After receiving input from their neighbors, David and Nathan Jessen requested their application to expand their hog-finishing operation in the Richland Township, be rescinded by the county and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
County Sanitarian Kevin Luetters spoke on the brothers behalf at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting and said they contacted him late last week to inform him of their decision. Board chair Joe Brock read the letter the brothers wrote to IDNR where they requested their application be formally pulled.
In the letter, Brock read that “the Jessen brothers, not wishing to cause concerns within the community, regardless of their desire to continue to grow their pork finishing operation,” were canceling their expansion plans and would like a refund for applications process.
The expansion would have made the operation capable of handling 1,920 animal units, or 4,800 head of finishing swine.
With the Jessens' application officially removed from consideration, the board made a motion to cancel the public hearing that was scheduled to take place on the matter.
At 1 p.m., on Tuesday, the board held a public hearing for the Secondary Roads Department's five-year construction plan. County Engineer Russ Stutt and Pam Olson, assistant to the engineer, presented the plans to the board.
There are a total of 38 projects listed and they are budgeted starting in fiscal year 2014-15 and end in fiscal year 2018-19. Stutt said all of the projects would include rebuilding bridges and replacing roads and there were plans to build bridges in new location,
“We have numerous pavements that are in need of repair, but essentially, we are using all of the money we have — and are probably going into a little hole after this — after the (County Blacktop) T38 project to build back up,” Stutt said answering a question about a road not in the plan.
Stutt didn't have a total cost estimate for the projects during the time-frame, but a rough estimate based on the packet indicates that for fiscal year 2014-15, the cost will be around $4,320,000. Stutt said the projects are being financed through local, farm to market, special and federal aid funds.
He said he hopes his office can average completing between eight to ten projects a year.
Jasper County Director of Veteran's Affairs Chris Chartier presented Melissa (Mesecher) Gray, formally to board. Gray works in Chartier's office as a part of a veteran's work-study program for veteran's who are utilizing the GI Bill to attend college, and he said that her salary is paid by the Federal Department of Veterans Affairs and not the county.
Gray said she is currently a student at Mercy College of Health Sciences in Des Moines and is studying nursing.
In other business:
Jasper County Human Resources Director Dennis Simon received approval for two hiring resolutions.
Dana Denton was hired as a PRN aide for the county's home health care service. Her hiring had been delayed so the county could complete its background check and she begins her employment with the county on Wednesday.
Simon’s other resolution provides the Jasper County Law Enforcement Center with another dispatch operator. Courtney Noah begins work on March 4.
The board approved publishing county employees wages. County employees earned $8,679,527.86 in 2013, according to the board packet.
Senior staff writer Ty Rushing may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 426, or at, trushing@newtondailynews.com