Posted on

Federal bridge grant accelerates two Floyd County projects

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Two Floyd County bridge replacement projects are moving forward ahead of schedule, made possible by funding from the federal Competitive Highway Bridge Program (CHBP).

The Floyd County Board of Supervisors at their meeting on Monday, June 30, passed a resolution and an agreement with other counties, cities and the Iowa Department of Transportation, which is managing the funds, approving participation in the program.

Both projects are on the Rockford blacktop (County Road B45) between Rockford and Highway 14, Floyd County Engineer Adam Miller said.

One of the bridge replacements had already been in the Floyd County Secondary Road Department’s five-year plan and will be moved ahead, and the other one will be added. Both changes required amending the five-year plan with the Iowa Department of Transportation, which the Board of Supervisors also did Monday.

One of the bridge projects is over an unnamed creek and the other is over Flood Creek. Both are now scheduled for fiscal year 2026-27.

Federal bridge grant accelerates two Floyd County projects
Floyd County bridge projects advanced by funding program.

The supervisors approved a resolution acknowledging the county’s responsibilities in the grant program and approving the chair signing a letter of support.

It also approved a 28E (intergovernmental) agreement that will be signed by all 19 counties, including Floyd, and the four cities that are part of the CHBP.

Miller, who was on vacation and not at Monday’s meeting, had said he expects the two Floyd County bridges will cost about $1 million each, and the CHBP will pay about 80% of the cost, meaning the program would be providing about $1.6 million for the two bridges and the county would pay about $400,000, to come from its farm to market road funding.

CHBP is a federal bridge bundling grant and Miller said Iowa was in line to get about $30 million to $33 million in funding. Part of the reason some of the funding was targeted at Iowa is the large number of deteriorating bridges, he said.

Floyd County had submitted three structures for the grant, and the two on B45 had made it through.

This is the second significant grant the county has received in recent years toward bridge projects. Last year Floyd County, along with Bremer and Fayette counties, were approved for $25 million in a U.S. Department of transportation RAISE grant.

Floyd County received more than $9 million of that, which will replace seven bridges in the county.

Also at Monday’s board meeting, the supervisors:

• Began formally dropping out of the Southwest Bypass Urban Renewal Area, leaving that political entity entirely in the hands of the city of Charles City.

The board passed a resolution terminating the joint agreement and passed the first reading of an ordinance that would repeal two previous county ordinances that had established the district and set up how TIF revenue from the district would be shared.

That revenue was one of the sticking points, because the county has used its share to help pay annual contributions to the Charles City Area Development Corp. An agreement with the city will increase the city’s share of support for the CCADC and reduce the county’s share.

Another part of the legal paperwork was passing an agreement between the county and the CCADC, saying that the county will pay $48,100 annually to the CADC for the current 2025-26 fiscal year and two more fiscal years after that, in return for economic development services.

Charles City and Floyd County had created the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district in the 1990s as the only joint city-county TIF district in the state, so the city could leverage the county’s property valuation to boost the TIF district’s bonding capacity.

That need no longer exists, and having both the city and county involved means double the amount of hearings, legal opinions and other expenses required to take actions in the district, city and county officials have said.

• Discussed how long Floyd County should remain involved in legal actions regarding the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, which would have a main line and arterials through Floyd County. Floyd County is sharing the cost with eight other counties for legal representation by the Ahlers & Cooney law firm, currently part of a suit objecting to the decision that had been reached by the Iowa Utilities Commission regarding the pipeline.

No decision was made, and it was suggested that the principal attorney involved, Tim Whipple, should be invited to a board meeting to give a progress update. That discussion would be likely held in closed session under the Iowa Open Meetings Law exemption for discussing strategy with legal counsel for matters that are currently in litigation or where litigation is imminent.

• Heard a brief presentation from Jacob Hagan and Tyler Burman of AgriVia, a new Perry-based engineering firm that specializes in drainage district work and is looking to provide service to Floyd County. Hagan is a licensed engineer and Buman said he expects to get his engineer license within a year. They offered a straight $100 per hour fee for services.

• The meeting was also briefly interrupted when a remote video participant began displaying pornographic images and shouting profanities and racial epithets on the boardroom’s video screens — a form of remote access “Zoom bombing” that has disrupted public meetings across the country.

This was the second time this had happened at a supervisor board meeting, despite increased security efforts after the first instance in March. County Auditor Morrigan Montagne said after the meeting Monday it is possible future remote meeting access may be limited to telephone teleconference.

Social Share

LATEST NEWS