Funds transfer could pay for housing needs assessment

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The Floyd County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday morning to transfer $33,000 from one account to another, with the money ultimately planned to be used for a county housing study.

The board voted to move the money from a housing infrastructure assistance fund, that had originally been set up in 2004 with $513,000 from the sale of general obligation bonds.

The fund was used to help support infrastructure projects in housing developments, but had not been tapped for several years, leaving a $33,000 balance that has been sitting on the county’s books since 2014.

Tim Fox, executive director of the Charles City Area Development Corp., earlier this year asked if the money could be used to help pay for a housing needs assessment for Floyd County and Nashua.

The CCADC is responsible for housing initiatives, and Fox said a needs assessment is necessary to gauge the housing supply and the housing demand.

After conferring with the County Attorney’s Office and the county’s financial auditor, the board determined it might not be proper to spend the money on a housing needs assessment from the original infrastructure account, but the money could be transferred to the general fund then used for whatever the board decides.

Also at a planning session Monday morning and the regular session Tuesday:

• The board discussed with county Engineer Dusten Rolando a drainage tile going through the property where the Charles City school district is planning to build an athletic complex north of Charles City.

Rolando said the tile goes through an area where a parking lot is planned, and it might be a good idea to replace the tile with a heavier-duty dual-wall plastic or a concrete pipe before a lot is built.

He said he wasn’t sure whether the school district or the entire drainage district should pay the $25,000 to $40,000 he estimated the project would cost.

• Supervisor Linda Tjaden said she was waiting for advice from the County Attorney’s Office regarding whether the board could approve a architectural contract for the recently approved $13.5 million law enforcement center and courthouse update project, or whether the county needed to advertise for bids for the job.

Tjaden said it was her preference to keep Prochaska and Associates working on the project, since planners and architects from that company had helped the county through initial designs and provided guidance on running a successful bond referendum.

Randy Heitz, who was attending the Monday meeting as a spectator, said he was a member of the Charles City school board in 2013 when that board was working on the design for the new middle school.

He said the school district benefitted by advertising for bids for the architectural contract because, even though the same company that had initially been working with the district won the bid, the district saved several hundred thousand dollars because the company reduced its price to compete with other bidders.

• The board set a public hearing for 9:15 a.m. May 22 on a request to rezone rural property east of Charles City at 2978 210th St. from ag zoning to residential zoning to build a house.