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Jefferson County Board discusses sale options for DOT-derived Osage parcel
Summary
Supervisors reviewed options to divest a 3.57-acre parcel (including a 0.8-acre triangular piece) acquired from the Iowa Department of Transportation, weighing survey costs, right-of-way easements and potential variance requirements if the triangle is split off.
Jefferson County supervisors discussed whether to sell or retain a 3.57-acre parcel that the Iowa Department of Transportation quick-claimed to the county after construction of the Osage/34 bypass. County staff said the parcel includes a small triangular piece of roughly 0.8 acre that could be split off, but that splitting could trigger a variance because of minimum-lot-size rules.
Dwayne, a county staff member, explained the property’s configuration and said an easement and the county’s responsibility to maintain slopes from the federal-aid project complicate the disposition. He told the board the county would need a legal description and survey before placing the land for public sealed bid if the board elects to sell.
Board members discussed alternatives: selling the entire 3.57-acre tract with a recorded right-of-way easement retained by the county, or surveying and selling just the triangular piece (with the bidder reimbursing survey costs). One supervisor said selling the whole parcel would avoid a variance step; another favored the approach that required the least county investment while protecting adjacent owners’ access.
Wayne said he would review Iowa Code and the easement lines and expected to know before noon whether a formal survey would be required to convey title. The board directed staff to pursue initial procedural steps, obtain cost estimates for surveying, and return with recommendations at a subsequent meeting.
The board did not vote to dispose of the parcel immediately; members instructed staff to prepare legal descriptions and to advertise sealed bids if divestiture remains the board’s preference.
