Jake brake issue returns
The county supervisors will not name Greene County as a Second Amendment Sanctuary County.
The idea was raised for discussion at the Aug. 30 meeting, but not placed on the Sept. 7 agenda. A member of the press suggested at the outset of the latter meeting that if there were to be discussion, the supervisors should hold a public hearing to give the public an opportunity to be heard.
County attorney Thomas Laehn told the board that 13 Iowa counties have adopted resolutions naming their counties as sanctuaries where federal laws they perceive as violating the Second Amendment guarantee of the right to bear arms do not apply. Laehn said none of the resolutions he reviewed specifically defined “sanctuary county.”
He said he would have no legal concerns if the board passed a resolution expressing support for the Second Amendment or opposing state or federal laws that violate the U.S. Constitution. He said, though, that resolutions being adopted elsewhere “lack clarity”
The consensus of the supervisors was to support Laehn and county sheriff Jack Williams in not enforcing any unconstitutional law.
Williams reported semi-truck drivers are again using unmuffled engine brakes (jake brakes) as they approach the stop sign southbound on County Road P-29 at Highway 4. He said he has assigned deputies to address the problem but alerted the supervisors he’ll request a jake brake ordinance if the problem persists.
The supervisors were one vote shy of approving a jake brake ordinance in 2015 due to issues at the same intersection. The proposed ordinance would have banned the use of jake brakes between 10 pm and 6 am. Shane Olson, who lives near that intersection, had collected 30 signatures on a petition supporting the ordinance, but when it came time to approve the first reading of the ordinance, it was nixed by a 3-2 vote.
Supervisors Mick Burkett, Tom Contner and Dawn Rudolph voted against approving the first reading, and Guy Richardson and John Muir voted for the ordinance. Richardson is the only one of the five not still on the board.
Opposition to the ordinance was on behalf of local farmers whose trucks have only unmuffled engine brakes.
In business listed on the agenda, the board took the required step to place a public measure (question) on the ballot for the Nov. 2 general election regarding continuing gambling games at a gambling structure in Greene County. State law requires the public be asked to weigh in on gambling eight years after the first approval of gambling. The Nov. 2 vote will be the final time the question will be on a ballot.
The board went into closed session to discuss information contained in confidential records relating to security measures. The board returned to open session five minutes later and approved a proposal with SCI Communications for additions to security subject to approval of a cybersecurity grant application to the Iowa Secretary of State. The board next approved the grant agreement totaling $10,000.
