The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday, signed a letter to the Iowa Department of Transportation, in opposition to the possible closure of some or all of the DOT’s District 4 Construction Office in Atlantic, and the consolidation of the office into Council Bluffs. Adair County Supervisor John Twombly is the chairman of the MATURA Board, the region’s primary agency for services striving to eliminate the causes and conditions of poverty.  MATURA is the designated Community Action Agency for the counties of Madison, Adair, Taylor, Union, Ringgold, and Adams.

Twombly says MATURA works with the Southern Iowa Council of Governments (SICOG), out of Creston. He says they got word of the potential move of the office to Council Bluffs, a plan he says the DOT has apparently been working on for some time. He says they’re especially concerned the lab for testing products used in the road construction will be moved to Council Bluffs. The Board thinks that’s a long drive to submit samples for testing, and they like the office where it is, because of its central location to the counties who use lab services.

Twombly says the letter in opposition was sent to a lot of DOT officials. Other organizations, including SICOG have followed suit. He says they’ve never seen an official word about the move, but they received a tip from an inside source. It’s his understanding the DOT will be going to the legislature for total move funding by 2019 or 2020. He says also the current District 4 Director is apparently housed in a Council Bluffs rental office and the person in charge lives in Nebraska. The office in Atlantic he says, is vacant. Twombly says it appears the DOT is “Trying to back door everybody.”

A DOT official in Council Bluffs was unavailable for comment this week.