Polk County supervisors approve large batch of fiscal-year resolutions, award grants and contracts, and raise refugee medical fee

The Polk County Board of Supervisors on June 30 approved a large package of resolutions, including more than $2.8 million in opioid settlement grants, a change to the Polk County Health Department fee schedule raising refugee/green-card physicals from $15 to $65, and an award of a county towing services contract that drew two dissenting votes. The board also proclaimed Juneteenth and World Refugee Day and received an update from the Des Moines Airport Authority on the airport terminal expansion.

The board moved many resolutions in grouped votes and approved them by roll call. In separate discussion, county staff described how opioid settlement funds will be used and why the health-department fee increase was necessary.

Why it matters: the approved grants and contracts fund public health, public-safety, and social-service programs across Polk County; the fee change affects refugee and immigration-related medical services that county staff say had a substantial backlog; and the towing contract governs county-requested tows tied to 911 calls and public-safety responses.

Opioid settlement grants

The board approved opioid settlement awards totaling more than $2,800,000 to community organizations over the next two years. County staff said the grants will fund a range of activities covered by the national opioid settlements: evidence-based youth prevention, harm-reduction distribution of naloxone, and integrated treatment services linking mental-health and physical-health care with substance-use treatment.

County staff said the awards include prevention grants and grants to organizations led by people with lived experience; named recipients in the resolutions include Community Youth Concepts, Friends of YJI, Kingdom Living Iowa (doing business as RISE Recovery Center), Steps of Hope Iowa, Bridges of Iowa, Focus Inc., Rebel Healthcare and others. "Today, the Board of Supervisors is positioned to approve over $2,800,000 in opioid settlement grants over the next 2 years," a county staff member said during the meeting. The board approved the package by roll call.

Health department fee change and refugee/green-card physicals

The board approved a change to the Polk County Health Department fee schedule that raises the charge for refugee and green-card physical examinations from $15 to $65. Julianne Van Liu, director of the Polk County Health Department, explained the increase and the operational pressures behind it: the county had a backlog of roughly 300 people awaiting services earlier this year, and civil-surgeon oversight and documentation demands make these visits labor intensive.

Van Liu said a single green-card visit requires about three hours of nursing time and that the county had been paying nurses roughly $65 an hour while collecting $15 per visit for about 13 years. She said two full-time nurses now staff the green-card clinic to clear the backlog and maintain service. "We provide this service very well," Van Liu said. She argued the fee change is necessary to sustain staffing and avoid moving nurses away from other clinics. The board approved the fee schedule change by roll call.

Towing services contract and split vote

The board voted to award RFP #1312526 for county-requested towing services to the responsive bidder (identified in the procurement record and meeting as the winning vendor). The award was approved on a 3-2 vote; two supervisors voted no, citing prior negative experiences and concerns about the vendor's business practices in the community. Board members and county staff repeatedly emphasized this contract covers law-enforcement requested tows tied to 911 responses and not private-property towing disputes.

Des Moines Airport Authority update

Representatives of the Des Moines Airport Authority told the board that construction of the current terminal phases (Phase 1A/1B West and associated work) is underway and that bids for the Phase 1B East section will arrive late summer. The airport representatives said the project could add 11 new gates if the board of the authority proceeds with the next phase, with the new gates potentially in service by 2028–29. They also said Polk County’s participation in financing produced debt-service savings that the authority expects will support additional work on the terminal. Travelers were advised to expect some congestion during construction and to use the new parking garage for passenger pickups to avoid front-curb backups.

Proclamations and public remarks

The board proclaimed June 19, 2025, Juneteenth and June 20, 2025, World Refugee Day. Speakers from Iowa Juneteenth and refugee resettlement organizations addressed the board in support of the proclamations. A representative of Iowa Juneteenth thanked the board for a county grant that will support the organization's events. Stephanie Morris of Refugee Alliance of Central Iowa and Laura Thacko of Lutheran Services in Iowa thanked the board for county support and noted continuing services for recently arrived refugees.

Other votes and fiscal actions

The board approved a number of grouped resolutions and contract approvals across county departments, including amendments and agreements with state agencies (Iowa DNR, Iowa Department of Health and Human Services), cooperative service agreements with cities, community service agreements, contract awards for lead-hazard repairs, funding transfers for roads and farm-to-market funds, Memoranda of Understanding for shared judicial mental-health advocate services, and multiple intergovernmental and provider agreements for social services.

Closed session and post-session resolutions

The board entered a closed session under Iowa Code section 21.51(c) to discuss litigation strategy. After re-entering open session the board approved a joint defense agreement and directed outside counsel to take confidential employment-related actions consistent with the matters discussed in closed session. The board adjourned following those votes.

What the board did not do

There was no final board action reported to rescind previously adopted policies or to change local statutory authority. Several items were moved and approved in omnibus motions rather than debated individually.

Ending note

Supervisors and department heads noted this was the county's last meeting of the fiscal year and acknowledged staff work to finalize numerous year-end items. The board scheduled follow-up and implementation through county departments for the various contracts and grants approved at the meeting.