By Jim Magdefrau
VINTON – The Benton County Board of Supervisors voted to have the City of Vinton deal with a dumping issue at the county’s recycling bins. The board met Tuesday, July 21, at the Benton County Service Center, Vinton.
Dumping
The board addressed dumping at the county’s recycling bins. Auditor Hayley Rippel related that Maintenance Director Rick Wood said there are things that shouldn’t be dumped at the county’s recycling bins. They have a video of a license plate to identify who dumped at the bins. She added the City of Vinton has a littering ordinance. She felt it was up to the supervisors to determined if the local police department should give a verbal warning first, or cite them. Rippel added that the county’s signs are posted.
Supervisor Bruce Volz asked if a verbal warning would scare them enough.
Supervisor Chairman Tracy Seeman said they should be smart enough. Brush is being dumped there. Rippel added mattresses are also being dumped.
Assistant County Attorney Derek Marsh felt it would be better to cite them. They would be cited through the city, since it is the city’s ordinance. The board agreed to turn the matter over to the city police.
Sheriff
The sheriff’s department received approval for Resolution #26-64, promotion of Caleb Stewart to sergeant in the corrections division at the sheriff’s office. He’s been with the department since 2022.
Land use
Andrea Morris of the land use office received approval for a non-agricultural use for Farmtastic 3, LLC in Section 12, Jackson Township. This is for a storage facility. It is 1.5 miles northwest of Mount Auburn. The area is regarded as low quality farm land. The request is consistent with the county’s land use policy. Morris explained this is for storage and not warehousing.
A neighbor, Don Petersen, met with the board with his concerns about changing the use of the land from agricultural to commercial. He is concerned this will reduce surrounding property value. Petersen stressed the buildings are engineered for agricultural use and not commercial use. Petersen is concerned the owners will not follow commercial zoning laws. He was concerned they might bring in a data center if the property is sold.
Morris explained the county does not have commercial zoning. It has a land use policy. Changes have to go through the land use policy.
The board unanimously approved the request to use the property for storage.
Witness chair
The board looked at purchasing a new chair for the witness stand in third floor courtroom. Supervisor Ron Tippett explained that if an officer sits in the chair wearing a duty belt, one gets trapped in the chair. The stand needs a chair with no arms. It’s up to the county to fund this, Rippel said. They added that the current chair is bolted to the floor. The supervisors recommended that Rick Wood work with the clerk of court on getting a new chair.
Seeman added that since the courthouse is a historical building, they can’t get rid of the old chair. Rippel explained the new chair needs to be up to the standards to keep it historical.
The board approved tabling this until the clerk can meet with courthouse maintenance on this.
Weeds
Supervisor Ron Tippett told about a tour of weeds with the weed department. Weeds of concern now in the area they toured are Canadian Thistle, Bull Thistle and Morning Glory.
Jim Magdefrau 