CEDAR COUNTY COMMISSION

The Cedar County Commission met June 12, 2023. Present: Kenneth Thornton; Presiding Commissioner; Don Boultinghouse, Northern Commissioner; Heather York, County Clerk. Absent: Ted Anderson, Southern Commissioner

Met with Tammie Papenfuhs, Interim Assessor

Requests to process court order #28855-28868 to add-on the assessed valuation of newly purchased personal property.  Papenfuhs reports 3 applications have been received for the Field and Office Assistant position that is currently available, she will begin interviewing this week.

County Clerk York reports the Governor’s Office is still accepting applications for the position of Assessor to fill the remainder of the term left by Pyle.  Applications are completed through the Governor’s Office website; a background check and credit check are required for consideration to the appointment.  Papenfuhs is only appointed as Interim Assessor until the Governor’s Office makes their selection to fill the remaining two years of the term.  Papenfuhs is not interested in filling the vacancy long-term.

Met with Sheriff McCrary

Inmate Housing – 36

Resident stopped in to visit with the commission about bridge replacement funding and to discuss the process for reporting thistles.

Met with Greg Williams, Connell Insurance

Discussed current work comp premiums are at $82,912 with estimated renewal of $83,198 for 7/1/23.  MEM is requiring county policy changes to receive an additional 5% discount; MEM is reviewing planned policy updates presented to them before county adoption, currently planned for June 26th, or July 3.   

Discussed Floodplain Administrator appointment process.  Last week the state notified York that a new administrator would need to be selected and that waiting for a new Assessor appointment was not a good scenario due to the unknown timeline.  This morning the Commission received notice that the state had appointed Presiding Commissioner Thornton the acting Floodplain Administrator until the Assessor appointment is made by the Governor’s Office. 

Met with DJ Ford, Road & Bridge Supervisor

Interviewed two people to fill the road & bridge position; waiting until next Monday to interview a third person. Ford is checking on a sprayer and tank to begin spraying thistles on the county right of ways.  The pipe on CR1901 was cleaned out and the road ditched.  Last week the roads were in pretty good shape, but the patchy rain may have impacted a few in the more heavily hit areas. 

Resident stopped in to visit with the commission concerning questions of authority with various political subdivisions.  If a board is present over the political subdivision, ultimately the authority is the elected or appointed board of said entity.  However, some exceptions may apply depending on the statutory rules for those entities and the manner in which they were organized. 

Reviewed monthly reports for County Clerk.

Approved accounts payable and payroll.