Supervisors discuss rural dump sites and laborshed study, vote to reject proposed property tax settlement from SHF Industries

by Bob Beach

During its regular meeting Monday, August 22, the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors met with Solid Waste Director Dave Mooney to discuss possible solutions to ongoing abuse of the County’s rural dump sites. Mooney said that the County’s contract with Waste Management will expire in November and that he would like to seek bids for more manned sites.
Since the recent closure of the Dalby dump site near Waterville, Mooney said that an average of 35-40 vehicles per week made use of the nearby manned site at the Secondary Roads shop Fridays from 1-5 p.m. Mooney added that the change from an open dump site at Dalby to the manned site at the Secondary Roads shop saves the County approximately $5,000 per year. Mooney said that the only complaints he has heard since the closure of the Dalby site concerned the hours of operation at the alternative site, but that Waste Management and other contractors had expressed their willingness to man sites into the early evening.
Mooney said that the abuse that forced the closure of the Dalby sites, such as dumping of construction waste and large items, continues and is increasing at the remaining open sites. Any solution, he said, would need to provide better control of sites and keep the service available to all rural residents while reducing costs.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Larry Schellhammer said that he would like to see more manned sites with a more equitable distribution throughout the county.
The Board also met with Allamakee County Economic Development Executive Director Laura Olson, who presented the Board with a laborshed study by Iowa Workforce Development. Olson called the results of the study “overall positive,” noting that the study shows that people are willing to move to the area for employment and that the number-one source of information for job seekers is the local newspaper.

In other business, the Board passed a resolution adopting the Multi-Jurisdiction Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan prepared by Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission. The Board also appointed members to the Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee, including the Board of Supervisors and town mayors.
The Board also met in closed session with County Attorney Jill Kistler to discuss pending litigation with SHF Industries (AgriStar) regarding unpaid property taxes. Following the closed session, the Board voted to reject a settlement offer from SHF.
The Board approved an allocation agreement with the State for funding for the County’s Veterans Affairs office. The Board also approved watershed inspection reports as presented by LuAnn Rolling and a budget presented by Jean Bossom for the SPF-SIG Coordinator position.