Pottawattamie supervisors approve county imagery contract, set first reading for ADU zoning change; lengthy update on behavioral health transition

Pottawattamie County supervisors on Tuesday approved a series of administrative contracts and first-step policy changes while spending much of the meeting on a detailed briefing about an impending statewide change in how behavioral-health services are organized.

The board voted to authorize the chair to sign the county’s fiscal-year 2025 aerial-imagery agreement administered through the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) and to provide a $10,000 supplemental payment to the county tourism program. It also gave first consideration to a proposed amendment to the county zoning ordinance that would loosen rules for accessory dwelling units and set Jan. 21, 2025, for the second reading. Supervisors received an extended briefing from county community services staff on the state’s contract award to Iowa Primary Care Associates as the Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization (ASO) and the transition work that will follow.

Why it matters: the aerial imagery agreement keeps the county’s high-resolution mapping and oblique photography available to 911, planning, and other departments; the zoning change could make it easier for rural homeowners to add accessory dwelling units (ADUs) subject to conditional-use review; and the behavioral-health ASO transition will reshape who employs case managers and how county-based crisis and jail services are delivered — a change county staff said they are working to manage without gaps.

Votes at a glance - Aerial imagery agreement with MAPA/EagleView/Pictometry — motion to approve and authorize chair signature; motion passed (no roll-call tally recorded in transcript). Motion noted as moved by Wicklund; second recorded as Faye. - Tourism funding: motion to add $10,000 (increase county contribution to Western Iowa Development/Bridal from $50,000 to $60,000), funds from gaming; motion passed on voice vote. - Ordinance ZTA (Accessory Dwelling Units) — first consideration of ordinance to amend Pottawattamie County Zoning Ordinance (chapter 8.004.095) approved on first reading; second consideration set for Jan. 21, 2025. Roll-call recorded: Chairman Bell — Aye; Supervisor Miller — Aye; Supervisor Whitman — Nay; Supervisor Jorgensen — Aye; Supervisor Shea — Aye. - Bridge project: authorization to sign project plans for BROS-C078(177) — bridge replacement on 210th Street over Pigeon Creek; motion passed on voice vote. - Addition to five-year road/bridge plan: board endorsed adding Lewis (Pioneer Trail) bridge project to FY2026 five-year plan for grant pursuit; motion passed on voice vote. - Public-health preparedness coordinator: board accepted a state award and approved posting/hiring for the grant-funded coordinator position (100% grant funded); motion passed on voice vote. - Omaha Veterans Center MOU: authorized use of a county veterans conference room twice a month for counseling; motion passed on voice vote. - Courthouse entrance repairs: approved removal and replacement of concrete at the courthouse entrance with an estimated cost (including contingency) of about $55,082.50; motion passed; funds to come from the land/building improvement fund. - Communications center hire: approved hiring a new communications employee at step 4 of the pay scale (experienced hire); motion passed on voice vote.

Aerial imagery contract County staff described the MAPA-administered agreement as a routine, budgeted renewal that continues the county’s participation in a multi-year flight program. "This is just simply starting our new term in our 6 year contract. This will be the 2nd year of that," said a county presenter, noting the program spreads costs across a six-year flight cycle and that the imagery has already been integrated into 911 and mapping applications.

Accessory-dwelling-unit zoning (first consideration) Pat White, director of planning and development, presented a resident-initiated zoning text amendment that would ease lot-size and size limits on accessory dwelling units (ADUs) — commonly called granny flats or secondary dwellings — and allow smaller lots to seek ADU approval through a conditional-use permit. White said the amendment would remove a fixed square-foot cap and instead require that an ADU be smaller than the principal dwelling on the parcel, and would keep conditional-use review to protect neighboring properties. He described an example property of 1.34 acres on Perry Road where an existing foundation might be converted to conditioned living space but cannot currently be made fully habitable without the proposed code change. The planning commission recommended sending the amendment to the board for action.

The board voted to approve first consideration and set Jan. 21, 2025, for the second reading. White said the change would not permit automatic lot division; any subdivision would still have to meet subdivision and zoning regulations. "If it meets the subdivision requirements, then it can be divided off," he said, explaining the county’s intent to retain local review.

Behavioral-health reorganization: state ASO award and county concerns Suzanne Watson, county community services director, briefed supervisors at length after the State of Iowa awarded the Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization contract to Iowa Primary Care Associates. Watson said the ASO award covers the state’s seven regions and that the county has roughly five-and-a-half months to transition. "They've assured us that that will not happen. We have 5 and a half months to transition this," Watson said of the state’s pledge that individuals served will not be dropped during the changeover.

Watson outlined a number of open questions and operational concerns: which staff will transfer to the ASO or to subcontractors, how ongoing service coordination (including 30-day follow-up after crisis services) will be paid, how jail-based service coordinators and mental health court case managers will be assigned or contracted, reimbursement timing for the county's mental-health advocate role, and where local supervision will sit if staff move from county employment to an ASO or nonprofit contractor. She said existing regional contracts with providers will be honored for at least one year (through June 30, 2026). "There’s just a lot of unknowns as far as who goes where," Watson said, noting meetings with the state and the ASO were imminent.

Tourism and rural promotion; funding approved Mark Eichlman, executive director of the county tourism program, and Melvin Hauser, tourism committee chair, reviewed a year of county tourism activity — museum crawls, a Western Iowa rural passport program, Mount Crescent and ski-hill promotion, a growing website audience, and awards for local attractions. Stacy Kenny of Western Iowa Development summarized an expanded role for the county’s rural development organization (Bridal/Western Iowa Development) and asked for an increase in county funding from $50,000 to $60,000 to support staffing, marketing, and a planned Minden recovery project. After discussion the board approved the additional $10,000 from gaming funds.

Public-health preparedness coordinator County staff reported the State of Iowa awarded funding for a public-health preparedness coordinator position under the Swift/CRI grant program. County staff confirmed funding for the remainder of the current fiscal year and an ongoing award starting July 1. The board approved posting and hiring for the grant-funded, 100%-funded position.

Other administrative actions and facilities work The board authorized county engineers to sign bridge project plans for a replacement on 210th Street over Pigeon Creek and endorsed adding a Pioneer Trail bridge project to the county five-year plan to support a federal grant application. The board approved a memorandum of understanding to allow the Omaha Veterans Center to use the county veterans' conference room for counseling sessions twice monthly through November 2029, revocable with 30 days’ notice. The board also approved a facilities project to remove the tripping-prone curb at the courthouse entrance and replace pavement and curbing (projected estimate with contingency ~$55,082.50) and authorized the communications center to hire an experienced dispatcher at step 4 of the pay scale.

What the board will watch next County staff said they will return with a second reading for the ADU ordinance on Jan. 21, 2025, budget amendments tied to the public-health grant award, and follow-ups on how the county will contract or subcontract to preserve jail and crisis services under the new ASO structure. Supervisors asked staff to press for clear plans and timelines from the state and the ASO and to track how many county positions move to other employers.

Ending note Supervisors recessed at the end of the agenda after general updates and committee reports. Several board members emphasized that the coming months will require close attention to the behavioral-health transition and to coordinating with regional partners on grants and development projects.