Floyd County continues planning for new public safety radio communications system

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The Floyd County Board of Supervisors finalized the purchase of a small parcel of farmland for the new county communications tower, approved work to repair some problems in ag drainage areas and announced the hiring of a new department director at the board’s regular meeting Monday morning.

The board had previously approved an offer to purchase 1½ acres of farmland adjoining the southwest corner of the county’s Fossil and Prairie Park Preserve west of Rockford, to be used to locate a 300-foot-tall radio communications tower as part of a $5 million project to replace and upgrade the radio equipment used by law enforcement, fire departments and other public safety officials in the county.

The purchase offer had been for $70,000, plus 25% for 30 years of any revenue the county receives for renting antenna space on the tower to other agencies or companies.

The seller, Stephen Schlader, had come back with just a few small changes, County Attorney Todd Prichard said at the meeting Monday. Schlader wanted the county to pay the cost of bringing the land abstract up to date, and wanted to make sure that the agreement on sharing tower revenue would pass to his heirs if he didn’t live 30 more years.

Prichard said he had no problem with the county paying for the abstract, and having the revenue agreement pass to Schlader’s estate is fairly routine.

As part of the discussion on the land purchase, the board considered the next steps to get the tower installed.

Jason Webster, the county emergency management administrator, said the company that will provide the tower had already had a surveyor on the site to locate property line pins and help figure out where the tower will be located so that an application to the Federal Aviation Authority can be prepared, and that surveyor had given a verbal offer to also do the formal survey for the purchase of the property for an estimated cost of $1,800.

The board asked to see a written offer at the meeting next week, but indicated it would likely approve having that surveyor complete the process.

The board also talked about the dimensions of the property with Webster, Lt. Travis Bartz of the Sheriff’s Office and Auditor Gloria Carr.

Supervisor Dennis Keifer said the group working on the project has planned on the parcel of land being 115 feet wide going back from the road, with the the tower, a small equipment building and a propane tank enclosed in a 65-foot square fenced enclosure, then a required 30-foot sideyard setback on each side.

But Carr said that information from the assistant county attorney said that the minimum width for this type of property was 150 feet. The group talked about getting a variance for that, but Supervisor Chair Mark Kuhn suggested they avoid having to get a variance if they can.

The county will have to get a conditional use permit to put the tower on the agriculturally zoned property.

Carr pointed out that even at 150 feet wide, with 1½ acres there will be more than enough lot depth to the parcel size for the tower, an access road and a work area and still meet all the setback requirements.

Also at the board meeting, the supervisors:

• Discussed repairs required on tile lines in county Drainage District 1 and agreed with County Engineer Jacob Page that the secondary roads department was able to do the work, and also discussed needed repairs in the Washington School Watershed Priority Area No. 2, where Page said his department could also handle the repairs.

In the case of the drainage district, the cost of the repairs will be assessed to the district property owners. In the watershed priority area, 50% of the repair cost is the responsibility of the property owners, 25% is the responsibility of Floyd County and 25% is the responsibility of the city of Charles City, Carr said.

• Noted that Jessy Willadsen had accepted an offer to become the new Floyd County environmental health specialist/zoning administrator/911 signs administrator, starting Monday, April 22, at an annual salary of $58,000.

Willadsen is a resident of Floyd and is currently public health and EMS emergency preparedness director at the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health. He was previously a regional planner with the North Iowa Area Council of Governments, and has a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental planning from the University of Northern Iowa.

According to the employment offer, the position’s primary responsibilities are “to conduct site evaluations of septic systems and well inspections, perform annual inspections of septic system pumpers licensed in the county, perform water sampling for residents of the county, inspect swimming pools and tattoo parlors, oversee nuisance complaints in the unincorporated area of the county, oversee complaints of dog bites and quarantining dogs, manage the county floodplain ordinance and floodplain records, administer zoning regulations and hearings for the Zoning Commission and Board of Adjustments, make and install 911 signs, maintain manure management plans and assist with Master Matrix scoring reviews, and prepare and adhere to approved budgets approved by respective boards and commissions.”

The position reports to the Board of Supervisors and the Floyd County Board of Health, which both approved offering the position to Willadsen. The former director had resigned for another job opportunity.