Also discuss drainage issues at jail site, county fairgrounds
Safety concerns about the intersection of County Road E-53 (240th St, “old 30”) and County Road P-14 (J Ave) were discussed during the open forum of the Greene County supervisors Nov. 4 meeting. Mike Holden, who lives near the intersection of E-53 and Hwy 25 just south of Scranton, has mentioned his worries several times in recent years. His concern Monday was personal. His 35-year-old daughter had been struck by a vehicle northbound on P-14 as she was westbound from Jefferson to visit her parents.
Holden explained his daughter had slowed as she approached the intersection because she saw the northbound vehicle approaching the corner. He surmised the accident would have been worse if his daughter hadn’t slowed down. As it was, she entered the north ditch. Both vehicles sustained an estimated $5,000 in damage.
“There’s already been one death at that intersection. Before there’s more, we’ve got to do something with it,” Holden said.
In August 2018 a westbound motorcyclist was killed there when he was struck by a northbound SUV.
County engineer Wade Weiss said a tall hedge on private property at the intersection is part of the problem. He has spoken with the property owner and offered to remove the hedge and replant a hedge further inside the property lines. That offer has not been accepted.
Learning that the Guthrie County supervisors are discussing drafting an ordinance regulating hazardous liquid pipelines prompted discussion by the Greene County supervisors. Both counties would be impacted by Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposal to build a pipeline to transport liquified carbon dioxide to North Dakota.
Summit’s Phase 2 includes a pipeline that would run diagonally across the county, from the Louis Dreyfus ethanol plant in Grand Junction to the Poet ethanol plant in Coon Rapids. The Greene County and Guthrie County pipelines are listed in the same docket as presented to the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC).
Greene County attorney Thomas Laehn repeated what he said previously, that the county’s best strategy to block the proposed pipeline is to use a process through the board of adjustment, requiring Summit to obtain a conditional use permit, with the pipeline being an industrial use of land zoned for agriculture.
Laehn said Summit Carbon Solutions is expediting the permitting process for Phase 2. He said he has been told Summit plans to submit a permit application to the IUC by early December. “They want to get grandfathered in before the legislature has a chance to act this spring. My sense is that the state government is complicit in that. They’re helping expedite it… Once you submit the application… you’re grandfathered in,” Laehn said.
“I think we want to watch what develops, but I don’t like that game. It’s a game. If we have to do something prior to that, at least to make sure we all have to play by the same rules going forward. It’s ‘we’re going to beat you to the punch and then you can’t throw a punch’,” board chair John Muir said.
Bolton & Menk engineers Jacob Hagen and Jim Leiding were present for a discussion of drainage issues at the county fairgrounds. Greene County Fair-goers and Ram softball fans are very aware of the poor drainage there, with the area closest to Lincoln Way, which is used for parking, floods when there’s a heavy summer rain.
Sheriff Jack Williams is a member of the fair board and he spoke for that board at the meeting. Weiss added to the discussion, and Jefferson city administrator Scott Peterson and public works director Dave Morlan attended as well. The fairgrounds are in the city limits and are owned by the Greene County Fair board.
ISG is doing site planning for the new county jail, which is in an adjacent drainage district. ISG plans to build a retention pond south of the jail. The fair board is considering removing the high banks of the former racetrack and constructing one or two retention ponds to facilitate drainage. One would be south of the former racetrack; the other would be to the north in the grassy area now used for parking.
The Nov. 4 discussion was whether the county would pay a portion of the cost of a site plan for the fairgrounds that would also consider drainage needs at the jail site.
The supervisors asked to see cost estimates for a topographical survey of the area and for a site plan.
The supervisors and Laehn discussed the sonic bird deterrent system recently placed on the courthouse roof. The system emits a sound that’s supposed to keep birds away, but at it’s first volume setting, Laehn said it was audible on the third floor of the courthouse. The settings are being adjusted for volume and time of day it is necessary.
Gary Goodwin visited briefly with the supervisors. He said he counted 29 places where birds had penetrated the plastic covering on the roof prior to installing the sonic deterrent. He said he’ll repeat that count periodically to check if the system is doing what it’s intended to do. He described the penetrations as small indentations in thick foam roofing material.
