Increased fees for Law Enforcement
The Washington County Supervisors increased fees for contract law enforcement services. The board used a formula to determine how much to charge each city that does not have a police department and that pays for law enforcement from the sheriff’s office. A chart showing the figures shows most cities had an increase to their payments except Crawfordville which went down 7 percent. Sheriff Dunbar says paying employees is the main factor for increases. Kalona is up 19 percent to about 70 thousand dollars. Other cities include Riverside with a 24 percent increase, and Wellman with a 16 percent increase

Zoning Commission public hearing
The Washington County Zoning Commission is done with another public hearing. Secretary Jacob Thorius says that about half of the fifty residents that showed up on Monday had input to offer the commission. Thorius says that some people don’t want zoning, others do, but many believe something needs to be done to direct future growth.

Mid-Prairie making up classes
The Mid-Prairie school district is using days off for class. Superintendent Mark Schneider says they have already held class on a normally scheduled day off on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Schneider says they will be holding class on President’s Day February 16, which is normally a day off.

Riverboat Foundation opening
The Washington County Riverboat Foundation is taking applications to fill a director position. Jim Logan is the Executive Secretary and says that they are looking for someone to represent the rural area of Washington County. The seat was left empty when Larry Marek became State Representative and stepped down to avoid conflict of interest. Applications are available online at http://www.washingtoncountyriverboatfoundation.org

City Council addressing drainage
The Washington City Council is addressing an issue with drainage on the north side of the city. City officials say the area around Highland Avenue is poorly draining, and the council assigned a committee to talk with residents and offer some possible solutions. That issue is on the agenda tonight for the council, they could set a public hearing on a relief sewer.

Grasshorse plans move
A Winfield company is moving to Mount Pleasant. Vivan Jennings with Grasshorse Technologies says they are an emerging animation business that focuses on animated content for entertainment organizations. Jennings says they have been located in Winfield for about a year and half but they needed a bigger location due to growth.

Community Center works around construction
The Washington Central Park Community Center has been getting around the construction on the south side of the square. Work on the new library began in the spring, and that’s right next door to the community center. Max Cousins says people are still able to get there. Listen to the Washington Page today for more from Max Cousins about what is coming up for the center.

Wapello Rural Water seeks input
The Wapello Rural Water Association is holding a survey to see who might like rural water brought to their property. Kathy Alex says they are getting some funding from rural development and they need to see how many people would like the water service so they know how much to budget. The area they are looking at is south of English River and north of Crooked Creek and east of Highway 1 and west of 218. The number to call for information is 1-800-906-8388.

Washington Page
7:30 a.m. & 12:55 p.m. – Max Cousins, Central Park Community Center
Listen to the interview on the Radio Plus page.

In Touch With Southeast Iowa
12:50 p.m. – Jim Logan, Washington County Riverboat Foundation
Listen to the interview on the Radio Plus page.

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