Lee County voters soon will take to the polls for the first time this year to vote on the fate of the county health department building.
A bond referendum will be May 2 to decide whether to allow the county to borrow up to $2.6 million to construct a new Lee County Health Department building.
At least 60 percent of county residents must vote in favor of the measure for it to pass.
The bond would be paid off during the next 20 years through a property tax increase.
Increases in property taxes per $100,000 valuation include: $7.57 annually for residential property owners; $14.69 annually for agriculture; $12.24 for commercial.
The department is renting a 104-year-old building on Avenue H in Fort Madison for $4,400 per month.
Health department administrator Julie Schilling said they long have outgrown the building and could minimize operating costs in a new facility.
"The money we are spending on rent is money we can spend investing in our own building," Schilling said at a supervisors meeting last year.
In the current building, visitors in wheelchairs must enter the office through an adjacent building.
If the bond issue is approved, the proposed 12,891 square-foot building would be built on county-owned property next to the sheriff's department off U.S. 61 in Montrose.
More than 9,000 square feet would be office space, with 2,500 square feet sectioned off for storage.
Health department services include in-home skilled nursing visits for senior citizens, educating the community on food safety and emergency preparedness, providing immunizations and flu shots, health care for children and pregnant women and wellness initiatives.
Also on the May ballot, voters will be asked to select a county attorney to serve the remainder of a four-year term expiring in 2010. Lee County Attorney Ross Braden, appointed by supervisors in February, will be on the ballot, along with assistant county attorney Clinton Boddicker.
