Government : Benton County Board of Supervisors Minutes 10/27/15

October 27, 2015 The Benton County Board of Supervisors met in regular session with Supervisors Frese, Hertle and Wiley present. The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. Moved by Wiley, seconded by Hertle, to approve the minutes of October 20, 2015. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried. Moved by Hertle, seconded by Wiley, to approve vendor checks numbered 216647 through 216770, payroll checks numbered 138427 through 138439, and ACH payments numbered 25567 through 25703, for payment. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried. Moved by Wiley, seconded by Hertle to approve hire of part-time correctional officer, Payton Bartling effective October 27, 2015 at $13.14 per hour. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried. Moved by Hertle, seconded by Wiley to sign Builder’s Risk Insurance Quote for new sand and salt storage building for Secondary Roads with a premium of $1,000.00. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried. The time of 9:15 .m. having arrived, the board opened the public hearing on a land use change requested by Dean and Taraca Brown. Marc Greenlee presented the technical information in accordance with the Benton County Agricultural Land Use Preservation Ordinance. The change in use is for approximately 1 acre located in the NW ¼ of the NE ¼ of 32-86-10. The request is to change the classification to a new non-ag use, specifically an auto repair shop in an existing building on the property. The land under review is not in production and the CSR of the site where the building is located is a 25. The driveway is existing and meets all county criteria, and the proposed use would not require a new septic or well. Greenlee stated the overall land use pattern in the immediate area is agriculture and residential, with the exception of the Vinton Municipal Airport, He advised that the County Comprehensive Plan states that a commercial use, which an auto repair shop would be a low-medium compatibility for the adjoining land uses. He gave the Board copies of a graph taken from the plan to illustrate the issue. He reported that further out in the area in question there are some commercial uses such as: a dog kennel, a gunsmith shop and future manufacturing, a veterinary clinic and two auto body repair shops. Vehicular traffic was also brought up as a consideration in the technical review portion of Greenlee’s report. It was noted that at this point it is unknown how much the traffic would increase but it was expected to increase. Greenlee shared that he had received an e-mail opposing the land use change from adjacent property owners, Gary and Jill Marlow, and Patricia Maynard POA Jill Marlow who were unable to attend the board meeting. The e-mail quoted the land use ordinance and comprehensive plan pointing out the lack of compatibility to the land use change. The e-mail stated the property owners didn’t have an issue with Dean and Taraca Brown but the policy and zoning issue could have lasting effects. Supervisor Frese questioned how many cars/trucks per week Dean would be working on. Dean stated he is not looking for high volume, he is going to be a 1 man operation; he has been doing side work for about 10 years; he is waiting on the land use change to go full-time doing this; he is trying to keep the area as clean as possible. He keeps the waste oil inside and has someone come and pick it up and recycles the antifreeze as well. He doesn’t want a lot of vehicles sitting out at his property, and he sits back off the road, tucked into his own property. Supervisor Wiley questioned if he was limiting his business since he was 1 mile off of a hard surface road, and said he believes Brown’s business would flourish if it was in a better spot. He doesn’t want to penalize someone for wanting to start a business the right way and asking for permission first. Supervisor Hertle stated he is questioning the compatibility with the neighbors. Wiley asked Dean to go to the Marlow’s and talk to them and see if there is something they can work out together. No action was taken. The board continued discussion on renting office space for DHS. Mike Elwick, Irene Holzwarth DHS Service Area Manager and Mindy Druschel Department of Human Service (DHS) Social Work Supervisor for Benton/Iowa/Tama County were present. Elwick stated there are 4 rooms in the proposal, 50 cars capacity parking lot with 2 handicapped parking spots available. The office building is handicapped accessible with a state of the art fire and smoke detection/alarm system. Heating and air-conditioning expenses will be sub-metered and billed monthly. Druschel stated this building would be a better fit for them then the Braile School since it would be all on the first level, safer for people and easier to have people find them. Elwick stated the property could be ready when the County would want it and he is not opposed to a long term lease. Wiley questioned what they would do with the current building and where it would be better off long term to lease versus own. Frese, would put the building up for sale and have Thompson write up a lease. No action was taken, County Attorney, Dave Thompson, is to make up a lease between the County and Mike Elwick The board continued discussion allowing all-terrain vehicles to operate on county secondary roads. Benton County Attorney David Thompson, Assistant County Attorney Emily Nydle, Benton County Engineer Myron Parizek, Dan Hutchinson, Cary Paul, Acil Meyer, Benton County Sheriff Deputy John Lindaman, John Fetzer, Deputy Sheriff Morgan Mehlert, and DNR Conservation Officer Ron Lane were present. Mehlert presented a letter from the Benton County Peace Officers Association. The letter presented concerns and reservations with the proposed ordinance from the perspective of law enforcement. Some of the concerns are; conflict with municipal codes, applicability of Iowa Code 321.20b for ATV’s and enforcement, enforceability, recreational use and safety. Ron Lane asked the supervisors to wait on a decision on the ordinance until they went to ISAC fall school. David Downing will be presenting on drafting legislation and help with language for the ordinance to not conflict with the Iowa Code. It was pointed out that dirt bikes and go-carts can be registered as an ATV so they could be drove in the current ordinance. John Fetzer questioned why ATV/UTV’s are not allowed when golf carts and bikes are allowed on roads and bikes do not pay road taxes. ATV’s have more safety measures than the others with roll bars, seat belts etc. Wiley stated that one of the requirements of the code is to evaluate the roads, which ones are suitable and which ones aren’t. Myron Parizek stated he has called other counties that have passed a similar ordinance, they moved through with the ordinance, no official reports were done. There is no current checklist or ideas on how to evaluate the roads. Insurance and safety concerns were addressed. No action was made. Board wants to wait till after ISAC fall school next month. Moved by Wiley, seconded by Hertle to approve the contract from Hatch Grading & Contracting, Inc. for the grading project # L-BE-01-15 on 61st St. Ln. and 33rd Avenue Drive, for $527,378.00. Voting aye were Frese, Hertle, and Wiley. Nays none. Motion carried. Wiley reported on Middle Cedar River Watershed Management Authority (WMA). They are talking about having Benton County being the lead county but they want it to be a legal entity of itself first. They are going to have the 28E re-written to make itself a legal entity. They will have a next meeting in November. Moved by Hertle, seconded by Wiley, to adjourn. All members voting aye thereon. Motion carried. ____________________________________ Donald H. Frese, Chairman ATTEST: _____________________________________ Gina Edler, Benton County Deputy Auditor Cick to view Vendor Publication List