Open Letters on the November 4th Dallas County Propositions
As the November 4th Elections approach, we’ve received two letters from Adel City Council members on their positions concerning ballot Proposition A and Proposition B.
Additional information concerning the proposed Dallas County Sheriff’s Office – Law Enforcement Center and the proposed Dallas County Admin Facilities located here.
– Editor
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Dear Editor,
Next Tues voters have the opportunity to support construction of a new County Administration Office Building and a new Public Safety Building / Jail. Both facilities are needed and I would urge the public to turn the ballot over and on the back VOTE YES on both measures.
The administrative offices will be located in Adel just across the river heading west on the north side of Highway 6 / Hickman Road. The facility will make it convenient for the public to conduct business with most of the elected officials under one roof; and will replace the “checkerboard” of building folks have to visit to conduct county business today. And, it will reduce the county’s rental / lease expense by approximately $200,000 annually.
As Mayor of Adel I worked with Supervisor Chapman to select the proposed administrative building site. There were four non-county owned properties that needed to be acquired. Options to purchase have been secured for three of the properties, and the final property, American Concrete, is supportive of the project and working to relocate to make room for the administrative offices.
Some might think why didn’t the Supervisors use the old Adel High School building in the middle of town? Well, the main reason is it was never available. The ADM School District will be remodeling the building and using it for administrative offices. All things considered the planned location for the county administration building is best for the citizens of Dallas County.
It has been asked of the Supervisors, “What if the bond issues do not pass?” I am not sure what action will be taken, but we can all be assured of two things: 1) the space problem will not go away, and 2) it will be more expensive to solve it than what is currently proposed.
I urge Dallas County residents to vote YES on November 4th.
Jim Peters, Mayor
Adel
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October 14, 2014
Dear Editor:
Many of you may recall that I opposed the Dallas County bond initiative a little over a year ago. I did so because of the proposed location, which was some 2 miles east of Adel’s traditional city limits. Moving county operations far from our historic downtown square would have negatively impacted our local business community. I did not question the need for more space for the County, especially since the Court system will eventually consume the entire space in our current court house. As Iowa’s fastest growing county it is imperative that the County officials address the increased needs of our citizens both now and into the future.
The County has worked with the City to develop a new plan that addresses my earlier concerns. This time the proposed Administration Facility would be located just west of the Raccoon River on the north side of U.S. Highway 6. Much of that land is already owned by the County and a new office building located in that area would certainly enhance the appearance for that entrance to our City.
The Sheriff’s Office/Law Enforcement Center would be located on County owned land east of the traditional Adel city limits in the area commonly known as “Ortonville”. The need for a new jail is driven by explosive Dallas County growth. The current jail can house a maximum of 48 prisoners and jail statistics indicate a need for 90. Inmates in excess of the current capacity are sent to Polk County for confinement. This adds to the cost of confinement as well as staff and related costs to transport the prisoners to and from that facility.
Please visit the county’s informational website and check out greater details about two bond proposals on the ballot this year. You can find it here: http://www.dallascountybond.com/
I support a “YES” vote on these important projects for Dallas County’s future, and hope you will too.
Jon McAvoy
1126 Grove St.
Adel, Ia. 50003
