Floyd County supervisors pick new chairperson, set new regular meeting time

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Floyd County supervisors selected a new chairperson and set a new time for their regular meetings during the new year’s organization meeting Monday morning.

The supervisors rotate the chairperson position each year, and this year it is again the turn of Supervisor Linda Tjaden, following Supervisor Roy Schwickerath as chair last year and Supervisor Doug Kamm the year before that.

This is Tjaden’s second time being chairperson, having been re-elected to her second four-year term as a supervisor in November.

The supervisors also agreed to move their regular board meetings to 1 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.

The days remain the same as current meetings, but the time has been changed from the previous 9 a.m. meeting time to the afternoon to allow enough time between the Monday morning workshop meetings and the regular meeting the next day to let the board revise the agenda if something comes up on Monday that requires action.

The Iowa Open Meetings Law requires agendas for public meetings to be posted at least 24 hours before the meeting takes place, except in emergency situations.

It was a Monday morning meeting packed with routine beginning-of-the-year action items, including:

• Deciding on which of more than 50 boards, commissions, committees and agencies each supervisor will sit either as a county representative, liaison or alternate.

• Setting the Charles City Press and Nora Springs-Rockford Register as the official county newspapers for legal notices.

• Approving appointments to county departments: County Engineer Dusten Rolando; Public Health/Home Health Care Director Gail Arjes; General Assistance Director Raina Kellogg, County Social Services; Sanitarian/E911 addressing Jeff Sherman; Interim Zoning Administrator Jeff Sherman; Information Technology Director Bernie Solomon; Conservation Director Adam Sears; and Medical Examiner Dr. Royer, with alternates Drs. Schweizer, Schrodt, Molnar and Tull. The position of emergency management/ safety coordinator was not appointed, as the county is working to fill that position.

• Appointing Carol Hoffarth and Jim Erb as representatives on the North Iowa Area Council of Governments (NIACOG) Board.

• Appointing Pat Gebel to the NIACOG Revolving Loan Fund Committee.

• Appointing Conservation Director Sears to the Map21 Enhancement Board and County Engineer Rolando to the Map21 Tech Board.

• Appointing County Auditor Gloria Carr to the SW Bypass TIF District Board, with County Treasurer Frank Rottinghaus as alternate.

• Appointing Dustin Rolando to the Cedar Valley Transportation Joint Board.

• Approving Supervisor Tjaden to act as power of attorney for Floyd County business with the Farm Service Agency.

• Appointing Conservation Director Sears as weed commissioner.

• Passing a resolution naming the bank depositories for the Treasurer’s Office, Sheriff’s Office and Recorder’s Office.

• Approving publishing gross wages for county employees for calendar year 2020.

• Passing a resolution saying the county will again participate in the state Master Matrix regarding animal confinement construction projects.

• Appointing deputies for the various county offices.

• Noting receipt of the Floyd County Compensation Board’s recommendation of 1.5% pay increases for all county elected officials for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The board also began work on the 2021-22 fiscal year budget, starting to meet with the various county departments.