire the best attorneys, so my conclusion after researching this bill was not exactly what I expected,” Holt says. “I support the death penalty in theory and believe it is absolutely morally o.k. based upon my faith, but I have great issues with its practical and fair application.”

Holt’s announcement came at the conclusion of a statehouse hearing on a bill that would allow capital punishment. The first to testify was John Wolfe of Clinton, the father of State Representative Mary Wolfe. Two of his daughters who lived in Pittsburg were murdered four years ago and the man found guilty of the crime was sentenced to life in prison.”The good thing about that is it ended it. It did not go on,” Wolfe says. “…It probably takes 25 years for someone who is executed to go through everything involved in the process. This is over as far as we’re concerned.”

Many who testified were pastors. Dave Martin of the Faith Assembly of God Church in Marshalltown expressed support for the death penalty in rare circumstance. “We have mixed feelings in this in our denomination. We believe, though, that the scripture shows us capital punishment under premeditated murder would happen in the Old Testament, carried over into the New Testament as well,” Martin says. “…We need to pray for extreme wisdom as you go about doing your business…that God would help us find the right answer.”

Reverend David Sickelka, senior pastor at the United Church of Christ in Urbandale, spoke against the bill on behalf of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa. “If the death penalty does not deter crime, is not applied equitably, saps our justice system of resources and cannot be reversed when there are errors, then it is not just. It is simply vengeance,” Sickelka says. “I implore you to stop this legislation.”

The Interfaith Alliance submitted a letter signed by 176 Iowa clergy who oppose the death.

(Radio Iowa)

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department says no injuries were reported following an accident today (Thursday), in Stanton. Authorities say 18-year old Jonah Lee Kirsch, of Villisca, was driving a 1999 Chevy Silverado pickup northbound on O Avenue at around 7:20-a.m., when he failed to stop at the intersection with Highway 34. The pickup hit a driver’s side of 2014 Freightliner Sprinter van driven by 48-year old Jason Lee Bodwell, of Villisca, and owned by Apria Healthcare.

Damage from the collision amounted to $15,500 ($3,500 to the pickup, $12,000 to the van). Kirsch was arrested and charged with Failure to Stop at a stop sign, Driving While License Suspended, and having No Insurance. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,080 bond.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies were assisted at the scene by the Red Oak Fire Chief.