Court schedules committee meeting to review proposed bio-digester ordinance

A magistrate raised the need for an ordinance on bio-digesters and asked the court to hold a meeting to review questions and details. The court scheduled a committee meeting at 4:00 p.m. on the day of the next regular court meeting (the magistrates indicated the next meeting date in open session) to review a draft ordinance and a set of approximately 10 questions the court wanted answered. County staff said a draft ordinance already exists and can be amended; the committee meeting is intended as a public but committee-level review where the public may attend but comment is not the same as a formal public hearing. Several magistrates said they wanted to walk through the draft and tweak it before moving forward with formal readings. Why it matters: bio-digester facilities raise land-use, environmental and public-health issues; the committee process is intended to develop the ordinance language and answer substantive questions before the court considers a formal public hearing or ordinance readings. During the session magistrates discussed the meeting logistics and agreed to advertise the committee meeting as required by open-meeting rules. One magistrate registered a vote of "no" until the committee review occurs; others voted to schedule the committee meeting. The county attorney indicated he has a draft ordinance prepared and will make it available for committee review and revision prior to any formal readings or votes.