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Dallas Co. Supervisors select Adel for new Admin./Public Safety bldg.

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April 30th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

The Dallas County Board of Supervisors have unanimously approved a location for a proposed administration and public safety facility on the east side of Adel, taking the next step in a seven-year process to provide necessary services for residents in one of the nation’s fastest-growing counties. Board Chair Mark Hansen said today’s (Tuesday’s) decision means the Supervisors will have to act by June 21st to set the date for a countywide referendum on the issue. The referendum will likely be held sometime this summer.

Hanson said the three-member board and other elected officials have worked closely together to determine how to best serve Dallas County residents with the most efficient services. A previous board had commissioned a master plan survey in 2006 to review how to meet current and future needs for the range of services the county delivers. The supervisors approved a formal study of department needs and a space assessment in July 2001, which was completed two months later. With the combined research in hand, county officials spent the rest of that year analyzing and ranking potential sites for the proposed administration and public safety facility.

Hanson said early discussions yielded several potential locations, but attention focused on a site in east Adel on the north side of Highway 6 that the county already owns. He said the county will maintain offices in buildings that it owns at 902 Court St., 121 Ninth St. and 201 N. Nile Kinnick Drive. Additional information about the study process and the proposed administration and public safety facility will be available at www.dallascountyfuture.com.

According to Hanson, Dallas County was the seventh fastest-growing county in the nation in 2011 and the 14th fastest-growing county last year, and as county officials, they “Have a responsibility to see that services keep up with the needs,”  of their residents.