IOWA CITY

Sue Dvorsky of Coralville, a former chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, and Nathan Mueller, a Solon resident who is Assistant Director of the Johnson County Department of Planning, Development and Sustainability, were selected by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors as members of a temporary redistricting commission.

State legislation is moving Johnson County’s Board of Supervisors from five at-large seats to five seats based on geographic districts. Only one supervisor seat is available for each of those districts.

All seats, on staggered four-year terms, will be up for election in 2026 once the districts are approved.

The third seat on the redistricting commission went to Thomas McInerney, an Iowa City architect who was named by Johnson County Republicans.

All five current supervisors (Chair Jon Green, Vice Chair V Fixmer-Oraiz, Rod Sullivan, Lisa Green-Douglass and Mandi Remington) are members of the Democratic Party. Sullivan, Green-Douglass and Remington each won four-year terms in the November 2024 election, but now face another election in 2026.

The districts are expected to be drawn up by the end of 2025.

MidAmerican Pipeline

At its May 8 formal session, the Board approved a professional services agreement with Snyder & Associates, a civil engineering firm with an office in Cedar Rapids, to conduct inspections of a natural gas pipeline extension near Hills that is in the works for MidAmerican Energy.

The extension will cover 7.1 miles in a segment that will stretch from MidAmerican’s valve station southwest of Hills to Iowa City south of Highway 1.

Johnson County will be reimbursed by MidAmerican Energy for the inspection services provided by Snyder & Associates.

Mobile Home Issues

The Board heard from a number of manufactured home residents, who brought up issues ranging from water problems to rental increases. The issues, raised by residents of the parks, have come up before.

At one point, the county arranged for an emergency shipment of bottled water.

“It pisses me off that we have to keep returning to this week after week, month after month,” Chair Jon Green said. “I am personally committed to doing everything I can to come up with creative ways to address the deficiencies. It’s unconscionable that the ownership of these parks view the residents as a financial resource to be plundered rather than customers or human beings with dignity and rights.”

Board Action

The Board approved a Spring 2025 budget amendment that includes $1.4 million in additional expenditures and more than $440,000 in additional revenues. Additional spending includes $407,000 for County Public Health and $400,000 for secondary roads.

The Board approved a change order of $94,401 with McComas-Lacina Construction for the installation of heaters in the Administration Building renovation.

The Board approved a $5,000 Quality of Life agreement with Friends of Coralville Lake.

The Board approved a $125,000 juvenile diversion contract with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services for the Juvenile Pre-Charge Diversion Expansion Project.

The Board approved a number of amendments to the Johnson County Human Rights Ordinance.

Next meeting:

The Board’s next formal session is at 9 a.m. May 15.