T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Marshall County Engineer Paul Geilenfeldt, left, discusses a proposed expansion for Marshall Ridge Farms LLC near State Center during Wednesday morning’s Board of Supervisor meeting while Emergency Management Coordinator Kim Elder, right, looks on.

The Marshall County Board of Supervisors ultimately voted unanimously to accept a Master Matrix examination and construction permit for a proposed dairy farm expansion near State Center during Wednesday morning’s meeting, but not before engaging in a lengthy discussion about how the owners might better accommodate the residents around them.

The item, which was originally on the consent agenda, was pulled for discussion, and County Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson read a written comment from John Allen, who also attended the meeting in person. Allen’s primary concerns were the traffic safety issues and the amount of dust created during haylage and silage operations, and he said four of his calves and two of his cows died due to respiratory issues they developed one day after haylage harvesting there.

“I have discussed my concerns recently with (dairy farm owner) Kevin Blood. He told me it is their intention to control the dust this year with a water truck. Intentions are good if followed through, but if it is not adequate enough to control the dust and I incur economic costs because of the dust, what is my recourse?” Allen wrote.

Another worry was the number of uncontrolled intersections in the area and the potential for accidents with trucks constantly coming and going. After Benson finished reading the letter, Allen said he would answer any further questions, and Supervisor Carol Hibbs was the first to chime in, wondering about the potential for stop signs and reduced speed limits.

Because Marshall County has over 700 miles of gravel roads, County Engineer Paul Geilenfeldt said many of the intersections are uncontrolled, and he commented that although some people stop signs should be placed at every intersection, in his view, that’s the quickest way to make them meaningless. He did add, however, that he would be happy to explore stop signs at so-called “corn corners” with reduced visibility.

On the speed issue, he stressed that the county’s deputies can’t be everywhere at once, but Hibbs responded that the dairy farm seemed like a unique case due to the heavy traffic. Sheriff Joel Phillips said his office will typically run extra speed enforcement in areas where they receive complaints.

“More times than not, that will tend to cure the issue, but you have some of the outliers and obviously visibility for us,” he said. “It’s one of those things where once they see us, it slows people down, but then as soon as we’re gone, it continues to go back to those bad driving behaviors.”

Supervisor Steve Salasek commented that it was the board’s job to keep the county safe, and Geilenfeldt recalled conversations with residents who wish they didn’t live in the area because “the trucks scare them.”

Blood is currently in the process of expanding his operation from 6,000 to 8,000 head, and Allen added that the actual milk trucks move very slowly and obey speed limits. As the board began to discuss its potential course of action, Chairman Jarret Heil said he was all for getting stop signs up as soon as possible at the intersection in question (245th Avenue and Binford Drive) but did not wish to restrict the expansion of agriculture within the county in any way.

Salasek opined that Blood has been good to work with as his operation has nearly doubled in size in recent years, and he hoped he would take care of the dust issue. Hibbs suggested three steps — limiting speed, stop signs at some of the intersections and communication about dust control with Blood — and a motion to approve the construction application and Master Matrix assessment carried unanimously.

When reached for comment Wednesday evening, Blood said he was happy to accommodate the concerns that had been raised and noted his use of a water truck to control dust. He added that he has enjoyed a longstanding working relationship with Allen, his neighbor of 40 years.

Blood also mentioned that he had offered to pay Allen for the deceased cattle and any damages that may have occurred as a result of his operation, but Allen opted against it until he had a confirmed cause of death from a veterinarian.

“We sure don’t want any trouble,” Blood said.

He also called adding a stop sign near his property “a great idea” and said he thought it would be the right thing to do.

“If (Allen)’s got a concern, we want to take care of it. We will,” Blood said. “We listen to everybody. We’ll do anything that’s reasonable, and everybody has been reasonable. We try and maintain our roads, and we do run a large business. We’ve got a lot of employees. I don’t argue a bit that maybe a stop sign or keeping the roads in better shape or whatever we can do (is the right course of action), but I’m not adversarial about anything. If people stop and talk to us, we’ll try and do our best to alleviate their concerns.”

In other business, the board:

• Approved the remainder of the consent agenda and personnel changes as listed.

• Approved a contract extension with the PPME Local 2003 union for secondary roads employees with a seven percent wage increase across the board on July 1, 2023 and July 1, 2024.

• Approved the purchase of a new 2024 Landoll 455B-53 equipment trailer at a cost of $162,191.70 from Landoll Company in Marysville, Kan. It will be built next winter.

• Approved the purchase of a new 2023 Kubota SSV75PHFRC skid loader from Central Iowa Farm Store in Marshalltown at a cost of $64,084.73.

• Heard from Arts and Culture Alliance Director Amber Danielson on the Arts and Culture Master Plan.

• Approved a new Class C retail alcohol license for Collison Par 3 effective May 1.

• Adopted a resolution opposing Senate File 550 and reaffirming support for the voters’ approved revenue statements for the allocation of local sales tax revenue.

• Approved a quarterly transfer of $700,000 from the rural services fund to the secondary roads fund.

• Approved renewals of benefit plans with Avesis (vision), Delta Dental and Sourcewell Employee Benefits program (life, accidental death and dismemberment).

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.