Pottawattamie supervisors narrowly approve resolution supporting Council Bluffs voluntary annexation near 190 Second Street

POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY, Iowa — The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors voted 3–2 to approve a resolution supporting a voluntary annexation by the City of Council Bluffs that would add roughly 473 acres near 190 Second Street to the city.

The supervisors debated traffic, road maintenance responsibilities and whether the county’s written recommendations had been reflected in the city’s annexation boundaries. The board approved the measure after several supervisors said they view the annexation as a potential economic development opportunity but asked for further follow-up on infrastructure and boundary concerns.

Board members and county staff said the primary local concerns raised at a public hearing were increased traffic at several intersections (including Bongi Fongi Avenue and Omaha Bridal Road) and how future roadwork would be shared between the city and county. County staff said developers will be required to provide traffic studies as part of project approvals, and that engineers from the county, Mills County and the city are meeting to coordinate reviews.

County staff noted the annexation process follows state statute that generally takes property to the centerline of roads when annexing; that practice was cited several times as the reason only half of some rights-of-way would be included. County engineers have previously worked out border swaps with neighboring jurisdictions, staff said, and supervisors discussed pursuing similar arrangements if needed.

Supervisor comments reflected differing priorities. One supervisor said the annexation “is economic development” and urged moving ahead, while other supervisors said they were disappointed county recommendations sent to Council Bluffs were not incorporated and wanted a separate county resolution that would articulate any objections to the proposed boundaries. The board's approved resolution will be included in the public record submitted to the city; the state review process was described as a subsequent step.

The vote tally recorded on the meeting minutes was: Chairman Bell — Nay; Supervisor Miller — Aye; Supervisor Shea — Nay; Supervisor Whitman — Aye; Supervisor Jorgensen — Aye. Supervisors said the board will draft and consider another resolution next week to clarify any county positions and formally record comments for the city and state review.

The annexation matter had been the subject of a public hearing hosted by the city; county staff said they had submitted a letter with recommended changes to the boundaries but had not been notified that the city adopted those recommendations. The board’s action is an expression of support to forward to Council Bluffs and the State for review; whether the final area changes will rest with the State review, staff said, was unclear to some supervisors.