Supervisors propose change in weed control

VINTON - The Benton County Board of Supervisors heard a proposal to have Benton County Conservation take over the weed department as well as integrated roadside vegetation management.

The board also learned of the end of the investigation on wolf dogs.

Weeds

Benton County Human Resources Director Sue Wilber told supervisors last week that the weed commissioner position is now vacant.

The County has talked with Shelby Williams of Benton County Conservation about having weed control fall under the conservation department.

Wilber gathered information from other counties about job descriptions and how they handle weeds. Williams presented a job description for the position.

Also at the meeting were three members of the conservation board, Samantha Hunt, Randy Scheel and Becky Van Wey, and conservation employee Cecilia Dirks.

Ten other counties in Iowa have weed control under the authority of the conservation board, Supervisor Chairman Richard Primmer said. He can see good potential in combining the two and feels weed control falls under the conservation umbrella, he said.

Spring is around the corner and weeds will start sprouting, so something needs to be done sooner than later, Primmer said. Roadside management can wait. Conservation and roadside management go hand in hand, he said.

Williams said she needs support from all departments in the county, as well as patience and understanding.

Supervisor Tracy Seeman, a liaison member of the conservation board, was concerned that they might be biting off more than they can chew.

It’s a big undertaking, he said, but that doesn’t mean he’s against it.

Supervisors have to get a staff in place, Primmer said. They plan to hire a roadside manager and two more staff.

The conservation board was to meet Feb. 12 to discuss the issue.

Primmer told Williams and the conservation board members that he appreciated that they were considering this; the county is in a tough spot, he said.

Williams said she has met with Engineer Myron Parizek and has discussed how this affects the budget for this year and next year.

The discussion was to continue Feb. 13.

Dogs

Benton County Sheriff Ron Tippett met with the board regarding the county’s vicious animal ordinance and how it related to hybrid wolf dogs outside of Belle Plaine.

Tippett said he started the investigation by looking into rumors of an attack on a neighbor’s livestock.

DNA testing on the dog showed that it’s makeup was below the threshold of what qualifies as a wolf dog. However, Tippett couldn’t find anything in the state code or the county’s ordinance that addresses this, he said.

Tim Dille of the county attorney’s office said he didn’t think the current statute covers this. He said that a vicious animal is one that attacks livestock twice in a 12-month period.

The dogs in question do not meet the definition of a wolf hybrid or a vicious animal under the current ordinance, Dille said.

The dogs’ owner, Elana Janss, submitted a formal apology to the supervisors about misinformation given at their first meeting on this.

Janss said the dog in question is now housed in Urbandale and there are no plans to bring that animal back to Benton County.

Tippett said this will close the investigation, but another concern is having a daycare at the same site.

Supervisors discussed getting DNA tests for the other dogs.

Human Resources

Human Resources Director Sue Wilber discussed her job description with the supervisors.

During Wilber’s job review, the board asked for an updated version of her job description, Primmer said. While there was a job description when Wilber was hired, there were some things Supervisors wanted to “tweak,” Primmer said.

Wilber wanted clarification of and updates to some things in the job description. “I want to make sure I know what I’m supposed to be doing,” Wilber told the board.

Auditor Hayley Rippel asked if the information would be shared just with the supervisors or with all of the department heads. “Why should she do that?” Primmer asked.

Rippel said she didn’t understand what Wilber was told in her interview about taking duties away from other departments. Specifically, Rippel said, payroll is a big topic for the auditor’s office.

“I’m not trying to take payroll out of your office,” Wilber said.

Primmer said he didn’t think it was necessary to send the job description to other departments. The board will look it over and then share it, he said.

The description will be shared, said Pirmmer, but the board has the right to look it over first.

Other business

A land use hearing was set for Tuesday, March 5, at 9:15 a.m. for Zeb and Tamara Reardon, Section 7, Benton Township.

A land use hearing was held for Michael and Kristine Rommel, for land in Section 17, Florence Township, immediately north of Norway.

The land use change was approved. The Rommel’s will hook up to Poweshiek Water. They will go with a septic system instead of hooking up with the city’s system.

Driveway sight concerns were addressed.

Kristine Bullock met with the board regarding the budget request for the Kirkwood Learning Center which works with school and business liaisons, set up apprenticeships, speakers, job shadows, tours, meetings with businesses and internships.

The Learning Center serves seven counties. It requested $2,575, based on per capita for Benton County.