The Shelby County Board of Supervisors met in a Regular session May 16th. Auditor/Board Secretary Mark Maxwell reports Shelby County Sheriff Chad Butler briefed the Supervisors about recent hires and progress in the assumption of law enforcement duties in the City of Harlan. The process and the new hires have created challenges for the Sheriffs Department , but overall, things are going well.

Alex Londo, Shelby County EMA Director spoke and told the Supervisors that the siren issues have been resolved and it was just a malfunction that allowed the sirens to sound unexpectedly. Other facets and ambitions of the EMA department were presented as well.

Kyle Lindberg representing the Shelby County IT Committee put forth his recommendation to have Austin Staley approved as a full time IT person for Shelby County. Schaben made a motion to approve the hiring, Parkhurst seconded the motion, the motion was approved.

Todd Valine of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Industry noted that the Chamber Board is meeting later this day to look at next year’s budget. Valline also mentioned that new business construction is progressing well in the County.

Following a brief recess, a hearing for public comment was then opened regarding the proposed budget amendment for the current fiscal year. Auditor Maxwell did not have any public comments at his office and no comments were heard from those in attendance. The Supervisors then voted to close the hearing after a motion by Schaben and a second by Parkhurst.

Back in session, the Board approved the proposed budget amendment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. It calls for there to be no increase in taxes. (see details below)

In other business, Brandon Burmeister presented the Utility Permits 2023-05-04 for Nishnabotna Valley REC. The permit was jointly approved by the Board of Supervisors.  Resolution 2023-33 is a resolution to set a public hearing date and time to vacate Right of Way interests in and close a portion of the Shelby County Road, Yellowwood Road. The section of road #551 north of the area known as Fiscus to the structure (bridge) owned by Audubon County. A publication of hearing will be published by the Secondary Roads Department. Copies of the resolution are available in the Auditors office and the Engineers office.

The Supervisors then considered temporary storage of items for the Harlan Community School District and for the Harlan Community Library. As the items stored are small and/or the storage for most items are temporary it was motioned by Schaben to allow the Chairperson to sign a lease agreement in the amount of $1 a year for the temporary use of a room at the Shelby County Annex by the Harlan Schools and the storage of a piece of equipment that is infrequently used and owned by the Harlan Library. Parkhurst seconded the motion, the motion was approved.

The Board of Supervisors then discussed the disposal of County property in the City Limits of Earling.  Maintaining the property and assuming risk to the county and costs for upkeep throughout the year have been determined to be mitigated. It was suggested that the hearing be held June 20th at the hour of 9:00 AM to seek public comment on the sale of this county owned real estate. Sealed bids will be open that day following the hearing. A minimum bid of $8,700.00 needs to be placed to be accepted by the Supervisors. All bids must be received in the Auditors office at the Courthouse by 4:30 PM June 19th. No drop box bids will be accepted.

A resolution to set the publication and hearing date was passed unanimously. The Board also passed a Resolution appointing the following Sheriff’s Deputies: Noah Schilling and Wyatt Oviatt.

A Courthouse building and grounds use permit was discussed for the June 2023 and June 2024 Relay for life events, and subsequently approved.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa City is considering making its buses free to ride. Transportation director Darian Nagle-Gamm hopes the move will help bring back pre-pandemic ridership. “We think this could really make a difference. If you give people a service, a quality transportation service in town that they can just hop aboard. They don’t have to worry about a fare,” she says. “You know they can just hop on board and use the system. We will see, we will see an increase in ridership.”

Ridership on Iowa City’s buses is down 26 percent compared to 2019. Bus fares now make up eight percent of the department’s revenue and she says they’ll need to convince the Metropolitan Planning Organization to adjust the systems funding model.  “Because our ridership levels are down-like they are across the country-we have extra capacity on our buses. So this is really an ideal time for the city to consider moving to a zero fare platform because there is no additional staff or busses required at this time,” she says.

Nagle-Gamm says hybrid and remote work trends may mean fewer riders overall. But fare-free busing may coax some people who were on the fence.

(Radio Iowa) – Two teenagers have been charged with stealing 100 dollars worth of alcohol from a Storm Lake gas station — and a clerk at the Midtown Brew gas station faces charges for allegedly hitting one of the suspects with a vehicle. Police say the alcohol thefts at Midtown Brew happened on three nights last week. Storm Lake Police have filed fifth degree theft charges against a 16 and a 17 year old. The 16-year-old has also been charged in connection with a burglary to a vehicle that happened during the overnight hours of May 14th. The 16 year old has been transferred to a juvenile detention facility.

The 17 year old has been released to a parent. Police say the 17 year old was hospitalized after he was hit by an S-U-V early last Thursday morning. The driver of the S-U-V faces a number of charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon. Police say the S-U-V driver was a clerk at the gas station who saw the 17 year old shoplifting, got into his S-U-V, chased the teen, ran onto a sidewalk and hit him, then fled the scene.