(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors held their regular weekly meeting this (Tuesday) morning, in Atlantic. The Board approved a Class B retail alcohol license for the Griswold Dollar General Store, and they approved an adjustment to the status of Secondary Roads Department employee James Stokely, from “Probationary,” to regular full-time employee, for the Operator 1 position. Stokley’s promotion is effective March 1, 2023.

In other business, the Board received a regular weekly report from County Engineer Trent Wolken. He mentioned like most of the other County Department Heads, he’s been busy working on his budget, and he has interviews scheduled this for an Equipment Operator 1 position. Wolken said also, there are problem spots crews are trying to hit with spot road rock until they can a better layer down.

He said also he’s working with Mid-American Energy to close out the Wind Mill repower project, which he calls “A process,” including a couple of other meetings, with regard to road & bridge damage.

HCA’s John Thomas addresses the Cass County BOS

The Supervisors also heard from Hungry Canyons Alliance representative John Thomas, whose office is in the Golden Hills R C & D building, in Oakland. The Alliance represents 19 counties in southwest Iowa. Thomas said Cass and other alliance members pay a fee of $5,000 per year. He discussed efforts to control stream bed degradation.

He says on the downstream side of the bridges, HCA cost-shares on building those projects known as “weirs.

They also build culverts and other structures to control erosion and bank degradation. EWP (Emergency Watershed Protection) and HCA combined to complete 67 projects in 2020 and 2021, he said. The Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program, a federal emergency recovery program, helps local communities recover after a natural disaster strikes.

In Cass County, there were three recent projects, including one each along Turkey Creek and the West Nodaway River.