Dickinson County Board of Supervisors Packet Summary — 2026-06-23
Meeting: Board of Supervisors Meeting
Scheduled: Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.
Location: Dickinson County Courthouse, 1802 Hill Avenue, Suite 1510, Spirit Lake, Iowa
The packet covers two land-use public hearings, fiscal year 2027 wages and departmental appropriations, a comprehensive land-use planning contract, a recreational trail resolution, drainage matters, a Lake Park shop project, insurance renewal, and routine county business. The attached materials also include minutes documenting actions taken at the June 23 meeting; those completed actions are identified separately below rather than presented as pre-meeting outcomes.
Key Items on the Agenda
Two Rezoning Public Hearings
The agenda schedules two Planning and Zoning matters for public hearing, discussion, and possible action.
- 9:00 a.m. — Barry & Julie Van Iperen: The Board is scheduled to consider a recommendation involving rezoning to add Automotive Sales as a use in the HC Highway Commercial District for parcel 0602126013 at 1515 Highway 86, Spirit Lake.
- 9:15 a.m. — Jim Venteicher: The Board is scheduled to consider a Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation to change specified property in Center Grove Township from A-1 Agricultural to R-1 Suburban Residential.
The minutes included with the packet document that both recommendations were subsequently approved by unanimous roll-call votes.
Comprehensive Land Use Plan
The agenda includes approval of a comprehensive land-use contract with RDG. The accompanying minutes state that Megan Kardell and Supervisor Steve Clark discussed bids received for preparation of Dickinson County's Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
The minutes document subsequent approval of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan contract with RDG by unanimous roll-call vote.
Veterans Affairs Commissioner
The Board is scheduled to consider an appointment to the Veterans Affairs Commission effective July 1, 2026. The minutes document that Jim Kessler was subsequently appointed as Veterans Affairs Commissioner effective that date by unanimous roll-call vote.
Deputy Medical Examiner
The agenda calls for consideration of a deputy medical examiner. The minutes state that Jarrod Fischer discussed the need for a backup to the current medical examiner and document the subsequent appointment of Dr. Steve Vanderleest as deputy Medical Examiner by unanimous roll-call vote.
FY2027 Budget, Wages and Transfers
A major portion of the packet concerns Dickinson County's fiscal year 2027 finances, covering employee compensation, departmental appropriations, and transfers between county funds.
Employee Compensation
The materials state that the Board set a 0% FY2027 increase for the Board of Supervisors and a 3.5% increase for all other county employees, apart from individual merit increases requested. The compensation schedule covers the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027, with individual hourly and bi-weekly rates listed across county departments.
The attached minutes document that the FY2027 hourly and bi-weekly wage schedule was subsequently approved.
Departmental Appropriations
The materials provide FY2027 expenditure appropriations across county operations. Larger listed appropriations include:
- Engineer: $11,612,530
- Board of Supervisors: $8,456,807
- Conservation Board: $4,216,629
- Sheriff: $3,350,290
- Trails: $3,225,544
- County Attorney: $935,306
- Data Processing: $858,456
- Treasurer: $810,146
- General Services: $801,500
- Non-Departmental: $764,276
- Auditor: $544,985
The minutes document approval of 100% of the FY2027 certified and adopted departmental budgets, effective July 1, 2026, together with authorization for the County Auditor to make transfers within the stated limits.
FY2027 Fund Transfers
Nine budgeted transfers are listed:
- Rural Basic Fund to Secondary Road Fund — $4,125,314
- General Basic Fund to Secondary Road Fund — $668,832
- General Fund to Building and Grounds Fund — $300,000
- General Fund to Trails Maintenance Fund — $150,000
- General Fund (IT) to Building and Grounds Fund — $50,000
- General Basic Fund to Economic Development Fund — $42,500
- DC/SL UR Fund to General Basic Fund — $22,960
- Francis Sites Wetland Fund to Environmental Maintenance Fund — $5,000
- Environmental Maintenance Fund to Supplemental Environmental Fund — $5,000
Trails and Recreation
Tatanka Ska Trace
The agenda includes a resolution concerning Tatanka Ska Trace Phase V(a). The resolution contained in the packet describes a proposed 2.2-mile recreational trail segment following the former Iowa & Northwestern Railroad right-of-way from 252nd Avenue in Orleans east to 270th Avenue, connecting through existing trails to the Great Lakes Trail system.
The resolution supports the Dickinson County Trails Board's applications for qualifying construction grants and provides for local matching funds through the Trails Board development fund. It also states that Dickinson County would be responsible for maintenance funding, administered by the Trails Board, for not less than 20 years after completion.
The minutes identify the measure as Resolution 2026-14 and document its unanimous approval on June 23, 2026. This differs from the tentative agenda, which labels the item Resolution 2026-13.
Drainage and Infrastructure
Several drainage matters appear on the agenda, including claims, repairs, levies, and scheduling a future public hearing.
The attached minutes document the following completed actions:
- Approval of an ISG drainage claim for DD19 MT for $1,966.28.
- Approval of requested repairs to the DD62 tile, with county forces directed to complete the work.
- Approval of requested repairs to the DD2 main ditch, also directing county forces to complete the work.
- Approval of drainage levies for districts with negative balances, to be included on the September 2026 property tax statement for previously approved payments or projects.
- Scheduling of the JTDD61 and JTDD61 Branch 61 FEMA public hearing for July 28, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.
County Engineer Jeff Rose also provided an update on current county maintenance projects and the contractors to which they had been awarded.
Lake Park Shop Project
The County Engineer portion of the agenda includes selection of an architectural firm for the Lake Park Shop.
The minutes document subsequent approval of Beck Engineering, Inc. of Spirit Lake for $226,500, based on an estimated construction cost of $3 million to $3.5 million. The building improvement is identified for the FY2027 budget year.
Insurance
The agenda includes review and possible approval of the county's FY2027 insurance package renewal, with Russ Beckendorf listed for the item and a possible introduction to an ICAP representative.
The attached minutes document subsequent unanimous approval of the FY2027 insurance package renewal.
Claims and County Spending
The agenda includes approval of claims listed on the June 23, 2026 Claims Register. The detailed claims material reports total payments of $926,289.37.
Among the larger individual payments listed are:
- Crysteel Truck Equipment Inc. — $244,996.61
- Beck Excavating Inc. — $91,814.33
- Friendly Chevrolet — $60,390.00
- Beck Engineering Inc. — $59,036.25
- RDG Planning & Design — $50,000.00
- Stivers Ford Lincoln — $48,600.00
- Cooperative Energy Company — $42,657.43
- Midwest 911 Cars, Inc. — $36,693.76
- New Tec Equipment — $31,500.00
- YMCA of the Okobojis — $20,000.00
The minutes document subsequent approval of the June 23 claims listing by unanimous roll-call vote.
Other Board Business
The agenda also includes approval of the June 9, 2026 Board meeting minutes, general discussion, Board and committee reports, and adjournment.
The attached minutes document approval of the June 9 minutes and state that Board members provided Board and committee reports before the June 23 meeting adjourned at 10:40 a.m.
What to Watch
The meeting materials concentrate several consequential county decisions into one agenda. Key items for residents include the two land-use hearings, the FY2027 compensation and departmental budget framework, major interfund transfers, the Lake Park Shop project, and county commitments associated with the Tatanka Ska Trace trail.
The packet also establishes future-facing items beyond the June 23 meeting, including the July 28, 2026, 9:00 a.m. JTDD61/JTDD61 Branch 61 FEMA public hearing, FY2027 spending beginning July 1, and drainage levies slated for the September 2026 property tax statements.
Civic Translator summarized publicly available meeting materials from the Dickinson County Board of Supervisors.
