OTTUMWA — The Wapello County Board of Supervisors approved the county’s annual mental health affiliation on Tuesday, renewing the agreement with Southern Iowa Mental Health Center.

Mental health costs are a major part of the county’s budget. There was no question the supervisors would renew the partnership with SIMHC. The designation clears the way for the center to seek block grant funding.

“Without your designation, we are not going to be able to do that,” said Donna Crookham, the center’s director.

Board Chairman Jerry Parker used the affiliation to both praise the center’s work and underscore the relative lack of mental health services in southeast Iowa.

“There’s no reason at this time to [change],” he said. “Where’s your nearest competition?”

“I don’t know that we really have any competition,” Crookham responded.

Tuesday’s meeting was short. The board authorized Parker’s signature for a request for bids for the county’s substance abuse prevention and backed funding for a new bridge at Chillicothe. The substance abuse bids are another annual item.

“We don’t really do this; it just comes through us. But it’s something that we did last year and there was a question about … whether it needed to be on the agenda or not,” Parker said.

The agreement on the Chillicothe bridge secures $2 million from the state. County Engineer Brian Moore estimated the cost of the entire project at $5 million. Construction will not begin in the immediate future. There is still work to do with railroad access at the site and the county must also secure easements through the properties adjacent to the new bridge.

Moore previously said grants like this one are given with the understanding they will be used within a set period of time, as opposed to funding for projects that begin immediately.

The county also closed a portion of 120th Avenue during this week’s meeting. Supervisors considered the closure during a public hearing last fall, when residents complained about the impact of truck traffic on their lives. Parker said the action fits a narrow window on the calendar during which the roadway lacks the state’s designation as a haul route.

Matt Milner can be reached at (641) 683-5359 or via e-mail at mwmilner@mchsi.com