Tagged: Lee County Board of Supervisors

Some Lee County residents could soon pay more for sewer services.

The Board of Supervisors has signed off on a new monthly fee for households or businesses connected to Argyle’s sanitary sewer system.

The supervisors acted in their capacity as trustees for the unincorporated community’s sewer district.

The new flat fee has been set at just under $56/month.  It is expected to take effect within the next few weeks.

Sewer bills in Argyle were previously calculated based on the amount of water used by a property owner.  The average bill was less than $45/month.

The state of Iowa is really getting behind the development of a sports complex in western Fort Madison.  The site will feature multiple football/soccer fields and baseball/softball diamonds.

The Vision Iowa Board’s Community Attraction & Tourism Committee recently wrapped up negotiations with the complex committee on the size of a grant.

The panel announced during its meeting on Wednesday morning that the sports complex would receive $766,000.

The complex committee’s initial request was for more than $900,000. 

Lee County wants to make sure its residents are aware of new farm operations that can be considered controversial at times.

The Board of Supervisors has stayed out of the discussion about hog confinements in the past. 

Lee County has been one of the few counties in Iowa to reject the state DNR’s Master Matrix, which is a scoring system for such facilities.  It has also avoided making a ruling on permits because the DNR has the final say.

Upcoming changes to Iowa’s mental health system may not impact Lee County in the short term.

The state will start covering the cost of Medicaid-endorsed services in July.  That means there will be no more reimbursements for counties, which will drastically shrink budgets for mental health and other developmental disabilities.

What is left in the budgets will be primarily used to pay for services not covered by Medicaid.

Ryanne Wood oversees Lee County’s MHDD department.  She says that is why efforts are underway to shift county-funded clients to Medicaid.

Lee County, IA has some competition in its efforts to land a new industry.

The county has spent months trying to encourage Iowa Fertilizer Company to build a plant on several hundred acres of land just north of Fort Madison.

The company is a subsidiary of Orascom Construction Industries, which is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.

The $1.3-billion plant could create up to 200 permanent jobs and several thousand short-term construction jobs.

The Democrats running for the District V seat on the Lee County Board of Supervisors are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to government consolidation.

It was one year ago, this month, that the board voted to reorganize county government. 

The final proposal resulted in the moving of the Auditor and Treasurer’s offices to the North Lee County Office Building in Fort Madison. 

In turn, the Assessor and Recorder’s offices are now located in the South Lee County Courthouse in Keokuk.