Plymouth County Board Approves Funds for Parks
The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved a $15,000 dollar grant to support local park renovations at its regular meeting Tuesday.
The board debated the amount to be pledged to the Le Mars Area Betterment Foundation, which asked for $50,000 dollars from the board as a show of public support.
The motion to pledge 15,000 dollars was approved by supervisors John Meis, board chair Don Kass and Doug Manley, contingent on the Foundation receiving a grant through the state program, Enhance Iowa. The parks must also be open to all residents of Plymouth County.
Supervisors Mike Van Otterloo and Craig Anderson voted agains the measure. Van Otterloo had suggested a pledge of 20,000 dollars, saying he made the suggestion because of a precedent that had been set nearly 10 years ago, and he thought that with inflation, the pledge could be higher.
Board Chair Don Kass says he decided on a $15,000 dollar pledge to the Betterment Foundation based on the same precedent that Van Otterloo referenced, concerning funding for a local swimming pool.
Kass added that the pledge would help the local community.
The Betterment Foundation is looking for matching funds to help the organization gain grants from Ehance Iowa and the Missouri River Historic District to pay for improvements to several local parks. Those parks include Municipal Park, Sunset Park, Schafer Park, Cleveland Park and O’Toole Park. Construction is expected to begin next year on a splash pad at O’Toole Park, with pavillion, a covered outdoor seating area, connecting sidewalks, site and park signage.
In other news this week, all the supervisors supported renewing the lease for Family Solutions in a downtown building and the continuation of funding for a mental health advocate position. Van Otterloo said the mental health advocate is increasingly important as the state takes over mental health services, and the Sioux River Mental Health Board will cease to exist.
The Le Mars Betterment Foundation is expected find out whether it will be awarded the Enhance Iowa grant to fund local parks improvement by the end of July.
Governor Reynolds Vetoes Pipeline Bill
Governor Kim Reynolds has vetoed a bill that would have made it harder for Summit Carbon Solutions to seize land along the pipeline route from unwilling property owners. Reynolds says she respects both sides in the debate over the use of that eminent domain authority, but Reynolds says the bill is too broad and affects other types of energy infrastructure.
The ethanol industry and the Iowa Corn Growers Association have been urging Reynolds to reject the legislation. Monte Shaw is with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.
Shaw says the bill would have diminished Iowa’s ethanol industry as well as prospects for Iowa corn farmers.
House Speaker Pat Grassley, the top Republican in the House, has called for a special session of the legislature, to override the governor’s veto. Representative Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, helped craft the bill.
Bruce Rastetter is the founder of Summit Carbon Solutions.
Kaufmann says Reynolds has been steadfast in her defense of constitutional rights over her tenure as governor, and he’d expected her to sign the bill into law.
Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver says he supports the governor’s decision to veto the bill and he expects a majority of Senate Republicans would not be interested in any attempt to override her veto. Whitver says a significant majority of Senate Republicans support a better policy to protect landowner rights.
Shaw, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association’s executive director, says the industry is open to negotiations.
The governor says she wants to work with lawmakers to strengthen landowner protections, modernize permitting and respect private property.
