Tagged: Lee County

Lee County could update a policy that affects every one of its employees.

Safety Coordinator BJ Stephens says she would like to do a complete re-write of the county’s safety plan.  She says it would cover every aspect of county government by creating a streamlined approach to handling issues that multiple departments must address.

Board of Supervisors Chairperson Janet Fife-LaFrenz says the goal is “to make our environment that our people work in and our residents come in to visit a very safe one.”

Fife-LaFrenz says a consolidated plan could also reduce the number of worker compensation claims.

Stephens says it could take months to complete the re-write.

The first step is for the Board of Supervisors to adopt a mission statement.

Lee County will provide money for a proposed sports complex in Fort Madison.  The decision comes after the Board of Supervisors spent weeks rejecting requests for funding.

The Vision Iowa Board has said that Fort Madison’s request for more than $800,000 will not be considered without a $25,000 contribution from the county.  The program requires city, county, and public support for a project.

The Board of Supervisors has agreed to send a letter to Vision Iowa that guarantees Lee County will make the $25,000 payment to the project.  The letter says the money will either come as a one-time, lump sum payment or in five installments of five-thousand dollars a year.

Lee County will receive some outside help in its efforts to land a new industry.

The Board of Supervisors has agreed to hire attorney Bob Josten to negotiate with Iowa Fertilizer Company on behalf of the county.  Josten is with Dorsey & Whitney, a Des Moines-based law firm the county uses when it borrows money.

Iowa Fertilizer Company is considering a 300-acre site near Wever for a $1.3-billion dollar fertilizer plant. 

Orascom Construction Industries out of Egypt would put about $100-million towards the project while taking advantage of $1.2-billion in disaster bonds.

It’s unclear whether Lee County’s support for a proposed sports complex in Fort Madison will lead to any state funding.  The project calls for the construction of three football/soccer fields and three softball/baseball diamonds.

The Vision Iowa Board says the county must provide at least $25,000 if the board is to act on Fort Madison’s request for more than $870,000.

The county has created a special community development fund to try to raise the money.  $1,500 has already been pledged at this point.

The fundraising effort would allow the county to avoid providing taxpayer dollars.

Vision Iowa Program Manager Jessica O’Riley believes this is the first time a project has tried to cover a government contribution through fundraising.

Lee County has started collecting money to cover its share of a potential state grant for a proposed sports complex in Fort Madison.

That is possible because the Board of Supervisors has approved the creation of a Community Development Fund.

The first donations came in shortly after the official vote.  Supervisors Rick Larkin ($1,000) and Larry Kruse ($500) pulled out their wallets and wrote their checks to back up their verbal pledges from last week.

Chairperson Janet Fife-LaFrenz says the money donated by residents for a specific project will be used as the county’s match for various grants.

It appears Lee County has come up with a way to contribute to a proposed sports complex in Fort Madison without using taxpayer money.

The county is being asked to provide a total of $25,000 over the next five years to the $3.4-million dollar project.  The Vision Iowa Board has said without that contribution, Fort Madison will not receive any state funding.

The Lee County Board of Supervisors has rejected previous requests for that much money, but Supervisor Larry Kruse believes a compromise has been reached.

Kruse wants the county to create a special fund that residents could donate to specifically for the sports complex.  He says that would allow the county to provide funding while staying fiscally disciplined by not using taxpayer revenue.

The city of Fort Madison is going to take its turn in trying to secure funding for a proposed sports complex.

The city has already pledged $500,000 over the next two years to the construction of three football/soccer fields and three baseball/softball diamonds.

The city council will write a letter to the Lee County Board of Supervisors to try to encourage the county to increase its contribution of $3,000 over three years.

Mayor Brad Randolph asked for the letter to be placed before the council.

He says this project will benefit the entire county when it comes to business retention and recruitment.

Fort Madison’s proposed sports complex has received another piece of bad news from the state.

Supporters traveled to Mason City to make a second pitch to the Vision Iowa Board for funding.  The task force promoting the sports complex is seeking up to $1-million to add to the $2.5-million dollars generated through public and private donations.

Unfortunately for the task force, the request for state funding was denied by an oversight committee for the Vision Iowa Board.

Matt Morris with the Fort Madison Economic Development Corporation says that panel based its denial on Lee County’s contribution of $3,000 over 3 years to a $3.4-million dollar project.  That works out to less than 0.1% of the cost of the project.