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Winneshiek County approves $1.95M road rock contract, hires equipment operator and advances FY2027 budget
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Summary
Supervisors accepted a rock procurement contract (record shows $1,953,010.12), approved the hire of an Equipment Operator II candidate, and approved FY2027 budget items; the board also discussed quarry activity, bridge projects and potential courthouse office reconfigurations.
The Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors approved a series of county-administration motions including a road rock procurement contract, personnel recommendations and the FY2027 budget during a regular meeting.
County administrator Mike Cootney briefed the board on road materials and procurement, reporting a substantial increase in the amount of rock required this year (the meeting transcript referenced 121,573.1 tons) and a contract price of $1,953,010.12 for rock to serve gravel roads across districts. After a short clarification about a minor computational discrepancy (0.6 of a ton), a motion to accept the rock contract was moved and seconded and passed by voice vote.
Supervisors also considered local quarry activity near the fish hatchery and discussed scheduling of a Trout Run Road CFYP project penciled at about $650,000; Cootney said project sequencing will depend on the Highway 9 project timelines.
On personnel, the board considered candidates for an Equipment Operator II position. Staff recommended hiring Cordell Schnelzer based on strong references; the board moved, seconded and approved the hire by voice vote.
The engineering report noted the 2027 CFYP had been submitted to the Iowa DOT with minor clerical edits pending. Staff discussed shifting some construction savings to maintenance if projects do not proceed and proposed an amendment to prepare for possible FEMA event categories; supervisors moved and approved the FY2027 budget item and related amendment by voice vote.
Separately, staff described IT upgrades to make survey data-collection equipment Windows 11–compliant and proposed working with ICAP to change equipment insurance from replacement-cost to cash-value to reduce premiums while preserving coverage for mission-critical machines.
Board members recorded no roll-call tallies in the minutes; actions were approved by voice vote as reflected in the meeting record. Several items (quarry activity, bridge sequencing and courthouse space reconfiguration) were left for further study and follow-up at a future meeting.
