Supervisors appoint Ed Kelly to Symmetry Music Festival Committee

FAIRFIELD – The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors voted to appoint Assistant County Attorney Ed Kelly to the Symmetry Music Festival Committee.

At their previous meeting on Dec. 22, the supervisors heard from festival organizers Ti Liptak and Donald Revolinski about the value of the festival, which began in 2024 on an acreage south of Libertyville, and which grew tremendously in its second year in 2025. The supervisors also heard from Tim Nelson, who lives near the festival grounds and who complained about the loud noise from the two-day festival that lasted late into the night.

At the supervisors’ meeting on Jan. 5, they considered an agenda item to appoint one of the three supervisors to serve on the Symmetry Music Festival Committee. Supervisor Susie Drish chimed in to say the county didn’t need to send a supervisor, and could instead appoint someone else to represent the county’s interests.

Supervisor Lee Dimmitt said there are problems with attempting to regulate the festival’s noise through ordinance. For instance, he mentioned that the decibel level limitations from the proposed noise ordinance the supervisors considered on Dec. 22 were so strict that it would require the county to shut down other outdoor events such as the county fair, a blues festival, and Renaissance festival. He didn’t like the idea of passing a permitting ordinance and then granting waivers to those other festivals because it would not be treating everyone equally, and that could lead to a lawsuit.

Since Kelly expressed an interest in working with Tim Nelson and the festival organizers to come to an agreement, the supervisors voted to appoint him to serve on the festival’s committee.

In other news, County Conservation Director Shawn Morrissey asked the board to approve the hire of Laney Bowers as a seasonal naturalist intern at $15 an hour. The board voted unanimously to approve. Morrissey mentioned that Bowers is very excited about the job, and that is a welcome change because he said these internship positions can be hard to fill, with the county occasionally receiving only one application or sometimes even zero.

Drish said Morrissey and his predecessor Dennis Lewiston have done a great job providing employment opportunities for young people in the county.

The supervisors reappointed DeWayne Heintz as weed commissioner, who is also the county’s fulltime engineer.

The board voted 2-1 to approve The Southeast Iowa Union/Fairfield Ledger and The Clarion-Plainsman as the two official newspapers of the county. Joe Ledger and Susie Drish voted in favor, and Lee Dimmitt voted against.

The board voted 3-0 to increase the county’s excess liability coverage from $7 million to $15 million, insurance that pays for litigation the county is involved in. This extra insurance will cost the county $9,000 per year. County Auditor said the extra insurance “seems beneficial” given how the last year went. Drish also remarked that “it seems like we’re getting sued a lot.”

Dimmitt had good news to share about Jackson Point Apartments, a pair of apartment buildings at 802 W. Jackson Ave. that hold 18 units. Dimmitt, a member of the Jefferson County Progressive Housing Corporation that oversees the apartments, said five of these units were considered “unrentable” earlier this fall because of their condition, but they’ve been spruced up and now they are rentable once more.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com