Legislature comes through for Linn with $8.9 million for AOB

Linn County will get $8.9 million in state money to renovate and expand the Administrative Office Building after all.

In the waning days of the 2010 legislative session, Iowa lawmakers approved the funding that had eluded the county for months. News of the latest appropriation came over from Des Moines this morning. The money comes from the sale of state bonds, the same as I-JOBS dollars.

Linn County Supervisor Linda Langston said the county should be able to open bids on the Administrative Office Building project by June.

“We'll get the money, but we'll have to go through some kind of application process,” Langston said. “It just goes through the Iowa Finance Authority, not the I-JOBS board.”

Linn County's supervisors are rejoicing in part because the unpleasant prospect of a giant bond referendum will no longer loom over a county election year.

Combining the $8.9 million with $2.2 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and roughly another million in various funds, the county should have enough for the renovation and expansion supervisors have wanted since last spring.

County offices have been at Westdale Mall since the flood. Steve & Barry's, the popular home of several county offices since spring 2009, needs to be completely rebuilt, an architect told Linn County supervisors in September.

At the Administrative Office Building, 930 First St. SW, county plans call for the Recorder's Office to move out of the basement, and for the Treasurer's Office, which gets 70 percent of the county's foot traffic, to move to the ground floor.