Gage County Meetings

By Don Schuller 10/30/23 Committee Meeting:Due to being out of state, I was unable to attend the committee meeting.11/1/23 Regular Meeting:The usual business was conducted. The focus of this meeting was two special use permits: the Helmke commercial ag building in Holt Township and the Otto/Summit Pork swine production in Island Grove Township.Commercial Ag building:A motion was made and seconded to approve the special use permit in Holt Township. The motion carried unanimously.Swine production operation:Chairman Erich Tiemann explained he recused himself from this vote due to potential financial gain for himself or his family if the permit is approved. To be approved the vote had to be a super majority due to 20 neighboring landowners signing a petition in objection to the project. A super majority vote to carry would need five to approve. Tiemann’s abstention did not change the number of votes needed for the resolution to pass.Supervisor Terry Jurgens moved to approve the resolution as written. Supervisor Dave Swavely moved to amend the resolution to include three tree rows around the entire facility rather than two rows between the township road and the facility. The trees when planted would be required to be two feet tall. Three monitoring wells also would be installed. This amendment matched the requirements for the Hanover Township swine CAFO approved earlier in the year.I stated my objection to requiring two-foot trees at planting. I believe a seedling will have a better chance of survival and will outgrow a two-foot tall tree. Summit Pork intends to use drip irrigation to improve the chances of survival and enhance growth. In my opinion, two-foot tall trees serve no purpose other than to make the process more work and more expensive.Jurgens moved to approve including the amendment and Swavely seconded. The motion passed 5:1 with my vote being the no vote.I had questions derived from a letter the board members received pointing out unresolved matters in the waste nutrient management plan, according to the author. Summit Pork representatives clarified the questions to my satisfaction.Motion by Jurgens seconded by Swavely to approve the permit as amended. The motion failed 3:3 with Jurgens, Swavely and me voting in favor. Dorn, Haxby and Lytle voted against.The room was filled with opponents, mostly from Island Grove Township and the village of Liberty. I addressed the crowd explaining my reasons for voting in favor of the CAFO.“It is my job, as a county supervisor, to make my decisions with consideration of all aspects of any issue. I strive to leave my emotions out of my decisions for the county. It is a fine line to walk and be fair, just and reasonable for all involved. I believe individuals have property rights to do with as they chose provided it doesn’t create a public health and safety issue. There are many opinions on what this is… I listened to people’s concerns and pondered my own. I have communicated with three engineers in this process to get answers……To vote no on this project, I needed a reason I could defend in court. Based on the research and information gained I cannot find that reason. Summit Pork and partners are required by county and NDEE regulations to operate and manage in a safe manner for the people and the environment surrounding it.”The entire statement will be emailed to my constituent email list and can be seen on my Facebook Page.Summit Pork followed all state and current county regulations. They did more than was required of them. Planning and Zoning recommended approval. I followed the rules established before me.Blue Springs River Bridge Meeting:Supervisor Emily Haxby, road and bridge committee, is conducting a meeting to gather information necessary to complete an application for grant funding to be used for improvements on the bridge. It is 6:30 p.m., Nov. 15th, at the Blue Springs City Hall, located across the street North of Security First Bank. Please plan to attend if you use this bridge.This highlights the portions of the county meetings I feel are most relevant to my constituents. Use the link below to view the actual minutes and hear audio of the board meeting, when posted.https://gagecountynebraska.us/board_meetings/enhanced_minutes.aspxAlso, check out my Facebook page: Don Schuller – Public Servant.

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