Farm agreement with the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC)
The Dallas County Farm which was established in 1869, has now been divided into to separate and distinct operating units. There are 526 acres that comprise the farm and the residential care facility. In 1998, the Dallas County Board of Supervisors contracted with Dallas County Care Facility, Inc. to operate the residential care facility still in operation today.
During my first year on the Board of Supervisors in 2005, the County operated the farming component (crops & livestock) with county employees and the expense was underwritten at county taxpayer expense. The decision was made was to enter into a farm contract agreement with DMACC to operate the farm ground, make lease payments to the county and utilize the facilities as part of their agriculture curriculum and farm campus.
This arrangement has worked extremely well for both the county and DMACC. The county has eliminated the operating loss we had been incurring and the lease payments have been placed into a fund to improve and upgrade farm building and facilities. DMACC is able to utilize a working farm for their students interested in agricultural educational. This arrangement further benefits Dallas County and DMACC by working with the agricultural community in partnership to consider issues related to land stewardship, new technology initiatives and other best management practices to keep our young farmers current with best practices.
Gambling
As a candidate in the fall of 2004, there was a proposition on the November 2004 ballot which asked our citizens if they wanted to allow gambling in Dallas County. I took the position that with Prairie Meadows and Lakeside Casino in Osceola (now Terribles’ Casino) gambling was close enough for our residents. I also noted that money that was spun to Polk County and to greater metropolitan Des Moines-area from gambling should not be reduced by Dallas County getting into the business.
The proposition was overwhelmingly rejected by Dallas County citizens. Thank you for the vote because we did protect the revenue stream in Des Moines that has been very helpful in funding major projects for our entire region.
Since 1995, over 330 million dollars (combination of taxes and profit sharing) has been paid to Polk County directly because of its’ relationship with Prairie Meadows. Major funding has been provided from this revenue source for the World Food Prize Foundation, Central Library, Science Center, Wells Fargo Arena, Hy-Vee Hall and the renovations to Veteran's Memorial Auditorium. Other direct grants are also made to many local and non profit organizations as well. I would encourage Dallas County residents and institutions to apply for grant opportunities through Prairie Meadows. Some percentage of our population does gamble and it would be nice to see some of these “community betterment” funds come back to Dallas County. (i.e. the Raccoon River Valley Trail)
Bike Trail (Raccoon River Valley Trail)
Today there exists a major backbone trail to provide rich recreation opportunities for the residents of our county and the greater metropolitan Des Moines area. The trail begins in Dallas County from the Clive greenbelt in the east and travels through Waukee, Adel, and Linden; continuing through the towns of Panora, Yale and Herndon (Guthrie County) and Cooper and ending in Jefferson, Iowa (Greene County). In total, it is a 56-mile paved trail.
The railroad right of way has been purchased from the Union Pacific Railroad for the “north Loop” of the RRVT. This north loop will connect the towns of Dallas Center, Minburn, Perry, and Jamaica and create the best possible trail experience in Iowa. I am very supportive of this effort and I would ask every reader to visit www.raccoonrivervalleytrail.org for additional information. Even if you are not a biking enthusiast, I am certain you will see the incredible potential for in-state and out-of-state tourism dollars that can flow into our trail communities in the future.
Airport
The proposed West Metro Regional Airport that has been discussed for the general Ortonville area (west of Waukee, south of Dallas Center and east of Adel) I will continue to oppose. The primary reason is because it is a poor land choice. I also am skeptical regarding how the cost would be financed and whether the general need is sufficient at this time. I am not against a discussion about a possible future western airport, however not at the current proposed location of Ortonville. My position has been to consider land around DeSoto/Earlham near Interstate 80. This assumes continued infill of homes and businesses in the cities of West Des Moines, Waukee and Van Meter. We could include the counties of Adair, Madison & Guthrie in the I-80 location discussion. From a time and distance reference, the corporate interests in the West Lakes development could enter the freeway at Jordan Creek Parkway and be at airport within 15 minutes all by freeway travel.
Dallas County Courthouse
In July of 2005, the citizens of Dallas County overwhelmingly voted in favor of the bond referendum to restore the 1902 “French Château” which sits in the town center of Adel. The money authorized was used to fix failing floors, add additional usable space (courtroom and associated court needs),make it energy efficient (geothermal heating-cooling), achieve full ADA compliance (new elevator, stairwell & an at-grade entrance), complete exterior cleaning and stone work, improved security, new wiring for electrical and computer needs, as well as new plumbing and additional items.
Economic Development
We continue to see increase in the growth of our county. The Board of Supervisors have worked with Dexter and Woodward to create planned urban development (PUD) areas for their communities. In Dexter, we are working to lure an ethanol or bio-diesel plant to locate on the rail line just south of Interstate 80. In Woodward, we are encouraging housing development growth South of the country club and North of Highway 141. West Des Moines continues to be the most active in the County. Clive, Waukee and Urbandale continue to grow with business and housing developments with greater frequency.
Dallas County is home to many exciting economic developments such as the shopping destination, Jordan Creek Town Center and new corporate locations of Wells Fargo, Aviva and Microsoft. These multi-national companies with significant employment are locating in Dallas County. Yes, they bring jobs and tax base, but they also require services for their businesses and employees. Microsoft is planning a state-of-the-art “server farm” that will be located west of the DMACC building on Grand. This will be the newest and next generation facility for a global company that could locate anywhere. Aviva is building its’ North American campus on Mills Civic Parkway and 74th Street. This company is also a top 50 company in the world. Smart growth in planned areas continues to be one of my major goals.
Roads
This year's weather has had a dramatic impact on the county road system. We have a large number of roads to maintain and foul weather added additional challenges for road maintenance. I believe the County Engineer has done a very good job under very trying circumstances.
The state gas tax has remained the same for many years. With the high price of gas the consumption of gas is decreased, therefore the money available through the gas tax to counties is also reduced. The combination of increasing cost of raw materials, increases in engineering and construction fees and the increased labor costs, the current funds available does not stretch as far as it might have in previous years. I also have concerns at what level a county tax levy should be. In my three budget votes, I have voted to lower the county levy rate twice and voted to raise the levy once (principally to help the road issue) at the time.
This is a tough issue. We are going to have to address where we can find additional revenue (i.e. local option sales tax) to fix roads and bridges, try to figure out what roads and bridges we should not maintain any longer so money is available for the roads we absolutely need to maintain and/or take money from other areas of county government to help pay for the road infrastructure.
Dallas County as an entity does not have gambling tax revenue or local option sales tax revenue to help offset this funding dilemma as some other Iowa counties have available.
Dallas County Sheriff
The sheriff is an independently elected official in Dallas County. As such he/she is responsible to you to enforce the laws of Dallas County and to work with other law enforcement to protect the public. When our former sheriff resigned due to certain concerns it was my job to do the following: - Make an appointment for an interim sheriff
- Determine if a special election should be held for the office of sheriff
- Have the Board of Supervisors appoint a sheriff for the balance of the former sheriffs term
I voted with the other supervisors to allow you the citizens to vote for the Dallas County sheriff by special election in January of 2007.
Suitable County Space
The county has reoccupied the courthouse. The 3rd and 4th floors are court facilities, as well as, the first floor has the County Clerk of Court office and the Juvenile Court offices. The second floor is occupied with the offices for the Assessor, Treasurer, Auditor and Recorder. We are currently remodeling the County Jail to add geothermal heating and cooling with new plumbing. The 902 Court building (old Ben Franklin) is also being improved. We have fixed the roof, removed the aspestus and renovated the offices for full time county use. We own all of the building discussed above.
Dallas County is currently leasing space for the elections offices, motor vehicle and drivers’ license offices and the building that now provides the space for the Board of Supervisors, nurses, planning and zoning, environmental health and human resources. We are in the process of determining the long term space needs for our county. We cannot continue to grow as a county without understanding what we will require in a few years. We are also planning for our needs 10-20 years from now as well. Within the next year you will begin to see discussion regarding an administrative building to house essential county services. It is in our best interest to plan for the future and to own the building we occupy to serve the needs of the citizens we represent
Veterans Cemetery
The Knapp and Kenyon families donated land to the State of Iowa for the Iowa Veterans Cemetery now located on R-16 north of Van Meter and just south of Interstate 80. I am so very proud to have this cemetery located in our county. It is a great credit to all involved to make this living memorial available to the citizens of central Iowa. I was able to attend both the ground breaking and the dedication ceremonies for what will become another of the treasures we can claim its’ home in Dallas County.
Lake (Dream or Nightmare)
The proposed Dream Lake was a significant land use discussion that helped awaken voices within the Raccoon River Valley. I attended meetings with the developer and the citizens against the project. There was never any direct action or any request made to the Board of Supervisors on this lake issue, prior to the withdrawal of its’ consideration by the developers. These types of development projects need to be carefully reviewed and time needs to be allowed for full consideration of each and every proposal. There will be more projects like this that will come forward. The magnitude of the lake proposal and the impacts on the historic and natural character of the river and the landowners involved showed why it is important to discuss what we want Dallas County to look like in the future.
I would also publicly thank both sides on this issue for the civil attempt at discourse on this emotionally charged project. This was difficult for everyone because it escalated quickly into people taking sides and drawing lines in the sand. We need to be aware that everyone has a point of view and even if we vehemently disagree with them and think they are wrong, we should allow and respect their right to express their opinion.