By Sam Parsons

The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors met this morning and once again discussed the city of Oskaloosa’s possible annexation of land near Leighton for the purpose of building a new airport. The city, in partnership with the Iowa DOT, has asked the board of supervisors to sign a letter of support for the annexation, but the board tabled the signing of the letter in multiple recent meetings. 

Supervisor Chuck Webb said that county engineer Andrew McGuire was currently working on finding an alternate route to present to the FAA because they had not yet identified a suitable replacement for 220th street, but until that route was found, he would not vote in favor of signing the letter. The Board of Supervisors reiterated that they lacked the authority to unilaterally block the annexation, and supervisor Steve Wanders said that until the board receives more information, he wanted the board to table it again.

Board chair Mark Gronendyk said that the public wanted to know where the board stood.

The board of supervisors jointly agreed to say that the county was “not a party” to the annexation and that the negotiations are specifically between the city of Oskaloosa and the Iowa DOT. The city of Oskaloosa has a regular council meeting scheduled for tonight; however, there is not an item on the agenda related to this annexation.