Hardin County News

Friends of Calkins Nature Area Chili & Soup Supper
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Ellsworth Community College

Join the Friends of Calkins Nature Area for their annual Chili & Soup Supper Fundraiser at Ellsworth Community College. Enjoy guest speakers, food, and a silent auction.

The evening’s schedule of activities will be as follows:

6:00 pm Speaker Jerry Kluver, Horticultural Specialist for HyVee
Join Jerry in the ECC Auditorium as he presents and answers plant and gardening questions (cost for speaker is included in ticket price).

6:30 pm Supper
Supper includes chili, Wisconsin cheese soup, and a potato bar in the cafeteria.

Following dinner the fundraiser will commence with a  silent auction, raffle, and live auction.

The cost for the meal is $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for children 12 and younger.  Tickets will be available at the door or you may purchase them ahead of time by contacting Calkins Nature Center at 641.648.9878.  The money raised this year will be used to help fund the educational reptile and amphibian building project.

We greatly appreciate the support and hope to see you all there!

 

New Time of Transfer Requirements

On July 1, 2009 the Iowa Department of Natural Resources implemented Senate File 261 that requires every building or home with a septic system have that septic system inspected prior to transfer of an interest in the property by deed or by other recorded documents.  This new law is codified in Iowa Code Section 455B.172(11). The purpose of the Time of Transfer inspections is to get failing systems repaired and to protect home buyers, the environment and public health.  Inspections will systematically eliminate illegal septic systems, with primary focus on those draining to the ditch, field or streams. 

The Time of Transfer requirements imposed by Iowa law do contain certain exceptions for inspection at the time of recording instruments of conveyance.  Among these exceptions are specific exemptions allowed by agreement with a jurisdiction’s local Board of Health.

The Hardin County Board of Health has formally adopted Agreement Forms for the exemption in certain circumstances from the Time of Transfer inspection required by Iowa Code Section 455B.172(11):  These exceptions include:

  1. Inability to perform inspection at the time of transfer due to inclement weather (such as frozen ground); and
  2. Exemption from the inspection requirements entirely if the Buyer is planning to demolish all structures serviced by the septic system.

Agreement forms are available for download below and on the Environmental Health department web page. There is also a list of Certified Inspectors and Septic System Installers.

For a complete list of Certified Inspectors search the DNR site at http://www.iowadnr.gov/tot.html.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact any member of the Board of Health or Lori Kadner, Sanitarian, at 641-858-5058 or by e-mail.

Time of Transfer Binding Acknowledgment (18 KB) 

Time of Transfer Inspection Waiver for Building Demolition (18 KB) 

Certified Inspectors (105 KB) 

Septic System Installers (110 KB) 

Supervisors to Appoint Boards and Commissions

The Hardin County Board of Supervisors will be appointing persons interested in serving on several county boards and commissions at their organizational meeting on January 4, 2010. The Supervisors will be making appointments, or re-appointments, to the following boards:

  • Zoning Adjustment Board
    - 1 five-year term
    - meet as needed on 3rd Monday of the month
    - considers appeals, requests for zoning variances and special permits

  • Board of Condemnation
    - 28 one-year terms
    - meet when necessary to set land values in condemnation proceedings
    - composed of 7 business people, 7 real estate people, 7 farmers, and 7 property owners

  • Mental Health/Mental Retardation (MH/MR) Advisory Board
    - 3 three-year terms
    - meet at least quarterly
    - assists in the development and review of the County Mental Health Plan

  • Case Management Advisory Board
    - 3 three-year terms
    - meet at least quarterly
    - advise the Board of Supervisors and Case Management Department in all matters pertaining to the needs and services of any person who is receiving Medicaid Targeted Case Management services in Hardin County

  • Pioneer Cemetery Commission
    - 1 three-year term
    - meet monthly during the summer months
    - responsible for the preservation, repair, and maintenance of designated Pioneer cemeteries

  • Regional Revolving Loan Fund Committee
    - 2 one-year terms
    - responsible for approving applications for loan on funds in a regional investment pool

  • Enterprise Zone Commission
    - 1 ten-year term
    - determines eligibility and approval of business for benefits in an enterprise zone

Anyone interested in serving on these boards and commissions is asked to complete a Board Appointment Application, which can be downloaded below.

The application must be completed and returned to:

Hardin County Auditor's Office
1215 Edgington Ave, Ste. 1
Eldora, Iowa 50627

Applications must be recieved by 4:30pm on December 15, 2009. Please contact the Board of Supervisors at 641-939-8219 with any questions.

Board Appointment Application (234 KB) 

 

Clerk of Court's Office Experience Reduced Hours

The Hardin County Clerk of Court's Office will be changing hours beginning in December. Effective, December 15th, the Clerk hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays will be 8am to 2:30pm.

The office will also be closed on the following days:

Friday, Dec 4
Thursday, Dec 24
Thursday, Dec 31
Friday, Jan 15
Monday, Feb 15
Friday, March 12
Friday March 26
Friday, April 2
Friday, May 28
Friday, June 18

More information can be found at http://www.iowacourts.gov/. If you have questions, you may call 641-858-2328.

H1N1 Vaccination Clinics Planned

Greenbelt Home Care & Hardin County Public Health will be holding an H1N1 Vaccination Clinic on Wednesday, Dec 2nd from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. This clinic will be held at the Ackley Fire Station, 517 Main St. in Ackley.

A second clinic is planned for Wednesday, Dec 9th from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm, at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls. This clinic will be held at Gentle Student Center, 1100 College Ave.

The H1N1 Clinic is open to the following population: 

  • Pregnant women 
  • Persons who live with or provide care for infants aged younger than 6 months (eg. Parents, siblings, and daycare providers)
  • Health-care and emergency medical services personnel who have direct contact with patients or infectious material
  • Children aged 6 months to 24 years and 
  • Persons aged 25-64 years who have chronic medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications.

 - Chronic medical conditions include chronic pulmonary (including asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension), renal, hepatic, cognitive, neurologic/neuromuscular, hematologic, or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus) or immunosuppression (including immunosuppression caused by medications or by human immunodeficiency virus).

No appointment is necessary.  If you have questions, please call Greenbelt Home Care at 641-939-8444.

CodeRED System in Hardin County

Hardin County has contracted with Emergency Communications Network to license its CodeRED high-speed notification solution. The CodeRED system provides City and County officials the ability to quickly deliver messages to targeted areas or the entire County.

Douglas Riggs, Hardin County Emergency Management Director, cautioned that such systems are only as good as the telephone number database supporting them. "If your phone number is not in the database, you will not be called." One of the reasons the CodeRED system was selected is it gives individuals and businesses the ability to add their own phone numbers directly into the system's database; this is an extremely important feature. “No one should automatically assume his or her phone number is included,” Riggs said urging all individuals and businesses to click the logo above to the "CodeRED Community Notification Enrollment" page.

Required information includes:

  • first and last name
  • street address (physical address, no P.O. boxes)
  • city
  • state
  • zip code
  • primary phone number
  • additional phone numbers can be entered as well.

All businesses should register, as well as all individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, who have changed their phone number or address within the past year, and those who use a cellular phone or VoIP phone as their primary number.

Riggs explained, "CodeRED allows geographically based delivery, which means street addresses are required to ensure emergency notification calls are received by the proper individuals in a given situation. The system works for cell phones too, but we need to have an associated street address to provide relevant messages."

Riggs stated, "CodeRED gives those who want to be included an easy and secure method for inputting information. The data collected will only be used for emergency notification purposes."

Questions should be directed to the Hardin County Emergency Management Agency by email or at 641-939-8132


Hardin County Flags Available!

Hardin County Flags are now available for purchase. The cost for each flag is $50. Please contact the Auditor's Office at 641-939-8108 to order.