At Monday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Auditor Betty Ellis reviewed a special meeting held last week with Summit Carbon Solutions. The supervisors along with County Engineer Adam Clemons discussed various matters with the company, including permits and agreements for road crossings, working in right of ways and overweight and oversize loads. At that meeting, Summit officials reported that the proposed pipeline project will generate an estimated $2.5 million in property taxes for Wright County in the future.
During the open forum section of the board meeting, landowner Bob Ritter read part of a letter from an ISG engineer. ISG is Wright County’s inspection company for the pipeline. The letter pertained to new instructions from the Iowa Utilities Board for county inspectors for construction in wet conditions. Ritter was concerned that the instructions only suggest a work stoppage if the movement of construction equipment creates ruts 12 inches deep or greater. He thinks that this is problematic. Supervisor Dean Kluss says he has similar concerns and plans to have discussions with ISG about the rules.
The board dealt with several drainage matters pertaining to work done to district 194, lateral #1. These included change orders and pay estimates as well as setting a completion hearing for May 16 for the project. They also approved two drainage assessments for joint drainage districts with Hamilton and Webster Counties.
A completion hearing was held for lower main open ditch construction on DD #117 in Grant Township. The completion report and a final payment of $7,800 were approved for the project. Joe Harrah also discussed the brush and tree control in Wright County drainage ditches. He showed a slideshow of potential problem areas where brush and trees need to be cut and/or sprayed and presented estimates for his work for the next two years. The board approved his plan.
Jeremy Abbas, Assistant to the Engineer, went over funding for work to be done on bridge #211 on C70, inside the Woolstock city limits, just west of town. These include funding from the IADOT city bridge fund and the county bridge fund program. Bid letting for the project will take place in October. The board also approved bridge embargos for posted weight limits. Five bridges will be added to the list, all on gravel routes.
The board approved a tax abatement for a mobile home previously located in Woolstock that is no longer there and deemed uncollectable.
