Board schedules work session on wind energy ordinance; session to include regional planner and county attorney

The Des Moines County Board of Supervisors scheduled a work session for next Tuesday to consider potential amendments to the county's wind energy ordinance and asked that representatives from Southeast Iowa Regional Planning and county counsel attend.

A board member said the board has held two extended work sessions with extensive public input and that "we should address this whole thing while it's fresh in our minds." The board asked staff to invite Southeast Iowa Regional Planning (staff identified as Lisa or Trent in the discussion) and county counsel (referred to in the meeting as Trent Henkelbeg) to the session.

During the public-comment portion, resident Brad Coase asked, "Is that open to the public?" A board member replied, "All meetings and work sessions are open to the public," and clarified that because the board will not vote in a work session it typically will not be a back-and-forth debate but will accept information from the public if attendees wish to offer it.

Board members said the session likely will be scheduled immediately after a Tuesday meeting, with a possible 9:30 a.m. start, and that the first work session will focus on identifying ordinance language that board members want to examine. No changes were made at this meeting; the item is on a future work-session agenda for deliberation.