Supervisors used their July 17 reports to update colleagues on a range of county activities including an apparent late‑night agricultural fumigation using drones, department reorganizations, community facility openings and county project timing.

The chair reported an incident around 10:30 p.m. the previous night in which an agricultural services firm was fumigating crops using drones; the chair described seeing a large truck parked in the roadway and said she contacted county planning and development services (PDS). A PDS staff member (identified in the transcript as Josh) told the chair he did not believe the county had jurisdiction because the activity was ag‑exempt. The chair said she had emailed PDS and expected residents might call the county about similar activity.

Supervisor Green Douglas reported a liaison meeting with Jane Willem of Charter Case Management as the department transitions to new leadership, and said the county’s case management committee met and selected new leadership following state Medicaid privatization. She reported attending the ribbon cutting at the North Liberty Community Pantry, describing the facility as large and welcoming, with separate entrances for food and clothing and shared interior space; Johnson County social services will have space there for one community navigator.

Other updates included discussion at the capital planning committee about the timing and framing of capital items so they inform budget season, a conservation board briefing that is collecting more information on potential operational adjustments, and an upcoming county fair. Supervisor Fixmer Riese said she met with the Immigrant Welcome Network and described their work as moving toward a capital campaign; she said county officials offered support and the county may act as a liaison point for the group.

Fixmer Riese also reported meetings with public health and social services directors about the effects of Medicaid changes, calling the meeting “depressing” and saying the impact on county services was expected to be significant though details remain uncertain. She said a trans advisory committee will soon bring a resolution to the board, and that several county staff and community partners met to discuss the poor farm site and how different departments might use it.

Fixmer Riese described participating in an affordable‑housing panel and said, in that panel, she learned that Iowa City staff do not treat parking as a consideration on certain affordable housing projects; she characterized the panel as well attended by developers, real‑estate professionals and residents. She also reported that courthouse renovation work was delayed by a fire and cleanup and that facilities staff are working to keep the project moving.

Supervisors closed by noting finance committee work and committee charter changes to be brought forward in coming weeks, and by reminding the public of the upcoming joint entities meeting July 21 and a work session July 23.