The Grundy Register
2014
Serving Grundy County since 1928
Thursday, September 25, 2014
www.TheGrundyRegister.com
Volume 90 – Number 39
Board gets more information on possible Wind Farm TIF
By JOHN JENSEN The Grundy Register GRUNDY CENTER — To TIF or not to TIF? That was the question facing the Grundy County Board of Supervisors Monday as they debated whether to create a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District in the Wellsburg Wind Farm, which is currently under construction. Former Hardin County Supervisor Jim Johnson briefed the Board on the TIF District that his county created and bonded off of to capture the property taxes on the incremental value of a wind farm in the southern part of the county in addition to the base value. Johnson went through the process Hardin County followed, including an obstacle it ran into when the City of Radcliffe objected to the turbines. The county then purchased bonds for projects as they were needed, following a schedule developed by Gary Mauer, who served as engineer for both Hardin and Grundy Counties at the time. Johnson said Hardin County also created an urban renewal area within the TIF District, allowing it to get better rates on bonds. He said the biggest advantage to purchasing bonds is that it frees up funds to be used in other parts of the county. Following the discussion with Johnson, Supervisors discussed whether to include projects other than those initially proposed by Mauer in the improvement plan. Most attention was focused on whether to include improvements to the Buck Grove blacktop. Supervisor Jim Ross renewed his question about why the County not simply collect the tax money as it comes in over the next seven years. “Some projects can’t wait seven years,” Mauer said. Supervisor Mark Schildroth, however, expressed concern that if the County waits until it has saved
Thursday, September 25 Alzheimer Support Group Arlington Place, Grundy Center 6:30 p.m. Friday, September 26 Grundy Center Citywide Garage Sales 4 - 7 p.m. (Most sales)
Saturday, September 27 Grundy Center Citywide Garage Sales 8 a.m. - Noon (Most sales)
Sunday, September 28 Grundy Center High School Homecoming Parade, Pep Rally Parade • 4 p.m. Pep Rally • 5:30 p.m. @ Courthouse Gazebo Monday, September 29 Grundy County Supervisor Grundy County Courthouse 9 a.m.
Tuesday, September 30 Public Health Flu Clinic Grundy Center Senior Center 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Gospel Concert New Hartford Community Center 7 p.m. Thursday, October 2 Grundy Center High School King & Queen Coronation High School Gym • 7 p.m.
$1.00 Newsstand Price
New activities set for GCHS Homecoming By JOHN JENSEN The Grundy Register GRUNDY CENTER — Changes are coming to Grundy Center High School Homecoming. Monday the school announced several new activities, including a much-expanded group of Sunday activities and a new day for the annual Homecoming Parade. High School Principal Ann Lebo said the changes were made to help involve the community more. “We were looking for more of an event to bridge the school and community,” she said. “It’s about what it means to live in Grundy Center and also what it means to be a Spartan.” The biggest change is that Homecoming activities will kick off with the annual parade Sunday afternoon. This year’s parade will have a new route and will not travel through the city’s main business district. Instead it will traverse M Avenue, First Street, I Avenue and Seventh Street. A complete route is listed below. Following the parade, students will chalk downtown sidewalks. At 5:30 p.m., a community pep rally will announce the King and Queen
Grundy Center High School’s 2014 Homecoming parade moves to Sunday this year. The route for this year’s parade is also different, traversing M Avenue west to First Street, north to I Avenue, west to Seventh Street and north to the Grundy County Courthouse. pictured is the GCHS band in last year’s Homecoming parade. (Grundy Register file photo) candidates. Lebo said the school’s Spirit Force committee: she, Athletic Director Rollie Ackerman and Homecoming Sponsors Amber Greiman and Lindsey Aronson, met over the summer to discuss possible changes. She said they didn’t want to make any decisions until speaking to students, and that they seemed excited.
“The feeling in the past is that we’ve had the parade to ourselves,” she said. “We wanted to see a celebration for the community.” Lebo said if this year’s activities are well-received they could be expanded next year. “We’ll see what works,” she said. The Grundy Center Chamber of Commerce has also talked
about having some events Sunday, including businesses open special hours for the event. The remainder of Homecoming Week will have a more usual feel. Dress-in days are scheduled for each day at the school, a community breakfast will be held Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 a.m., and a cappella music group reVoiced will hold its second Grundy Center concert in less than a year Tuesday at 7 p.m. The King and Queen Coronation will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. at the high school gymnasium. Lebo said this year’s coronation will probably be a little shorter than the past, with some activities that had been part of the coronation having been moved to Sunday’s community pep rally. Grundy Center football takes center stage Friday. A student pep rally will be held during the day, and the annual high school dance is scheduled for following the football game. The Spartans take on rival BCLUW in their annual Homecoming football game Friday at Spartan Stadium. PARADE ROUTE — The parade will begin at the corner of 10th Street and M Avenue (in front of the high
GCHS Homecoming Public Activities
Sunday, September 28 4 p.m. — Homecoming Parade 4:30 p.m. — Chalk the Walk 5:30 p.m. — Pep Rally, King & Queen Candidates announced Wednesday, October 1 6:30 - 8 a.m. — Community Breakfast Thursday, October 2 7 p.m. — King, Queen Coronation
Friday, October 3 7 p.m. — Homecoming football game vs. BCLUW school) and travel east 10 blocks on on M to First Street. It will then turn left (north) on First Street for four blocks to I Avenue, where it will turn left again and travel seven blocks west to Seventh Street, where it will make on final turn and end in the block between H and G Avenues, between the Kling Memorial Library and the Grundy County Courthouse.
Dike-New Hartford, AGWSR name Homecoming Royalty
Both Dike-New Hartford and AGWSR High Schools held their Homecoming Activities last week, crowning their Homecoming King and Queen during community pep rallies Thursday and Friday. Dike-New Hartford royalty (left) Lizzy Blough and Connor McCleeary are pictured just after their crowning Friday while AGWSR’s King and Queen, Clay Meinders and Jessica Lippert, are pictured with their parents prior to Friday’s football game against Wapsie Valley. (John Jensen/The Grundy Register photos).
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What’s Happening
Grundy Center, Iowa
Opinions differ on possible athletic sharing By JOHN JENSEN The Grundy Register GRUNDY CENTER — Could a day come when Grundy Center and Gladbrook-Reinbeck form a complete athletic partnership? The possibility was discussed last Wednesday as the Grundy Center School Board held a work session to discuss athletic sharing possibilities. Board members Bob Johanns and Kelly Mathews and Superintendent Jerry Schutz shared thoughts on a meeting they held recently with members of the Gladbrook-Reinbeck School Board and its superintendent, Shawn Holloway. Johanns said the group went through the pros and cons of sharing and how far the sharing should go. The two districts currently share cross country and wrestling, and G-R has approached Grundy Center about the possibility of sharing track and field this year. “My opinion is that if we do one we should do them all, though I’m not sure G-R would be interested in sharing them all,” Johanns said. Mathews said the key right now is opening a line of communication and determining what is better for the students and schools, including from a financial standpoint. “This would be a big step,” she said. “What other things have been
‘If you want to participate, share; if you want to compete for championships, stay by yourself.’ — Brian Wallis looked at?” She added that it makes sense to share sports with the same school when sharing is necessary, though she she was not as in favor of sharing everything. “I don’t think it makes sense to go all in,” she said. Director Brent Ascher asked if there was any way to tell how much, if any, money would be saved by sharing sports. Though the number of coaches needed could drop if the schools were to share, transportation costs would very probably rise. “If there’s no savings … Who knows, it may cost more,” he said. Johanns went on to ask what the benefit of sharing is to the students. He noted that in football, where Gladbrook-Reinbeck has good numbers at the high school level and Grundy Center has good numbers at the junior high level, sharing could cost students from both schools chances to play. “I don’t think they are in a
position where they would want to share football and basketball,” he said. At most present need was discussion of the possibility of sharing track, which is the only sharing agreement currently on the table. Johanns said the G-R track team is expected to have only seven girls, and it is unknown how many would come to Grundy Center. The boys’ track team would likely send more kids to Grundy Center, including the defending state champion in the Class 1A 400-meter hurdles. Johanns added that only two boys and two girls are running cross country with Grundy Center this year, though those four kids push the Spartans from Class 1A to 2A, as sports classification is based on enrollment of schools involved, not the number of individuals on a team. “That puts our kids in a tough spot,” he said. GCHS girls’ track coach Todd
Rohler reiterated a position he shared at the previous month’s meeting that he would prefer not to share because it takes opportunities away from the kids. “It puts us at a competitive disadvantage,” he said. “Tell me what the benefit with be?” Johanns added that he has mixed feelings about sharing track. Grundy Center teacher and coach Bob Munson said he coached in a district that shared teams and said the biggest challenge was the logistics of getting students from one place to the other. “You have to look at the kids’ time commitment,” he said while adding that there were also positives of sharing. Grundy Center parent Brian Wallis said the decision of whether or not to share sports comes down to the school district’s philosophy. “If you want to participate, share; if you want to compete for championships, stay by yourself,” he said. GCHS Athletic Director Rollie Ackerman reminded the Board that track is the first sport that needs to be addressed. “This would be taking a big first step,” he said.
SESSION, the Board held a regular meeting that included its official annual meeting that selected the Board officers as well as official depositories, investigators, etc. Johanns was again elected Board President in a unanimous vote while Ron Saak was elected Board Vice-President. Christel Kellar was sworn in as Board Secretary and Chad Wagner was sworn in as Board Treasurer. Brent Thoren was designated both the Level I Investigator and the Homeless and Truancy Liaison Officer while building principals and Thoren were designated Hot Lunch Representatives and Schutz the Hot Lunch Hearing Officer. GNB and Green Belt Bank and Trust were named official school district depositories while Seth Schroeder of Heronimous, Schmit & Allen, and Andrew Bracken of Ahers & Cooney as legal counsel for the district and The Grundy Register was named official newspaper for official publications. Board Committee assignments included: Wellness — Chad Mackie; Facilities — Saak, Ascher; Negotiations — Johanns, Mackie; County Board — Johanns; District Foundation — Mathews; IASB
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