The Cherokee County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Tuesday, October 31, 2023 with Rick Mongan, Bryan Petersen, Duane Mummert, Cheryl Ellis and Dave Skou present. Erin Rydgren, Chronicle Times, and Tom Cullen, Storm Lakes Times, represented the press. Gary Lundquist, Chris White, Nick Bowdish, Laura Jones, Tom Stanek, Sarah Tracy, Patty Beyer, Kelly Puhrmann, Kenny Schlenger, Kirk Maxfield, Alex Karpuk, Hedgie Brandt and Stu Hogg were also in attendance. Unless otherwise indicated, all votes were offered as follows: Ayes – Ellis, Skou, Mummert, Petersen, Mongan; Nayes – none; Abstentions – one.
Chairman Mongan called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Motion by Skou, seconded by Petersen to approve the agenda. Motion carried.
Motion by Mummert, seconded by Ellis to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. Motion carried.
Chairman Mongan called for comments from the public. Patty Beyer distributed a checklist drafted by a Shelby County Supervisor for dealing with pipelines and encouraged the supervisors to pay attention when Summit Carbon Solutions requests permits in county right of way. Beyer stated that the Board of Supervisors has authority that landowners do not when it comes to stopping the pipeline in Cherokee County.
Nick Bowdish, Little Sioux Corn Processors CEO, answered numerous questions from the supervisors related to LSCP’s request to vacate 480th Street between E and F Avenues and a proposal to construct five private railroad crossings across E Avenue. Mongan stated that the county has given LSCP three different TIF Rebates over 20 years with payments exceeding $1.2 million going directly back to LSCP and asked if there would be any way that some of those rebates could be paid to the county for reimbursement of the expense to pave 480th Street to the ethanol plant. Sarah Tracy, County Engineer, confirmed the county spent approximately $1.8 million paving 480th Street from F Avenue to the LSCP driveway. Bowdish responded that there are no TIF revenues available to return to the county and that almost $900,000 had been retained in a county special road fund to defray some of the cost of paving F Avenue. LSCP will provide one million dollars once grading begins on F Avenue per the contract upheld by the court, however, no additional contributions will be made by LSCP. Bowdish stated that vacating 480th Street has become the biggest priority of Little Sioux Corn Processor’s expansion plans and asked if the supervisors are willing to stand with LSCP to grow the business and increase taxable value in addition to generating better grain prices for area farmers.
Motion by Petersen, seconded by Mummert to start the process of vacating 480th Street between E Avenue and F Avenue and to set a public hearing date on November 21, 2023. Motion carried.
Hedgie Brandt, County Treasurer, announced that she has an employee who will be retiring soon and requested approval to hire an additional staff member to allow time for training and certification before the retiring employee leaves.
Motion by Mummert, seconded by Petersen to authorize the County Treasurer to hire an additional staff member due to an employee’s upcoming retirement. Motion carried.
Laura Jones, Conservation Director, provided an update on improvements made at the Les Licklider Shooting Complex. Future expansion plans include four trap houses for shooting competitions, a virtual archery course and static archery targets to create a whole complex for individuals, high school teams and organized competitions. Jones emphasized that improvements made to date have exceeded insurance requirements and the DNR has been involved with designing the trap shooting area which will cost around $35,000 per house. Jones will be writing grants and fundraising for the next phases of the project. Jones added that detailed information is available on the conservation website, however, a list of answers to most common questions are:

1. Yes, it is open
2. It will remain open until December 23rd and open again on March 1st weather permitting
3. Rules are listed on a kiosk at the range including a sign in and sign out sheet
4. No fees will be charged in 2023 but the Conservation Board will determine if there will be annual or daily user fees beginning in 2024
5. No, there is nowhere to shoot clays
6. The complex is monitored by a camera system and law enforcement will patrol the area for compliance
   Petersen stated that these recreational opportunities for the public are exciting and asked Jones to give a big “Thank You” to the Conservation Board, herself and her staff for doing a great job on making this complex a reality. Jones in return thanked the supervisors for supporting conservation projects through their annual general fund transfer of campground and facility rental revenues because without those funds, the safety improvements made at the shooting range would not have been possible.
   Motion by Mummert, seconded by Skou to authorize the chairman to sign a Certificate of Substantial Completion for the Courthouse Retrofit Project. Motion carried.
   Motion by Skou, seconded by Ellis to approve a Separation of Employment for Bryan Petersen, CDL Tester, effective October 24, 2023. Motion carried with Petersen abstaining.
   The supervisors provided committee reports and reviewed meeting schedules.
   There being no further business, Chairman Mongan called for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
   Motion by Skou, seconded by Petersen to adjourn the meeting at 10:14 a.m.
   All board agendas and minutes are available online at cherokeecounty.iowa.gov .
   Attest: Kris Glienke, County Auditor
   Rick Mongan, Chairman
   Published in the Marcus News on November 23, 2023