WASHINGTON

Although much of the proposed county ordinance to govern Wind Energy Conversion contains much of the original 2021 draft, supervisors Tuesday continued discussing the possible impact wind turbines could have on property values, both for those with turbines and those near them.

The initial ordinance draft resulted from interest from a Texas-based company more than three years ago but was tabled indefinitely when the company withdrew its plans. Interest was renewed last year by Duke Energy of North Carolina and more recently from Deriva Energy’s Jeff Neves, a director of development, who told supervisors last month the company is considering a wind farm in the center of the county.

However, Neves stressed that the proposed half-mile setbacks for the towers could be an issue for the project. He also noted that Deriva had been connected to Duke Energy as Duke Energy Renewables. Noting that Deriva is looking at a number of possible sites in Iowa, Neves stressed it was “very early stages.”

During Tuesday’s meeting, the board learned about changes and revisions made by supervisor Marcus Fedler, including possible retention of the half-mile setback and a provision for waivers of it by property owners. However, much of the initial ordinance is contained in the new proposal.

A key continuing concern is the possible effect the installation of three or four turbines could have on individual property values, as well as the impact from a wind farm. Equally important, noted the board, is appraisals of property before and after turbines.

It also was noted that turbine installations could be mainly in the south part of the county, near adjoining Henry County, which also has discussed the issue and regulations. However, the initial map provided by Deriva showed an area of countryside north of Washington as a possible site.

The board deferred the issue to next week to allow time to talk with county residents, as well as to review the revised ordinance. Fedler stressed he would listen to anyone regarding the proposal, stating, “they can contact me.”

In response to Fedler’s request for how the county’s annual $4,750 county allocation is used, Mike Zahs, a member of the county’s Historic Preservation Commission, explained the Commission seeks requests from the county’s 16 non-profit organizations (such as historical societies in Wellman, Kalona, Riverside, Ainsworth, Brighton, Rubio, Washington, as well as the DAR and the county fair). Last year Wellman sought $659 for archival boxes “that are very important for proper document storage and quite expensive”; Kalona, $430 to aid repairing a barber chair in the streetscape display in the new Wahl Museum; Ainsworth, $650 to aid with repairing the museum floor in the historic opera house, among others.

Zahs noted that not all requests can be filled, but all are reviewed. And sometimes, like the request from a junior high school student for $1,000 to have an information kiosk at the county fair, received more and drew thousands in donations. Zahs said because he is involved with virtually all the non-profits, he refrains from voting when the requests are evaluated in April or May. Generally, it has been May to coincide with the state’s historic preservation month.

“We could always use more money,” he said, “but we are very appreciative of what the county has provided.”

Then, noting he was digressing slightly, Zahs told the board that he has long been invested in cemetery care and conservation, which started with the official count of 45 cemeteries in the county. With his traveling 2,000 miles in some 200 various hours, he found that there are 360 cemeteries (defined as anywhere there is a burial). In the process of that search, he found 78 burials on the grounds of Lake Darling State Park in Brighton. Nor is it just Washington County, he said, noting a 40-burial cemetery was found near Fort Atkinson in Winnesheik County. His eventual goal would be to have such burials listed on the property abstract, he said.

In other business, the board recognized Kent Davis, secondary roads department, for his 40 years of service to the county. Mr. Davis was unable to attend and Jacob Thorius, department head, accepted on Davis’s behalf.

The board reappointed Larry Love to a term on the Crawford Township Benefitted Fire District, ending December 31, 2026.

Following the regular meeting adjournment, the board held a work session at 10 a.m. to add an item to the budget requests.

In the work session, the board increased the allocation to the Historic Preservation Commission from $4,750 to $5,000 and provided $40,000 in capital improvement funds to PAWS & More to be awarded in $8,000 increments for five years.