County engineer recommends short-term lease with Bernard Rescue to keep services in Bernard; staff to return with draft lease
January 02, 2026 | Dubuque County, Iowa
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County Engineer Todd presented a detailed analysis of options for maintaining road and maintenance services to the Bernard area and recommended negotiating a short‑term lease with Bernard Rescue while staff studies longer‑term consolidation.
Todd summarized two cost frames: an "internal" cost of servicing Bernard from the county’s Key West facility (deadhead travel and equipment/operator time) versus an "external" cost represented by a lease payment if the county used space at Bernard Rescue. "I would try and remove emotion from this decision and just look at it purely as a financial decision," Todd said, explaining the assumptions used for winter and summer maintenance and noting the use of conservative figures for modeling.
Todd told the board he used $500 per month as a conservative lease figure for the analysis and said that figure represents a worst‑case scenario for comparison: "I use the quote, unquote worst case. Potentially, we can negotiate something less," he said. He estimated a short lease term of between one and five years to allow time for a deeper analysis about whether to consolidate service in Fillmore and build supporting facilities there.
A supervisor who supports the lease approach said a roughly three‑year lease "would give us the opportunity to look at the Fillmore situation effectively and ... make that decision," and another supervisor emphasized the board’s interest in being a partner with volunteer fire/EMS providers in the area.
A different supervisor stated clearly, "I have no interest in building a shop in Fillmore," signaling that at least one board member prefers leasing over immediate capital investment. Todd said he will reach out to Bernard Rescue to draft a lease and bring that draft back to the board for further discussion.
The board did not take a formal, final vote to approve a lease at this meeting; instead, members directed staff to negotiate a draft lease and return with the document and any related analysis at a future meeting.
Todd summarized two cost frames: an "internal" cost of servicing Bernard from the county’s Key West facility (deadhead travel and equipment/operator time) versus an "external" cost represented by a lease payment if the county used space at Bernard Rescue. "I would try and remove emotion from this decision and just look at it purely as a financial decision," Todd said, explaining the assumptions used for winter and summer maintenance and noting the use of conservative figures for modeling.
Todd told the board he used $500 per month as a conservative lease figure for the analysis and said that figure represents a worst‑case scenario for comparison: "I use the quote, unquote worst case. Potentially, we can negotiate something less," he said. He estimated a short lease term of between one and five years to allow time for a deeper analysis about whether to consolidate service in Fillmore and build supporting facilities there.
A supervisor who supports the lease approach said a roughly three‑year lease "would give us the opportunity to look at the Fillmore situation effectively and ... make that decision," and another supervisor emphasized the board’s interest in being a partner with volunteer fire/EMS providers in the area.
A different supervisor stated clearly, "I have no interest in building a shop in Fillmore," signaling that at least one board member prefers leasing over immediate capital investment. Todd said he will reach out to Bernard Rescue to draft a lease and bring that draft back to the board for further discussion.
The board did not take a formal, final vote to approve a lease at this meeting; instead, members directed staff to negotiate a draft lease and return with the document and any related analysis at a future meeting.
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