The board attempted to bring in County Engineer Paul Geilenfeldt over Zoom to discuss the issue, but due to technical issues, he simply called Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson and spoke over speaker phone. Assistant to the Marshall County Engineer Mark Hentges, however, was present and shared information with the supervisors.

Board Chairman Jarret Heil explained that after an accident during which a vehicle plowed into a house near the aforementioned intersection several months ago, discussions began on potential safety improvements.

“I think (the takeaway) from our last meeting discussion was that stop signs at an intersection wouldn’t necessarily make a difference in any safety situation, but reducingt the speed coming in from the north traveling south to State Center there would make a difference,” Heil said. “So that’s what this is today is to get that speed limit reduced.”

Fellow Supervisor Carol Hibbs said she had also had conversations about the area and suggested the possibility of a flashing light to alert motorists of the change. Sheriff Joel Phillips also addressed the board and indicated he had not heard much of a desire for a stop sign, but the residents and motorists he spoke with wanted to raise awareness.

T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY — Marshall County Sheriff Joel Phillips left, references a map of the county from the Beacon website as part of a discussion about reducing the speed limit on Eastman Avenue during Wednesday morning’s board of supervisors meeting.

“I think this is a first step with reducing that from 55 with that 1,000 foot setback through DOT regulations to be able to at least bring (awareness to) another sign to slow down before and enter from that directional change,” Phillips said.

The sheriff added that he had not consulted with the State Center city council to see what they would like to do inside of city limits yet. Hibbs asked if rumble strips or flashing lights would be good additions on top of the reduction, and Phillips responded that there is a flashing light between 200th Street and Eastman at a sharp curve.

“To me, I think it works. It catches my attention. With rumble strips, I’d be a little nervous about, I know there’s a holding facility for livestock being butchered. I don’t know if that would create problems. We’ve had animals escape that facility before, (so) I don’t know if that’d be an issue or not,” Phillips said.

Hentges said the county has had “pretty good luck” with flashing lights as a way to catch motorists’ attention. Once drivers enter city limits, the speed limit drops to 25 miles per hour, and Hibbs said the only thing the county could do to address the situation was reducing the speed limit for southbound traffic outside of city limits.

Speaking over a cell phone call with Benson, Geilenfeldt said lights could be added without board action, but a speed limit reduction did require the supervisors’ permission.

“I’d like to start with the speed limit, and we can add the yellow (lights). It’s an advance warning for just an advance curve. It’s a messy intersection. There’s no way around it,” he said. “The way around it is to reconstruct it, and that involves acquisition of some private property.”

A motion from Hibbs to reduce the speed limit to 35 miles per hour ultimately carried by a 2-0 vote. During a brief subsequent interview, State Center Police Chief Jon Thomas told the T-R that the city is also considering additional safety measures at the intersection in question and hoped a decision would be made at the next council meeting on Aug. 15.

The board did not take action on bids for the tornado siren project as a review is still “active in committee” but is expected to do so during the next meeting on Aug. 16. One public commenter at the end of the meeting, asked the board if more sirens would be placed in rural areas like the one where he lives on Vine Avenue between Marshalltown and Green Mountain, and Benson and County Emergency Management Coordinator Kim Elder informed him that the 10 sirens they are considering bids for now are only the first phase of the project due to the funding mechanism, with more to come in the future.

Another public commenter, George Haywood of State Center, reiterated his concerns regarding an ongoing dispute with neighboring landowners over the placement of drainage tile.

In other business, the board:

• Approved the consent agenda as listed.

• Formally approved the hiring of Taveis Stevens as the new planning/zoning and weed commissioner at an annual salary of $70,000 beginning Aug. 7.

• Approved an agreement with Mi-Tech Services for an easement area at 103 E. Church St. in conjunction with an Alliant Energy project.

• Approved an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding request for the purchase of a sheriff’s office prisoner transport van at a cost of $88,866.45.

• Approved the purchases of two new pickup trucks — a 2022 Ford F250 XLT Crew Cab and a 2022 Ford F350 XL Super Cab — from Jensen Ford Lincoln of Marshalltown. The F250 will cost $62,405, and the F350 will cost $56,915.

• Approved a transfer of $2.3 million from the ARPA fund to the capital projects fund for courthouse reconstruction related expenses.

——

Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.