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Residents petition county to sealcoat 32nd Avenue; petitioners provide signatures and request cost-sharing options
Summary
Homeowners on 32nd Avenue presented a petition asking Benton County to partner on a sealcoat project and to allow assessments spread over multiple years; petitioners provided signatures and cost estimates from county staff and asked the board to prepare a petition contract for tax-assessed repayment.
A group of Benton County residents asked supervisors to partner with them on a sealcoat and surfacing project on 32nd Avenue and a short section of 74th Street, presenting a petition with homeowner signatures and cost estimates supplied by county staff.
Rick Handler, who identified himself as representing property owners along the route, said residents have collected signatures and provided estimates from county staff: "we're really here petitioning, the board of supervisors in the county to, join together to seal coat that section of the road on 32nd Avenue," he said. Residents said the road becomes a winter snow catch and that surfacing would reduce ongoing maintenance and improve safety.
Why it matters: The project would be funded by assessments to benefited properties, spread over multiple years on property tax statements. Petitioners said benefits include reduced dust and improved winter conditions; supervisors discussed financing options, term length and whether farmland parcels must sign the petition.
What petitioners supplied and what supervisors discussed
- Signatures and scope: Petitioners said they had roughly 41 to 42 participating property owners who would share the assessment for the principal project area to the entrance of Pete's Hill addition and the road into Southern Exposure Estates. Some farmland parcels and a small number of homeowners near the far end still needed to complete signatures.
- Cost estimates and payment terms: Petitioners said county staff member Myron provided cost estimates used for the petition paperwork. Petitioners discussed financing over several years to keep annual payments low (petitioners suggested five, six or seven years), and supervisors noted prior projects had used 3 percent as an interest rate for multi-year assessments. During the meeting a staff member cited Iowa code for assessments and said the code allows terms up to 10 years under certain sections (discussion referenced "311.17").
- Next steps: County staff told petitioners they would prepare the petition/waiver document, list parcel numbers on the form and coordinate with the treasurer to add the assessment to affected tax statements if the board approves the petition. Supervisors agreed staff should prepare the paperwork and return to the board once it is complete; the petitioners agreed to continue collecting any remaining signatures.
No formal vote to commit county funds took place at the meeting. Petitioners were advised to bring final signed petition documents and parcel descriptions back to staff so the county can prepare the formal assessment documents and put the matter on a future agenda for board action.
