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Marshall County sets RAGBRAI staging site and offers administrative leave for employees
Summary
Sheriff Joel Phillips won board approval to use 102 S. Center St. as a RAGBRAI command/staging site July 22–23; supervisors also approved an administrative-leave approach to ensure fairness for employees required to work and those who cannot due to event logistics.
Sheriff Joel Phillips told the board the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office will use a temporary staging area at 102 South Center Street (First Interstate Bank property) as an emergency operations center and command trailer during RAGBRAI on July 22–23. He said the trailer will be staffed by communications personnel, public safety, fire, EMS and law enforcement, and that the staging area will be set up the morning of July 22 and taken down the evening of July 23.
The board unanimously approved the temporary use agreement and authorized the chair to sign. Phillips said the location will serve as the county’s central hub for weather monitoring and public-safety coordination during the event.
Supervisors spent an extended period discussing how to treat county employees who want to volunteer for RAGBRAI or who will be required to work during the event. County staff and department heads raised operational concerns including coverage for essential services, differences between closures for weather versus operational logistics, and potential bargaining-unit implications for granting additional paid time off.
County Engineer and other department heads described two staff groups: employees required to work traffic control or other duties at RAGBRAI and employees who might volunteer or otherwise be off that day because courthouse operations will be limited. The board expressed a preference for encouraging volunteerism while treating employees fairly across departments.
After debate about tracking difficulties and union considerations, a supervisor moved — and the board seconded and approved — a motion to offer an alternative paid administrative-leave day to employees required to work on the RAGBRAI event and to place other eligible employees on paid administrative leave on the event day. Supervisors said departments that must remain staffed will receive a later administrative leave day and that retroactive adjustments could be made if issues arise.
The board also directed staff to coordinate details locally, including how administrative leave will be handled for employees already on vacation and how to ensure consistent treatment across bargaining units and departments.
