West Central Iowa Rural Water seeks county easement for Buffalo Road connection

Jason Meredith of West Central Iowa Rural Water presented a proposal to run a water line to serve a landowner on Buffalo Road and asked the board to consider granting an easement across county landfill property to accommodate the route.

Meredith said he had consulted the NRCS and discussed alignment options to avoid digging in unstable ditch lines and to minimize disturbance to a nearby trail and pheasant habitat; he proposed staying north of a stand of pine trees and crossing the trail only once if possible. Meredith said the landfill manager (Chuck) had reviewed likely alignments and the company had an easement for the landfill parcel that would support placement outside the active cell.

On likely costs, Meredith provided a preliminary estimate and described the expense of bringing water down the hill as roughly in the low thousands (he stated "between 30 to $40," which the board and staff discussed as an approximate $3,000'$4,000 range). He also said the landfill budget would bear part of the cost and that the project could be scheduled for fall construction; Meredith asked for board direction but acknowledged a formal decision was not required that day and requested to appear on next week's agenda with permits and final alignment.

Board members asked planning and budget questions about whether the work could be absorbed in the landfill budget and how the county would handle any minor surface disturbance; supervisors indicated they were comfortable reviewing a formal agenda item next week.