Lone Tree school to host American Rescue Plan public session Oct. 12

By Paul Bowker
Posted 9/14/21

Lone Tree Community School has been chosen by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to be host of an upcoming American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) public session.

The county, which has been awarded …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Lone Tree school to host American Rescue Plan public session Oct. 12

Posted

Lone Tree Community School has been chosen by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to be host of an upcoming American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) public session.

The county, which has been awarded $29.3 million in federal ARPA funds, is holding a series of public-input sessions as the board considers projects and proposals to spend the money on.

The session in Lone Tree will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on October 12 in the school’s cafeteria. Use the S1 entrance.

The meeting is targeted for residents living in southern Johnson County, as well as residents of Lone Tree and Hills.

The Lone Tree session is the fifth of six public-input meetings. A seventh session, which will be scheduled for November, will seek public input on recommendations or wishes from the previous six sessions. After that, a full list will go to the Board of Supervisors, and the cut-down process will begin.

In the meantime, department managers from various county offices are pitching projects that range from the hiring of a temporary elections clerk to grant awards for nonprofit companies to a proposal of $5 million for the development of affordable housing projects.

In his weekly COVID-19 report to the board on September 8, Sam Jarvis, Community Health Division Manager, Johnson County Public health, said the number of coronavirus cases are rising and school districts are having difficulty.

Yet, he said, a majority of the cases in Johnson County are adults 22 and over.

“We are fighting a losing battle,” Jarvis said. “We are fighting with our hands tied behind our back.”

While a mask mandate remains in place for Johnson County government buildings, state law currently prohibits school districts and the University of Iowa from issuing mask or vaccine mandates.

As of September 12, Johnson County reported 337 cases and a positivity rate of 7.18%. Washington County reported 115 cases and a positivity rate of 16.74%.

The numbers in both counties have risen from the previous week.

Lisa Green-Douglass, a county supervisor, said business owners are still unaware of mask recommendations, including a worker at a large Hy-Vee store.

At its formal meeting September 9, the board approved the rezoning from agricultural to residential for a property located near the intersection of Black Diamond Road and Half Moon Avenue.