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County approves joint 28E agreements to rehabilitate Tamarak Road despite debate over city parking costs
Summary
The Pottawattamie County Board authorized 28E agreements with Minden and Aoka to rehabilitate Tamarak Road, agreeing the county will pay for the 24-foot traveled lanes and the cities will cover improvements outside that scope after board members pressed for precedent and plan details.
Pottawattamie County supervisors on Tuesday authorized joint 28E agreements with the cities of Minden and Aoka to rehabilitate Tamarak Road (County Road G18), approving county signatures after engineers clarified which parts of the project the county will fund.
Andrew Wixs, the county engineer, told the board the county’s standard scope covers a 24-foot traveled way but that the current Minden estimate includes $131,000 for work outside that area. “This 131,000 is redoing their parking,” Wixs said, explaining the extra cost covers parking and short “returns” into adjacent side streets.
Supervisors pushed back, noting past practice of not charging cities for farm‑to‑market road segments through towns. One supervisor said the county had not charged cities on prior projects and urged maintaining that precedent, asking that anything beyond the 24‑foot traveled portion be borne by the city. Wixs said he would modify the agreement language or follow a board direction to explicitly state the county covers only the 24‑foot portion.
The board approved the Minden 28E agreement and a matching Aoka agreement in separate motions, each recorded by roll call. Supervisors asked staff to provide the detailed plan sets and a line‑item breakdown showing exactly which segments are within the county’s 24‑foot obligation and which are city work.
Why it matters: The decisions commit the county as a funding partner and clarify the county’s stance on paying for municipal parking and curb-and-gutter work that extend beyond the county’s 24‑foot roadway standard. County officials said they will send the plan details to the board before construction starts, a key procedural safeguard for supervisors who worried they were voting without seeing plans.
What’s next: Construction was described as likely to begin in August; engineers said they would provide a specific start date and the detailed plan breakdowns requested by the board.
