The Board of Supervisors has called a special election for this November in hopes that Jasper County residents will approve a $6.4 million bond to fund the second phase of the new Liberty Avenue Yard project, which will house the engineering office and secondary roads department.

According to the resolution on the Board of Supervisors’ agenda, general obligation bonds or capital loans would be used for the design, construction, equipment, furnishing and land improvements for a service road maintenance building. Voters will decide on Election Day whether to pass the resolution.

So, not only will the citizens of Jasper County be electing the next President of the United States and deciding which two candidates will serve on the County Board for the next four years, they will also be voting “yes” or “no” on this proposed project and method of payment. The project is currently estimated to cost $6,224,080.

Similar to how Jasper County submitted its bond referendum proposal for the new administration building a few years ago, supervisors say the bond will not increase the county’s property taxes. The bond for the administration building was for $3.6 million and passed in March 2021 with 64 percent approval.

Officials say the county can do this because of its small debt burden. The resolution passed by supervisors on Aug. 20 says the property tax on a home with an actual value of $100,000 cannot exceed an estimated $10.41. However, changes in other levies can cause the actual annual increase in property taxes to vary.

Newton News previously reported that other projects besides the second phase of the new engineering office were included in the bond vote. However, Supervisor Brandon Talsma explained that the spending thresholds for those projects did not exceed the point at which a referendum would be required.

“The reason it’s $6.4 million is because, as I said, we’ve contacted Ahlers & Cooney multiple times and we don’t need to include those smaller projects in it,” he said. “We can include those projects as part of a larger bond issue, but not as part of this bond issue, which we need approval for.”

Other projects initially mentioned in these early discussions include a training facility for the sheriff’s office, maintenance shops at Jacob Krumm Nature Preserve and Mariposa Park, and an outdoor archery range and classrooms for the upcoming environmental education center.

These projects are still being planned but are not on the ballot. Only the bond proposal for the secondary road project will be considered.

The estimated total cost for all projects is $7.5 million.

SIDE STREET SHOP

For nearly 100 years, the Secondary Roads branch has been located about 1.5 miles inside Newton city limits. According to the bond project notice on the Jasper County website, the main building was constructed in the 1930s, with an addition added in the 1980s.

The proposed store is located on a county road outside city limits and close to Interstate 80, which the county says would eliminate delays from driving through city streets and allow for faster response times. Employees say the current store needs more space but is in deteriorating condition.

This ultimately limits the type of equipment that can be driven into the halls on secondary roads. Bulldozers and crawler excavators, for example, can only be used in areas without basements due to their weight. The ceiling in the main hall is also too low to drive dump trucks out for repairs.

The devices are getting taller and wider, which means that existing stores are becoming increasingly obsolete over time.

The county’s website features photos showing cracks, exposed rebar and other damage in the current office, as well as a photo of the 1935 Caterpillar Model 22 on display as decoration outside the current engineer’s office in the 900 block of North 11th Avenue East.

The Model 22 is 9 feet long, almost 5 feet wide and over 4.5 feet high. It weighs more than 3 tons. A 1998 Caterpillar D5, on the other hand, is more than 11 feet long, more than 7 feet wide and almost 10 feet high. It weighs almost 13 tons.

SHERIFF’S OFFICE TRAINING FACILITY

After the Jasper County Animal Rescue League closed several years ago, Jasper County took over the building in 2023 and began conducting law enforcement training there, creating an opportunity for the Sheriff’s Office to create a training facility for all first responders in Jasper County.

The goal of this facility would be to provide a safe environment for first responders to learn and train to the latest standards. Currently, the building is used for minimum standard training. The Sheriff’s Office wants to add classroom space, restrooms, and a training room with movable walls.

Additional renovations could expand the advanced life support program even further by adding accommodations for the ambulance, medical and training equipment, and office space. This would also provide more opportunities for EMS training and even classes in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and basic medical education for citizens.

A shooting range has been constructed on the north side of the property by the end of 2023. The county proposes that the classroom and shooting range can be used for hunter safety courses and even law enforcement courses for citizens.

Nature conservation projects

Four projects are planned for Jasper County Conservation. The first is educational materials – tables, chairs, projectors, whiteboards, laptops, microscopes, iPads, paddles and aquariums – for the environmental education center to be built on a 40-acre site southeast of Newton.

Another project at the nature center is the archery range. The bonds would pay for the range itself and equipment, including an arrow backstop, parking lot, arrow backstop net, shooting range, target stands, targets, bows, bow stands and arrows.

The current maintenance shop at Mariposa Park, a detached garage, is dilapidated and can no longer serve its purpose. The Historic Preservation Board has determined that it needs to be replaced. The bond would finance the demolition of the old shop and the construction of a new building with an office for park staff.

Additionally, a concrete pad and septic tank would be constructed for a park ranger at the store to make Mariposa Park more accessible and user-friendly during the busy camping season, and staff would be available directly at the park 24 hours a day.

Another store is planned in the Jacob Krumm Nature Preserve. The current store is over 50 years old, and after the derecho in 2020 and the hailstorm in 2023 — coupled with a rusty roof and rotting interior — the structure needs to be replaced. The bond would build a new store on the same footprint,

GIVE JASPER COUNTY YOUR FEEDBACK

Jasper County plans to hold numerous in-person and virtual town hall meetings leading up to the bond vote on Election Day. To conclude the town hall meetings, there will also be an open house for the Secondary Road Maintenance Shop on October 29th from 6-7 p.m. at 4800 Liberty Avenue.

Zoom meetings will take place on September 10 and 24 and October 8 and 22 at 6:30 p.m.

Personal meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on the following dates:

• Aug. 29 at the Prairie City Community Building, 503 S. State St.

• September 19 at Lynnville City Hall, 308 East St.

• October 10 at the Baxter Community Building/City Hall, 203 S. Main St.

• October 17 at the Jasper County Administration Building, 315 W. 3rd St. N., Newton.

• Oct. 24 at the Amboy Grand Building, 220 High St., Kellogg.