Government : Benton County Board of Supervisor Minutes June 10, 2025

June 10, 2025

The Benton County Board of Supervisors met in regular session with Supervisors Seeman, Tippett and Volz present. Chairman Seeman called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. at the Benton County Service Center. Members of the public are invited to join in during open session or watch the livestream at https://www.youtube.com/bentoncountyiowa. Full Resolutions will be available in the Auditor's office and at: www.bentoncountyia.gov

Tippett moved/Volz seconded: To approve the agenda. Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

Volz moved/Tippett seconded: To approve the minutes of June 10, 2025. Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

Volz moved/Tippett seconded: To approve payroll checks numbered 143794 through 143793, ACH Deposits 61370 through 61538, vendor checks 253957 through 253963, claims 253964 through 254118. Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

Tippett moved/Volz seconded: To approve and authorize chairman to sign the East Central Iowa council of Governments EICOG purchase of FY 26 Service Contract

Volz moved/Tippett seconded: To Approve 28E Law Contract with the City of Keystone for $16,900 a year to be paid quarterly not to exceed 260 hours. Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

Tippett moved/Volz seconded: To approve and authorize chairman's signature on the Cost Advisory Agreement for FY 24 to be used in FY 26 budgeting. Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

The time of 9:15 a.m. having arrived, and this being the time and date set for a land use hearing for Destructible Ink of the SE ¼ of the NE ¼ Section 12-86-11. The owner of the land in is Farmtastic 3,LLC. which consists of Mark Kotouc, Wade Hennings and Dustin Schirm. There were about 50 members of the public present, along with Destructible Ink representatives and Mark Kotouc. Matt Even presented the technical information with the Benton County Agricultural Land Use Preservation Ordinance. Even stated the applicants would like to change the use of 28 acres to allow for a wind turbine blade recycling and storage facility. This site is located in Cedar Township , approximately 2 miles northeast of Mt. Auburn. It was previously a chicken/egg farm and is currently being used as a storage facility. This ground has a CSR of 64 and not considered high quality farm ground. This property is surrounded by row crops on all sides with dwellings located immediately northeast and southeast of the property. There is an existing driveway and was reported by secondary roads that it conforms to county policies. The previous septic system that was for the former egg farm was properly abandoned in 2017. If any existing or new plumbing fixtures are utilized, a private sewage disposal system will need to be installed. There are two private water wells in place currently. Legal notices were sent out to adjacent property owners published in the papers. Benton County Environmental Health and Land Use Department has received several inquiries regarding potential environmental hazards and permitting, so they contacted the DNR. If blades will be cut up in an outdoor space, the area must be covered by an NPDES General Permit 1 to allow the discharge of stormwater from this area. The grinding process its typically covered by an air quality construction permit. Primary potential risks is from airborne particles, mainly composted of fiberglass dust, carbon fiber dust and epoxy resin particles. Other issues include microplastic pollution and potential fire hazards.

Even explained the major goal the people of Benton County hoped to achieve when creating the land use plan was to protect agricultural land in the county. Other goals included providing for the orderly growth of urban, industrial and agricultural lands so that they develop in harmony with each other and to encourage the development of the commercial and industrial businesses in defined areas of the county. Land use decisions based solely on the economic system can easily lead to incompatible uses. According to the compatibility of the land uses table within this plan, heavy industrial is incompatible with agricultural and residential rural areas. This adversely affects a third party; be it an individual, or society as a whole. These effects often lead to economic hardship, or most often a decline in property value. This proposal is not consistent with the preservation of agricultural land and orderly development. There are serious concerns about this proposal's effects. These conditions for approval have not been met, and it is recommended by the Environmental Health and Land Use staff to deny for this reason.

At this time, Jared Sanford along with Cody Earle, representatives from Destructible Ink were able to present by zoom and speak in person about the plans for their project. They said their company is focused on end of life solutions for renewable energy, specifically turbine blades. They are needing short term storage in a remote area. All of the shredding would occur inside with plenty of airflow. They said it wouldn't affect the County Landfill. Earle explained that there would be approximately 8 trucks a day to

haul the blades to this location. It would start in July and go through September. This brought up the conversation of why the need for short-term vs long-term storage. The board also opened up for public comments and questions. There were numerous concerns from nearby neighbors and farmers about the dust mitigation and the existing processing operations and commissioning for disposals of these blades. Most voiced environmental concerns and safety hazards along with the impact of the weight and added truck traffic on the county roads. They were asked how they could guarantee the dust particles wouldn't contaminate nearby grain bins and water streams that lead into the river. After a lengthy two hour discussion it was suggested by legal counsel to finish up the public comments.

Tippett moved/Volz seconded to close the public hearing at 11:09 a.m. Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

Tippett moved: To deny the request for the application for land use change as the proposed new non-agricultural use is inconsistent with the purpose of Ordinance 24. The proposed use is an incompatible use that could materially alter the stability of the overall land use pattern in the area. The proposed use would have no doubt impact adjacent property owners, whether that impact be in property values, farming operations, or overall enjoyment of the land. I do believe that these gentlemen will be successful in marketing their property, but I don't believe that this project is a good project for Benton County. Volz adding, that based on what he's heard today, he didn't believe this would be the way to do it, and he seconded the motion. Tippett and Volz voting aye, Seeman voting nay, because he wanted more information. Motion carried.

Volz moved/Tippett seconded: To adjourn meeting at 11:15 a.m. Tippett, Seeman and Volz voting aye. Motion carried.

_____________________________

Tracy Seeman, Chairman

ATTEST: _________________________________

Hayley Rippel, Benton County Audito