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Ryan Baldridge was appointed first assistant Webster County attorney Tuesday.
The Webster County Board of Supervisors also voted on a $1.6 million loan for a new rail spur at the ag-industrial park west of Fort Dodge, and received bids for the Law Enforcement Center remodeling project.
The newest member of the office, Baldridge has proven himself to be willing to put forth the extra effort needed for the job, said Webster County Attorney Jennifer Benson.
“He’s an invaluable member of our office,” said Benson. “He manages a very large caseload, and he’s also taken a lead role in civil matters. He has shown he is competent to handle the duties and responsibilities of the county attorney in my absence. He’s handled major cases and investigations when I’ve been in trial or out of town.”
Benson said the rest of her staff support the recommendation.
“Ryan is particularly suited to this job because he’s trusted and respected by law enforcement,” she added.
Baldridge has been with the county attorney since August 2013. His promotion comes after Benson, the former first assistant, was elected as county attorney to replace Cori Kuhn Coleman.
Coleman resigned in August 2014.
Baldridge worked in private practice in Fort Dodge after receiving his law degree from Creighton University and passing the bar exam in September 2012.
Baldridge’s new position comes with a salary of $82,450, or 85 percent of the county attorney’s salary.
Benson now plans to hire another attorney, bringing the total number of attorneys in the office back up to five, to fill the vacancy left when Coleman resigned.
Rail spur
The board voted to authorize the chair to sign a letter of acceptance of a $1.6 million loan for a rail spur connecting the Canadian National Railroad to part of the ag-industrial park known as Iowa’s Crossroads of Global Innovation.
The loan to Webster County from the state’s Railroad Revolving Loan and Grant Program was approved by the Iowa Transportation Commission Oct. 14. It is a no-interest loan that must be paid back over 10 years.
This doesn’t mean something has to be built right away. The county has about three years to use the money, said Dennis Plautz, chief executive officer of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance.
“They’re not obligated to the money until such time that they design and actually construct it. It would be next summer at least,” Plautz said. “There’s just some steps to go through.”
“If the opportunity comes up to use it for the rail spur, we’ll use it,” Supervisor Keith Dencklau said.
The spur would provide access to the railroad for portions of the park west of Cargill, Plautz said, that are not currently served by rail.
The Union Pacific Railroad also serves the ag-industrial park, with rails along the east side running north and south. The site is one of the few outside of a metropolitan area at which the tracks of two major railroads cross. Local officials have repeatedly touted the crossing of the two railroads as a major asset of the park.
LEC renovation
Renovation work on the Law Enforcement Center will have to be pushed back slightly.
The board is scheduled to receive plans and drawings today from Haila Architecture for remodeling of the second floor courtrooms.
The supervisors hoped to hold a public hearing on the plans Nov. 25, then receive bids on Dec. 4 and approve bids on Dec. 9 so construction could begin by Dec. 15.
This wouldn’t allow enough time to advertise the hearing as needed, said Webster County Auditor Carol Messerly. Instead, the hearing will be held Dec. 2, which will likely push the practical start date of the construction to the first of next year.
Supervisor Mark Campbell said the board created the timetable to ensure the work got done in a timely manner.
“This project – the conversation started almost a year ago,” he said.