A group of 14 concerned Marion County Lake residents attended a portion of the Marion County Board of Commissioner’s meeting on Monday to discuss the Veterans of Foreign War Memorial that is being planned to be built at the lake.
Chairman David Mueller welcomed everyone and Byron Lange opened up the discussion.
“Our question is what has been approved. That is where we want to start. There hasn’t been a lot of information that has been given to the public. So where are we? What has been approved? We don’t want to make any assumptions. Are there any guidelines? Let’s start there,” he said.
Mueller explained that everything is in the preliminary stages. He said that the VFW approached the board about the location and got the discussion going.
Lange expressed concern that the county land isn’t under the Planning and Zoning Board but if he or others wanted to construct or build anything, they have to make a plan and present it all to the Planning and Zoning Board before they can even begin to discuss it.
“So some of this comes down to what kind of precedent is being set,” Lange said.
County Attorney Brad Jantz explained that the group behind the memorial came in and talked about their idea for the memorial to see if the board was interested in the idea.
Jantz said “If you do it or I do it, it’s private. Here it’s the county’s property, the tax payer’s property and you’ve got a non-profit coming in wanting to do something that recognizes participation or service. So it’s a public good kind of a thing so it deviates a little bit. It’s very different and unique in terms of who came in and asked. There is no personal gain. Does the county have to go through the same steps? No. But should they still go through Planning and Zoning? Yes.”
Jantz explained that the group and the county are still working through many of the details of the memorial and nothing has been fully decided nor has there been full commitment to it yet.
“Through all of it we have to ask what is in the best interest of the community,” said Jantz.
Resident John Roy asked who decided that the location would be on the north side of the lake and Commissioner David Crofoot said he suggested the location since it was already an area that was well maintained with mowing so it wouldn’t cause a need for additional work for Marion Park and Lake Superintendent Isaac Hett. It is also an ideal location for traffic.
Roy stated it would take away from the view and mentioned issues in the east where people vandalize and even knock over statues.
“When my wife and I bought our property, what the lake looked like and what it was used for was an important issue. There has been a lot of money spent out there the last 20 years to make it a nice place. My real concern is how it looks,” said Roy. “Vandalism will be a problem.”
The board listened to the concerns. Commissioner Jonah Gehring thanked Lange for his well-thought out opinions. No action was taken.
Weed/HHW/Transfer Station/Recycle Director Josh Housman also met with the board to give a department update. The board and Housman discussed what the policy should be for when the transfer station needs to close due to weather or other unexpected reasons. The station, along with all of the county offices, was closed last week when the storm hit. Commissioners Kent Becker and Gehring both received emails informing them that when a city came to empty their trash truck, they found the station closed and they were stuck with the trash they had collected. The board and Housman decided that in the future the county will be sure to notify the cities in the county that the transfer station is closed. They will also attempt to make arrangements to still accommodate any city needs if they are still going to run services even if it means opening for just a brief amount of time.
In other business:
n The board made the decision to proceed with Kelly Law Office to conduct Marion County’s annual tax foreclosure proceeding and sales. Kelly Law Office and Klenda Austerman LLC both interviewed in last week’s meeting. The commissioners voted 4-0 in favor of Kelly Law Office with Commissioner Becker abstaining. Becker did not state his reason for abstaining.
n Weed/HHW/Transfer Station/Recycle Director Josh Housman proposed contributing $150 to a scholarship for the statewide Noxious Weed Directors Association. The board unanimously approved it.
n Lloyd Davies of GPCN presented bids for Microsoft 365 needs for the county mail, servers and other IT needs. The board decided to proceed with Blue Valley Communications.
n The board visited with Marcy Johnson and Patrick Flaming from Prairie View regarding 2022 funding from the county and service levels. The board approved funding of $93,000.
n EMS Director Travis Parmley and Tim Leitnaker of American Response Vehicles spoke with the board regarding a proposal for an ambulance bid. The board approved the bid for $312,468.05.
n The board heard road project updates from County Engineer Brice Goebel. The board and Goebel met in executive session regarding personnel matters. No action was taken.
