County Supervisors To Try One Evening Meeting A Month On Trial Basis

Mills County residents who are unable to attend weekly Tuesday morning meetings of the Mills County Board of Supervisors will soon have an evening option.

Beginning in February, the supervisors’ first meeting of the month will begin at 6 p.m. in the Mills County Annex building, 403 Railroad Ave. in Glenwood.

“For these six months, we just voted on it, at least for a trial period, we’re going to have one nightly meeting a month at 6 p.m. ,” said Mills County Supervisor Jack Sayers. “Hopefully, people come, people attend. If not, the option is still there. This just gives an option for taxpayers to get on the agenda and come speak to us.”

To avoid potential overtime costs, Sayers said when possible, meeting agendas will be set so county employees needing to address the board on departmental matters can do so during the Tuesday morning meetings instead of coming in the evening. The “normal” Tuesday morning meetings begin at 8:15 a.m. in the supervisors’ board room on the main floor of the Mills County Courthouse.

The supervisors will decide after the 6-month trial period if they’ll continue the evening meetings.

“If nobody shows up to them, I don’t foresee us doing it longer than six months,” Sayers said.

The decision to have one evening meeting a month was made during the supervisors’ 2025 reorganizational meeting Thursday, Jan. 2. Sayers made the motion to give the evening meetings a try and it was unanimously approved.

Lonnie Mayberry was elected to serve as chair of the board of supervisors in 2025. Sayers was chosen vice chair.

Additionally, supervisor appointments and nominations to nearly 40 local agencies and non-profits were made. Sayers is the nominee to represent Mills County on the Golden Hills RC&D Board of Directors with Richard Crouch  agreeing to be the alternate. Sayers’nomination came after Golden Hills RC&D Interim Director Lisa Fox said  last week his age (18) doesn’t disqualify him from being considered for a position on the non-profit agency’s board, contrary to a public statement made in December by Carol Vinton, former member of the board of supervisors.

Sayers’ age did come into play, however, regarding another matter on the agenda for the supervisors’ regular meeting that took place after the reorganizational meeting. Sayers abstained from voting to approve liquor licenses for the Glenwood Golf Course and Bodega Victoriana winery because he’s not old enough to legally drink alcohol.

“I will abstain from this vote at this time because I’m fine with residents drinking, but since I cannot drink, I do not want to, myself, approve liquor licenses, so I abstain from this vote,” he said. “Moving forward, I would like  to see the agenda’s minutes be one thing and liquor licenses separate.”

Sayers was making reference to the liquor licenses being included in a “consent agenda” with minutes from previous board meetings.

At the conclusion of the regular meeting, Sayers announced he’ll be available at the Mills County Courthouse on Mondays and Thursdays from Noon to 5 p.m. for residents who would like to discuss matters of concern. As a college student, Sayers said his classes are all taken online, giving him the flexibility to arrange his own schedule.

All Mills County Supevisors’ meetings are available for online viewing, both live and on a delayed basis, on YouTube. A link to the meetings livestream can be found on the Board of Supervisors’ page on the Mills County, Iowa website – millscountyia.gov.
In addition to the livestreaming of meetings, Sayers said he would like to explore the cost and feasability of the county offering a zoom option that would allow people to make a 3-minute statement from their phone or computer during the public comment portion of a meeting. He said it’s an option currently offered for Pottawattamie County Board Of Supervisors’ meetings.