County refuses private offer to buy dam

Board of Supervisors
By: 
Kim Brooks
Express Editor

     About a month ago, the county received a $50,000 offer from Steve Intlekofer of Monticello to purchase Mon Maq Dam on the Maquoketa River in Monticello.

     At the Sept. 12 Jones County Supervisor meeting, the board unanimously voted against Intlekofer’s offer. The reasoning, offered by legal counsel County Attorney Phil Parsons, was based on the fact that the county cannot sell property like the dam without considering all other offers or opening it up to other interested parties.

     Parsons also urged the board members to come to a solid conclusion on this matter.

     “I encourage you to fish or cut bait on this as soon as you can,” he said. “If you’re not going to accept any proposals, I encourage you to let the public know where you’re at on this.”

     Parsons said a lot of people have put in time and money into saving the dam up to this point in time.

     Supervisor Wayne Manternach said if the Conservation Board wanted to pursue other options with the dam, they would have brought to idea to the Board of Supervisors’ attention by now.

     Parsons told the board selling Mon Maq Dam wouldn’t be any different than the county selling the former Edinburgh Manor/county home.

     “It’s your property,” he said. “You have the authority to sell it.” He explained dam was deeded to the county; Conservation provides the maintenance.

     Parsons said the Iowa DNR and Corps of Engineers do not have authority over the structure, despite its location on a public waterway.

     “Future owners would have to follow the same laws that we do,” he said.

     However, because the county received a DOT grant for the improvements made to the dam site by the former Conservation director, the new owner would have to abide by those DOT restrictions. The grant was for a 20-year timeframe, and right now the county is seven years into the grant, with 13 years remaining. Parsons said under the DOT, the public must be granted access for the duration of the grant.

     “If a flood wipes out the look-out,” suggested Parsons of the dam site, “the owner may be obligated to have it fixed. They would bear the full burden of that, not the county. If it doesn’t get done, then the public suffers.”

     However, Parsons said he wasn’t sure how insurance would handle a situation where a private citizen owned a dam on public water, and had to allow public access.

     Parsons said if the county wanted to open it up to additional proposals, it would be wise to see plans for how the site would look several years down the road.

     “You could use these proposals as insurance when putting the (sale) contracts together,” he suggested. “This gives the county teeth in the game to ensure that things happen.”

     Supervisor Jon Zirkelbach asked Parsons if the dam would revert back to the county if the owner left it in disarray and the site became a nuisance. Parsons said, simply, “Yes.”

     Tom Osborne of Monticello asked whether the county would consider a proposal by a non-profit organization. He said he was there at the meeting, representing such a group made up of county residents with an interest in saving the dam.

     “We want to ensure free, public access and property development,” said Osborne, “for historical and recreational uses.”

     He said many in this group are “willing to put their money where their mouth is” for the good of the county.

     As a non-profit, Supervisor Joe Oswald asked where they would get the funds for the maintenance of the dam site. Osborne said they’ve looked into insurance policies and developing a trust account.

     Parsons said it’s not out of the norm for governing bodies and non-profits to work together on instances like this.

     Manternach said he’s not in favor of accepting any offers at this point and continuing with the plans Conservation laid out.

     “Conservation made their decision and we voted to support their decision,” echoed Zirkelbach.

In other county business:

     • The board congratulated Kathy Koerperich, JETS manager, on her recognition from ECICOG and the Iowa DOT as the “Most Improved Rural Transit System” for 2017.

     • The Olin City Council voted to not participate in the county’s E-45 resurfacing project.

     County Engineer Derek Snead said the City of Olin’s portion is roughly 380 feet at an estimate of $55,000.

     • Snead informed the board that while county crews were out ditching along 130th Street in the central part of the county, they hit a Medicom fiber line.

     “It was not marked,” reported Snead of the utility line.

     He said crews did call 811 before ditching began, but had to hold off due to other pertinent work. When they started up ditching again, it was past the 14-day 811 timeframe. He said cost is just over $10,000; however because the line wasn’t marked and wasn’t buried at the right depth in the ditch, Snead is working on a resolution.

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