Fresh off of a lengthy joint meeting with the Marshalltown city council the night before, the Marshall County Board of Supervisors got in and out of their regularly scheduled Wednesday morning meeting in about a half hour after approving several business items including another opioid settlement agreement and a contract with Manatt’s for the resurfacing of almost 12 miles of County Highway E-29 from the Story County line to Marsh Avenue.

In the absence of County Attorney Jordan Gaffney, Assistant Marshall County Attorney Kiyoko Kieffer presented on the settlement with six total defendants — Associated Pharmacies, JM Smith Corporation, Louisiana Wholesale Drug Company, Morris and Dixon, North Carolina Mutual Wholesale Drug Company and United Natural Foods with subsidiaries Supervalu and Advantage Logistics.

“This is just opting into signing for the settlement,” Kieffer said.

The national payout for this settlement is $97,625,000, and Marshall County is expected to receive a onetime payout of just under $10,000.

“Even though this is a small amount for our community and our county, you can use this money for good things. You’ve been using the settlement money, I think, in very useful ways for the community, and this would just give us a little bit more to make a difference and a little bit more to just make our community healthier,” she said.

The deadline to sign on is May 4. In response to a question from Supervisor Carol Hibbs, Kieffer explained that the rules for spending the settlement money within the county are very similar to previous guidelines for other settlements, but she wasn’t sure if it had to be kept in a separate fund.

“Either way, it goes to the same goals and ideals that we have been trying to achieve,” Kieffer said.

A motion to approve the agreement passed unanimously. The next item on the agenda was the awarding of the E-29 contract in the amount of $3,053,317.57 to Manatt’s Inc. of Brooklyn, and County Engineer Paul Geilenfeldt said the bid was in line with his estimates. The project will be funded through a mix of federal aid and farm-to-market dollars.

The late start date is Aug. 31 with 50 working days, so the expectation is that it will be done during the 2026 construction season. A motion to approve that contract also passed unanimously.

In other business, the board:

• Honored Deputy Curtis Cecak for five years of service to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and GIS Specialist Melanie Ewalt for 40 years of service. Ewalt previously worked in the auditor’s office.

• Approved the consent agenda as listed.

• Approved the alcohol license renewal for the Collison Par 3 golf course.

• Set a public hearing for the next meeting on April 8 regarding the vacation of an alley in Quarry.

• Approved the purchase of a 2026 Ford F-150 from Charles Gabus Ford in Des Moines at a cost of $60,409.

• Approved the purchase of a Caterpillar 96″ construction forks from Ziegler CAT in Altoona for $30,193.

• Approved the purchase of a CL Fabrication Dominator Tree Puller from Nessa in Zearing for $5,200.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.