Thursday, March 22, 2007

Burn ban gives added control to fire chiefs

by Kenneth Lassiter

County commissioners passed resolutions Monday to update the open burning policy and also write some old personal property tax warrants off the books.

County officials worked with the county fire chiefs to draft a new resolution setting forth the rules and regulations on open burning within the county to update the prior open burning resolution approved in 1995. Commissioner David Christy said changes were made to put more control of when and how open burning occurs in the hands of the fire chiefs.

The resolution begins by stating the county decided to put a formal policy in place to help reduce the potential danger and adverse environmental impact of open burning. The policy applies to the county except for the incorporated areas that have their own burning regulations.

Section 2 of the resolution prohibits the open burning of any debris, structures, vegetation or other combustible material except burning on residential premises “incidental to the normal habitation” of the property such as small piles of leaves; burning for cooking or ceremonial purposes on public or private land regularly used for recreation; or fires related to firefighter training.

Any person, business, corporation or other entity conducting open burning is required under the policy to obtain a permit from the local fire chief that is valid for no more than one calendar year with a unique number supplied by the fire chief. The application for the permit must be in writing and include the applicant’s name, address and phone numbers, burn permit requirements and signature of both the applicant and the fire chief or that chief’s designee. The fire chief issuing the permit may also revoke or deny the permit at any time for good cause.

Applicants who are denied permits or have one revoked may appeal the decision to the county fire chiefs’ association in writing. A hearing would be held within 60 days of the receipt of the written appeal and a “determining board” shall be selected by the association by lottery or other means, providing that a sitting member isn’t the chief or designee who revoked or denied the permit. A decision made in this appeal hearing would be final for 12 months, after which the applicant can reapply for a burn permit.

The resolution gives the fire chiefs complete discretion over permission to burn, taking into account the location and potential hazards, weather, smoke impact, feasibility of alternatives to burning, and availability of fire personnel.

Open burning under the issued permits shall take place only after notification is made by the permit holder to the fire chief after 7:30 a.m. on the day of the burn. This notification must include all the necessary information on the burn, including the location, amount and nature of material to be burned, frequency, duration and schedule of the burning, size of area for the burning, method of ignition, and the location of roadways and number of occupied dwellings within 1,000 feet of the burn.

The fire chief is then required to inform county 911 before the burn begins including the burn permit number, the name on the permit, address and proposed burn location, what is being burned, and the radio number of the fire personnel authorizing the burn. From there, the burning must be supervised by the permit holder until the fire is extinguished; the permit holder shall have the permit in possession at all times during the burn; the fire must be completely out by sunset unless authorized; local traffic authorities must be notified before the burn if it takes place within 1,000 feet of a state roadway; and the permit holder must obtain the required landowner or tenant permission for the burn.

Section six of the resolution would make permits invalid in case of a county burning ban unless a special permit is issued. Violations of the resolution will be investigated by the fire chief or designee and filed by uniform complaint and notice to appear. Violations are punishable as a misdemeanor with potential penalties of up to 30 days in jail or a $500 fine. Responding agencies in illegal burns may also have the right to get restitution from offenders.

Commissioner Don Edmonds asked a couple questions about particulars of the resolution before offering his approval. He said he thought some regular burn permit holders may be “upset” by the resolution and suggested the county back off the effective date to allow the fire chiefs the ability to do some education with their regular burn permit holders before enforcing the new policy. After some discussion, Edmonds moved to adopt the resolution with an effective date of July 1. Commissioners Francis Grollmes and Christy agreed with Edmonds’ idea and the resolution was adopted unanimously.

Personal property tax warrants spanning the years of 1969 to 1986 were also written off Monday by commissioners at the request of county treasurer Mary Underwood. Underwood said the warrants, which total $219,000 in uncollected taxes, are “uncollectible” and the county has little recourse other than to take them off the books. Underwood said the treasurer’s office is trying to keep its books in proper order and the move to write off the warrants would help clear those off the record. She said many are from deceased individuals or businesses long gone from the county.

Commissioners unanimously approved the resolution to release the tax warrants.

Commissioners also Monday revisited the issue of Oak Road south of 5th Street with George Pogge, road and bridge superintendent. During a “field trip” March 12 the commissioners visited the dirt road as farmers along the road have requested some rock be placed on the road to help them access their property. Commissioners considered the idea at the March 12 meeting but held off on a decision to give Edmonds and Pogge a chance to look at the alternatives.

Commissioners had stated concerns of the farmers irrigating the road while also irrigating the farmland that runs right up to the roadside. Edmonds said the farmers involved indicated they wanted to cooperate about not soaking the road. Edmonds suggested the county could rock a 200-yard stretch of the road around where the irrigation hits it and Christy said he disagreed with that move as it would leave dirt areas to either side of the rock and the farmers would just drag mud over the rock and waste it. Grollmes reiterated his opinion that irrigating a county road is illegal and the farmers shouldn’t be doing it at all. Grollmes also said a skim coat of rock, which was suggested March 12, would also be a waste because, if the irrigation continues or people who use the stretch of road for “mudding” recreation when it’s wet get to it, the rock would be gone quickly.

Christy reiterated his stance that the county owes it to its taxpayers to make sure they can get to their property on a county road, which applies to Oak Road. Pogge pointed out the road hadn’t had gravel on it for about 20 years.

Grollmes asked how much rock would be placed on the road and said the move would be doing the rest of the county’s taxpayers an “injustice.” Edmonds went back to his suggestion of rocking 200 yards of the road and Christy replied he would rather do the first half-mile in rock or not rock the road at all. Christy said he wasn’t sure about how much maintenance is necessary on the road to ensure the farmers have the needed access.

Edmonds asked if Christy and Grollmes would have a problem with him and Pogge working with the farmers to address the situation. Christy said that would be fine with him but Grollmes said he was against the county putting any rock on the road. Christy said he would advocate putting enough rock on to help the situation but wouldn’t be for rocking more than the first half-mile of the road south off 5th Street.

Grollmes warned his fellow commissioners that if rock is put on the road, the county will be putting rock on every dirt road in the county.

“If we owe it to them, we owe it to everyone else in the county,” Grollmes said.

Pogge said he and Edmonds would “work through” the situation. Grollmes said his main priority was getting the irrigation of the road stopped.

In other business Monday, the commission:

• Approved a change in zoning from agricultural to suburban residential use for the Ethel Ousdahl Trust and C.R. Snyder, trustee, Zachary Snyder, on approximately 28 acres of ground along Wellman Road against the Jefferson-Douglas county line just south of 3rd Street. Snyder and Wayne Ousdahl plan to offer at least three small home sites at the location that would access 3rd Street. Karen Fenza, 17554 3rd St, spoke in opposition to the request with concerns about the zoning classification’s fit in the area. There are several suburban residential subdivisions in the near area. In response to letters from the public, Christy commented that the county has no intent of lowering the speed limit on Wellman Road.

• Heard an update from Pogge. Road and bridge projects were discussed. Commissioners signed emergency relief supplemental agreement No. 1 covering the responsibilities of the county and the state department of transportation in connection with projects resulting from the Oct. 1, 2005, flood. Pogge said the state had adjusted its damage estimates up $14,000 after seeing the cost of county work on the roads affected.

• Met with Terri Lassen and David Murphy from Lake Dabinawa regarding the dam at Lake Dabinawa and safety training regarding the dam. They reported that the dam gets regular inspections and its status monitored. They wanted to reassure the commission that they are prepared to respond in case of an emergency with the dam.

• Met in executive session with Susan Newell, 911 communications director, and Jan Hayes, county counselor, for 10 minutes to discuss matters of non-elected personnel.

• Met in executive session with Newell, Hayes, and Doug Schmitt, emergency management director, for 15 minutes to discuss matters of attorney client privilege regarding the potential purchase of real estate.

• Discussed legal issues with Hayes. She reported that the board has been involved in study sessions regarding the regional household hazardous waste program discussed on Feb. 20. The commission has taken no formal action on the program to date.

• Heard an update from Kathy Wagner, appraiser, on various appraisal issues.

• Heard an update from Underwood. She reported that tax summons for the tax sale 06CV84 are being distributed. She also discussed the replacement of four computers in her office. She will be going to dual monitors so that the staff can have the tax system running on one monitor and vehicle information on the other.

• Met in executive session for 15 minutes with Underwood, Mark Richards, auxiliary services director, Hayes, and county clerk Linda Buttron to discuss matters of attorney-client privilege.

• Heard an update from Richards. He discussed issues regarding the regional household hazardous waste program and also discussed a contract for maintenance on the courthouse elevator. He will have Hayes review the contract and return to the commission for signatures next week. Richards also announced the implementation of a new electronic work order system. He asked the commission for an official decision regarding the use of the old ambulance building as an office for emergency management. Commissioners indicated by consensus that only a few records were being moved and everything else was to stay the same for now and that use of the office part of the building and the first vehicle bay are approved for use by the emergency management director. Richards discussed the installation of equipment, which results in electrical issues after the fact. Commissioners will draft a memo to department heads instructing them to contact the auxiliary services department before making any purchase that involves electricity so that power needs can be addressed prior to installation.

• Approved a variance to the environmental sanitation code 1-3.6.

• Approved the bridge cooperative agreement between Douglas County and Jefferson County.

• Reviewed and approved vouchers and signed tax change orders and a shared leave request and donation.

• Edmonds discussed assessing a surcharge on those who dump trash in the Hamm’s landfill for use in maintaining and improving roads. Hayes will research the ability to assess such charge.