Webster City- A plan is being finalized by the Hamilton County Supervisors for replacing the Briggs Woods Conference Center in-house food service with a catering service from Ames. Schonert Corporate Catering is being selected to help cutting the costs for the center. Adam Schonert of the catering firm was introduced Tuesday morning by Supervisor April Ely. The Schonert firm will be responsible for handling the catering for weddings, business meetings and other Briggs Woods Conference Center events. This August, Hamilton County will eliminate five full time food service employees and part-time kitchen staff with the in-service ceasing August 1st. Briggs Woods Conference Center is not closing. The center has been facing financial challenges due to the state’s 2 percent cap on county and city property taxes to take effect next week on July 1st.
The Schonert Corporate Catering firm serves anywhere from 10 to 1,000 guests in a 60-mile radius. The firm has also been involved with catering events at Iowa State University and Reiman Gardens. The menu pricing is close to the current Briggs Woods Conference Center rates, making the transition mutually beneficial. It’s estimated that the Briggs Woods Conference Center will lose about $275,000 in taxpayer funds by the end of the fiscal year next week. Hamilton County’s 2026-27 budget includes an estimated $138,000 cut to the center’s budget. The catering service is part of a broader cost reduction measure across various county departments in the next fiscal year. The finalization agreement between Hamilton County and with Schonert Corporate Catering will be announced soon.
In other matters at Tuesday’s supervisor session, the Calhoun Burns design firm will be in charge of the supplemental design agreement for the Williams Overpass project. The overpass was constructed over 90 years ago located on Hamilton County Road R-75. There was the approval of the Hazard Mitigation Plan for Hamilton County worked out by the MIDAS Council of Governments. The Progressive Structures of Luxemberg,Iowa submitted their bid of $1,200,106 for the replacement work on two bridges on Parker Avenue northwest of Jewell. The replacment work will involve a bridge constructed in 1923 and the other in 1920.
A resolution for the C and C Turkey Addition was approved by the Hamilton County Supervisors Tuesday. Lee Carlson of Stratford was appointed as Hamilton County Medical Examiner Investigator. The board also approved the library contracts for the Fiscal Year 2027. Libraries in Ellsworth, Stanhope, Stratford and Williams will each receive $9,230, the Montgomery Memorial Library in Jewell will receive $13,901 and Kendall Young Library in Webster City will receive $20,178 from Hamilton County.