Government : Benton County Supervisors deal with ditches, mowing, and weed control and etc.

Benton County is taking applications for a roadside manager/weed commissioner. Wayne Siela approached the Benton County Supervisors asking them to postpone the hiring. He shared with the supervisors that the job description needed to be better defined. He also shared the areas of conflict and places things that should be improved. He shared concern that there were not any farmers on the committee in charge of hiring the next manager/commissioner that would deal with what concerns farmers. He also said that he felt a college education isn't as important in this job as understanding and working in the field. He repeatedly asked to have that requirement removed from the hiring position for this job.

It was explained by Kirsten Nelson, Benton County Human Resources, that this is part of the normal procedure when listing a job to include educational qualifications as part of the application. The position listed reads, "Bachelor's Degree in biology, botany, horticulture, wildlife management, or related field and at least two (2) years of related work experience, OR** any equivalent of training, education, and experience that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities."

Supervisor Rick Primmer said that the county has over 400 miles of roads to maintain, which results in 800 miles of ditches. There was discussion about weeds, visibility at intersections, and whose responsibility it was to maintain the ditches. He suggested that the county should hire more help to take care of the need properly. Currently, after the new hire, there are only two people on staff to take care of the need. Supervisor Gary Bierschenk agreed with Siela's suggestion that farmers should be represented on the board in charge of hiring someone for this position. Nelson felt that though she wasn't a farmer that she understood the concerns on both sides of the issue. Supervisor Tracy Seeman said that the applications will still continue to be accepted.

Siela said that the county has more than 400,000 acres of agricultural land and that agriculture is our business, therefore farmers should be involved in making decisions that affect their land. Several weeds affect farmers and are found in the ditches ultimately affecting the field. Siela mentioned thisles and milkweed and mentioned how the ability to see at intersections is sometimes affected.

On the flip side, Jerry Greif approached the board claiming that the county damaged his ditch west of Oak Grove Church by mowing after he had already done so. County Engineer, Myron Parizek said that they would no longer mow their property. Greif would have liked the county to repair the alleged damage. Parizek explained that the county was simply doing there job and did not intend to cause damage. Primmer asked if they start to do this for one resident, where would it stop.

County Attorney Thompson presented information to the board concerning the settlement with Janssen concerning opioids. With the settlement, the county will receive funds over the next 18 years that Thompson estimates will be $700,000 in future payments. The county received its first check for $13,884.81 Along with the awarded settlement, there are restrictions for the use of the money. He suggested the appointment of a committee to oversee the funds distribution. The supervisors approved appointing a committee.

The supervisors approved bids for the sheriff's department for the purchase of three vehicles at $38,820 each from Thys Motor Company in Belle Plaine. The vehicles will be ordered in October and are set to arrive in December.

The supervisors also approved bids for Secondary Roads for the purchase of two Freightliner trucks with a total of $329,892.