Supervisors approve, Humboldt City Council denies Destination Iowa funding application
Local resident Gary Jensen (third from front right side standing against the wall) spoke for many of the nearly 50 residents that attended a special Humboldt City Council meeting Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. The voices of the people not wanting the Reasoner Dam altered were heard and no action was taken by the city council on a resolution that could have garnered Humboldt County $4 million in Destination Iowa grant funds. Humboldt Independent photo by Kent Thompson.
By KENT THOMPSON
Back in early May, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors turned down a joint application to work with the city of Humboldt to apply for state grant funds to improve the river and change the dam. On Tuesday, it was the Humboldt City Council who turned the tables. After the Supervisors approved the application resolution on Monday by a 3-2 vote, approximately 50 people packed the Humboldt City Council chambers, most in support of keeping the Reasoner Dam as it is and fixing it. The application included option 2 from the Stantec study that was presented a year ago. It called for reducing the profile of the dam by seven feet, installing a rock ramp, adding wetland vegetation and providing bank stabilization, along with a riffle rapids, improved fishing habitat and eliminating the flooding risk from the river. The application also called for a $5.7 million public improvements to the riverfront along the former Linhares property, the Cottonwood Trail and along the riverbank of the West Fork. Read about the pro and con arguments and why Humboldt City Council members Joel Goodell and Matt Dominick decided against the resolution in this week's Humboldt Independent. Pick up your copy today or subscribe by clicking on the link at the top of this page and read what you are missing. It's delivered in print to your door and/or electronically to your favorite reading device.
