November 20, 2013

Page 1

The

Graphic - Advocate WEDNESDAY

| NOVEMBER 20, 2013|VOLUME 124| ISSUE 47

Rockwell City Office 712-297-7544 • advocate@iowatelecom.net - Lake City Office 712-464-3188 • lcgraphic@iowatelecom.net Veteran’s Day Program on page 10

$100

www.thegraphic-advocate.com

County continues insurance discussion By Ken Ross Graphic-Advocate Editor At a Nov. 5 Calhoun County Board of Supervisors meeting, there was discussion about the need for roads department employees to agree to modify their collective bargaining agreement to allow a deduction of $14.25 per person in each plan per month from payroll starting in December, which is a deduction for the January insurance payment. However during further discussion at the Nov. 12 meeting, county officials indicated that this was a fee imposed upon county employees by the federal Affordable Care Act and would not be a matter for employee negotiation. The $14.25 per person means a family of four would pay $57 per month beyond what is being paid now. This is a pretax deduction so some of the cost is offset by reduced taxation. This special deduction will continue for the six months until the July rate adjustment that effects insurance payments is reflected in the June paychecks. At that time the special fee will be rolled over to the insurance premiums with family coverage averaged out so that the premium is consistent regardless of the size of the family. This is consistent with past

practice in which family coverage is the same rate for all employees with that coverage. *** Gregg Heide, a farmer in the Pomeroy area who has done wind energy consulting, discussed the tax valuation for wind turbines in Pocahontas County and Calhoun County. There are eight wind turbine towers in Calhoun County and a much higher number in Pocahontas and Webster counties. “It seems that the assessor’s office and the county is in a funny place, when they go to set a value on this. The choice is pretty much either taking the utility at their word for what the project costs or you guys have got to go hire a consultant that knows the industry and most of those folks are working for the wind developers,” Heide said. “But I’ve got a little experience and I thought the numbers looked a little suspect.” Putting calculations on a chalkboard for the supervisors, Heide went through calculations that he says indicating that the cost might be substantially higher than the assessed value. Joan Wagner, Calhoun County Assessor, said that the Iowa Department of Revenue had advised her to follow what the company

supplies as far as net acquisition cost. Supervisor Scott Jacobs asked whether the other counties followed the same procedure in assessing wind turbines. Wagner assured him they were. “Then it’s kind of a double edged sword. We can’t seem to get any of them built here . So if we’re the ones who raise the question about jacking up their values, we probably never will,” Jacobs said. “You hope they’re not always the only ones who want to build,” Heide said. “That’s the other thing up for debate. There are guys like me who are thinking about putting one up. If you’re concerned about a big project, that tends to happen where there is transmission capability. Big projects get determined by other parameters now.” *** During canvassing of municipal elections, a city council tie in Jolley was decided by drawing as stipulated by state code. All five council seats were up for election and there was tie for fifth place (four votes each) between Phil Rastetter and Lori Schaffer. Rastetter was declared winner by drawing.

By Ken Ross Graphic-Advocate Editor Because of utility work being done at the park north of High Street in Rockwell City, the Avenue of Lights exhibit will be moved to the square, as a result of a request Theresa Hildreth of the Rockwell City Chamber of Commerce made to the Calhoun County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 12. The supervisors approved the request for using the courthouse square for the annual display sponsored by various merchants and organizations. Hildreth noted that there are some advantages to having the display on

the square and she indicated that the move might be continued in future years. The Chamber is interested in bringing more activities to the square and despite the fact that High Street is no longer the major highway that it previously was, there remains safety concerns with an activity that close to through-town traffic. Another change this year is moving the annual downtown celebration with trolley rides, merchant displays and a visit from Santa to Sunday, Dec. 15 rather than the weekend after Thanksgiving. Look for more information on the celebration in an upcoming edition of the Graphic-Advocate.

Avenue of Lights moved to the square in Rockwell City

At a recent presentation of a symbolic check (the real one was already deposited) to the city of Rockwell City from the state of Iowa, participants included (left to right) Rockwell City Mayor Phil Heinlen, Rockwell City Clerk Kelly Smidt., State Center Daryl Beall and Iowa Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald. (Graphic-Advocate photo by Ken Ross)

Rockwell City gets census mistake compensation By Ken Ross Graphic-Advocate Editor Michael Fitzgerald, Iowa Treasurer, joked that it didn’t take an act of Congress, not the U.S. Congress, but it did take an act of the Iowa Legislature to provide compensation to Rockwell City resulting from a counting error in the 2010 U.S. Census. Fitzgerald visited with Rockwell City officials and with Iowa State Senator Daryl Beall at the City Hall in Rockwell City recently for a ceremonial check presentation of $108,404, representing the amount of population-based road use tax funding the city was denied because of erroneously excluding the residents of the North Central Correctional Facility from the city’s

census count. Fitzgerald noted that Beall persevered in his legislative effort to get roads funding for Rockwell City and Beall added that Mayor Phil Heinlen and City Clerk Kelly Smidt kept reminding him about the issue. Beall also credited U.S. Senator Tom Harkin for his assistance and Iowa State Representative Tom Shaw for sponsoring the bill in the House. The official 2010 U.S. Census count for Rockwell City remains the erroneous one of 1,709, but for purposes of road use tax distribution, the number is 507 more until after the 2020 census. The back compensation for what Rockwell City has missed was specially allocated from the general fund rather than trying to retrieve money that had already been

distributed. In a statement issued about the corrective legislation, Fitzgerald wrote, “Iowa’s Treasurer, part of my job is seeing that Iowans receive the funds they are entitled to. In this case, it took years of work by Rockwell City and Senator Beall to get the job done.” Fitzgerald added that over the 10year period affected by the census, Rockwell City’s portion of road use tax funds would have been short by about a half million dollars without the correction. The city does not plan on any particularly big projects with the additional money, but rather ongoing regular street work.

Fundraiser dinner planned for REACH On Sunday, Nov. 24, the Lake City Union Church will be hosting its annual Lord’s Acre Sale starting

Carnegie Tree

An impressive tree provides a holiday atmosphere at the Carnegie Cafe. (GraphicAdvocate photo by Toni Venteicher)

at 11 a.m. The public is invited to attend church service at 10 a.m. and a dinner immediately following starting at 11 a.m. to approximately 1 p.m. in the dining room of the church. People will enjoy the live auction while they eat whether they participate or just sit back and watch. The dinner is a fundraiser for the REACH youth group which will consist of delicious beef and noodles

(Sporleder noodles), mashed potatoes, corn, beverage, and a special homemade monster cookie baked fresh that morning, made by the REACH kids. REACH is a nondenominational Christian youth group hosted at the Union Church that serves approximately 90 local youth 7th grade through 12th grade. The funding generated from this dinner will be used for general expenses to better serve and continue to serve our youth with Christ as the center. All are welcome to attend.

Ribbon Cut at Carnegie Café

The Lake City Betterment Coffee and Ribbon cutting was held at the Carnegie Cafe as part of their Grand Opening Ceremonies, Friday, Nov. 15th. Holding the scissors is Jen Rossmanith, Head Chef and Tami Green, who along with her husband Jeff Schwering (not in photo), owns the bistro style restaurant housed in the former Carnegie Library in Lake City. (Graphic-Advocate photo by Toni Venteicher)

Veterans Honored

A Veterans Day Ceremony at the South Central Calhoun Middle School in Rockwell City on Monday, Nov. 11 honored both veterans and currently serving in the U.S. armed forces. The guests of honor stayed behind after the ceremony for a group photo. See more photos of the ceremony inside. (Graphic-Advocate photo by Ken Ross)


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.