A reminder to residents of Adair County, that a Special Election will be held March 6^th,with regard to passing an additional bond for the courthouse elevator project. The Special Election will ask voters of Adair County “Shall the Board of Supervisors bond for an amount not to exceed $650,000 for the purpose of installing an elevator?”

Voter registration and absentee voting deadlines for the March 6, 2018 Special Election are as follows:

February 19^th – Worry-Free Postmark Date.

Registrations postmarked on or before this day are considered on time to pre-register, even if they are received after 5 p.m. on February 23, 2018

February 23^rd – Pre-registration deadline

Last day to pre-register to vote. Iowa law now permits Election Day Registration.

February 23^rd – Last day to mail absentee ballots.

Last day to request an absentee ballot be mailed, to allow timely delivery and return. Request must be received by 5:00 p.m.

March 5^th – Absentee ballots postmark.

All absentee ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than March 5, 2018.

March 6^th – Last day to return absentee ballots to Auditor’s Office.

Last day to return absentee ballots to the Auditor’s office before the polls close at 8:00 p.m.

Adair County Auditor Mindy Schaefer told KJAN News back in November, the Board of Supervisors passed a Resolution calling for the Special Election. She said the need for a new elevator to replace one that was installed back in the 1980’s, became clear when officials with the State said the elevator does not meet current standards. The State says it will no longer approve the elevator for inspection. Schaefer said when it was installed in the 1980’s it was never intended for commercial use. Some of the current wheelchairs and motor scooters are difficult to maneuver into the elevator.  A Public Hearing was held last May to go out for a bond sale. $600,000 of that bond was designated for a new elevator. Schaefer said the initial feasibility studies placed the price tag for the project at $550,000. She says the County has a statutory limit of $600,000 that it cannot exceed without a special election.

The County went ahead and bonded for the $600,000. The bids for the project came in shockingly higher than expected. The lowest bid was $749,000. The highest was $1-million, $25,000. There were five bids in between. Mindy said the $600,000 limit was for the entire project, and did not take into account architects, soil surveys and other factors. The Board stripped everything possible to reduce costs, but the final answer was to ask the public for a bond to help pay for the rest.