Heather Knebel.

October has come to an end and most of the crops in the area have been harvested. My family was able to finish harvest early with crops being dry and the weather cooperating, which left us time to visit a pumpkin farm, carve pumpkins, and get some outside work done. I hope everyone had a great fall as well!

The Board of Adjustment had a hearing earlier this month concerning the Conditional Use Permit application for Salt Creek Wind II. The meeting lasted over 3 hours with good collaboration between all parties. The permit was approved with conditions. These approved conditions were all included in a Resolution, a copy of which can be obtained from the Zoning Administrator or the Auditor if you’re interested.

A joint work session was held between the Tama County Board of Supervisors and the Tama County Zoning Commission regarding the proposed Tama County Utility-Scale Solar Energy ordinance. It was a valuable meeting with collaboration between both boards. The Zoning Commission has spent an extensive amount of time developing the ordinance, and they all did a great job.

It has been determined that Tama County needs to get a new Comprehensive Land Use Plan developed which will meet the requirements in Iowa Code 18B. This Code requirement was adopted in 2010. I met with Butler County Economic Development and INRCOG (Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments) as they recently completed and approved a Comprehensive Land Use Plan. I gained valuable information to share with the Zoning Commission as we proceed with this process. A comprehensive plan is a long-range vision document that guides future development by setting goals and strategies for land use preservation, infrastructure, and resource management. It serves as the foundation for zoning and other regulations, and its creation involves extensive public input to create a unified vision for the county’s future growth, economic development, and overall quality of life. The plan typically includes sections on public facilities, housing, transportation, economic development, and environmental protection, along with a future land use map. The Zoning Commission will lead this activity, along with Region 6 COG (Counties of Government), as well as members from other applicable sectors. This process may take 1 year or more to complete. The Comprehensive Land Use Plan will be a priority for Tama County and needs to be in place before the Utility-Scale Solar and Industrial Wind Ordinances can be approved.

The Board of Supervisors has been working with the County Engineer on putting together a plan to identify equipment to be updated. We are also working on reorganizing the management structure of the secondary roads department. It was approved to have 2 Tama County Road Foreman in lieu of 1 Foreman and 1 Assistant Foreman. Both Foreman positions are posted on the Tama County website.

I attended the ISAC 99 County Tour in our Board of Supervisors room. ISAC (Iowa State Association of Counties) is a private, nonprofit corporation with members elected and appointed county officials from all 99 counties. ISAC’s mission is to promote effective and responsible county government for the people of Iowa. ISAC’s vision is to be the principal authoritative source of representation, information, and services for and about county government in Iowa. ISAC has a general counsel available to assist elected officials seeking information within Iowa Code. ISAC has an IT department that was useful to us in our IT Audit and continues to be of benefit to our interim resource of the Marshall County IT Director that we rely on to assist Supervisor David Turner. There is a legislative branch that is a lobbyist for elected officials during Iowa’s legislative sessions, and if desired it also provides services to counties for group benefits.

The Tama County Board of Supervisors and several community businesses, schools, and city leaders met in Tama for a meeting on Economic Development hosted by the University of Northern Iowa IDM (Institute for Decision Making). They had an excellent presentation and questions for group participation, and it was clear that everyone in the room believed that Tama County has a bright future. This group will be meeting again soon to continue our discussions and roll out recommendations from IDM. I’m excited for the future of Economic Development in Tama County!

I serve on the Workforce Development Board which recently needed the approval of the Tama County Board of Supervisors for the Eastern Iowa Workforce Development Area Shared Liability Agreement. This is due to Mississippi Valley and South-Central Iowa Workforce Development Boards merging for organizational purposes. The Supervisors did approve this Agreement which I will be signing.

I recently attended the Heartland Risk Pool Insurance meeting, and they shared the recent Audit of the Risk Pool has been completed and we are in very good standing. Suggested county surpluses and account thresholds were discussed, as well as current claims with legal counsel. We also discussed financials, coverage, dividends, property values, general liability expenditure calculations, and feedback on the Fall Seminar.

I hope you have a great November and Thanksgiving! As usual, please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Supervisor Heather Knebel (R-Traer), the first elected female supervisor in Tama County history, represents District 3, including the townships of Spring Creek, Crystal, Perry, and parts of far northern Carlton (excluding Garwin) and Howard. She can be reached at 641-481-2532 or hknebel@tamacounty.org.