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Conservation bond passes UI students helped push a local environmental initiative past the required 60 percent on Tuesday, narrowly approving the Johnson County Conservation Bond with 61 percent of the vote. Most students voting at the Main Library and Johnson County Courthouse on Tuesday said they voted “yes” on the bond. “You can’t go wrong with good environment,” UI sophomore Nick Arvidson said. “It seems like a good idea to me.” The $20 million bond — which received 38,988 votes with all precincts reporting — will allow the Johnson County Conservation Board to buy land with taxpayer money for the purpose of preservation and recreation. The new measure will cost Johnson County homeowners around $2.20 per month for the next 20 years. Johnson County farmland owners will chip in with 21 cents per acre per year. The Conservation Board will only buy land from willing sellers. Harry Graves, the director of the Conservation Board, said no land will be condemned in the process and land will not be purchased for more than its appraised value. The county will not have priority over other hopeful buyers, he said. “It’s important that we do this now before property values go up,” Graves said. “Conservation is always an afterthought. This is a reasonable thing.” He hopes to acquire land that will extend hiking and bike trails and provide connections to trails as far north as Waterloo. He also thinks the initiative will protect water quality of Iowa’s rivers and streams. Although he could not specify which land will be acquired, he said a poll from October 2007 provided evidence that desired land will become available. Current Iowa tax laws allow landowners to write off up to $100,000 on income tax on land that is sold for conservation — something Graves said will be a good incentive for the board. Those who opposed the bond, though, say the money could have been used for other pressing concerns. “Now is not the right time for this bond,” said Russel Meade, the president of the Johnson County Farm Bureau. He cited issues such as flood recovery and the new jail as better uses of tax money. But, he said, the bureau “will continue to keep an open dialogue with the Johnson County Conservation Board to make sure Johnson County’s conservation needs are met.” Most UI students saw the bond as a positive use of resources. “It’s something we can deal with,” UI student Bradley Holden said. “I’m not an environmentalist, but I like my environment. I think it’s a step in the right direction.” |