A member of the public urged the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors to disclose the county’s plan after a FEMA denial tied to a drainage project the commenter called “Drain 4,” and said the denial appeared to leave hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional work. The commenter said the packet shows “460 or $645,000 in additional work” and questioned why the county had waited and whether it would appeal the FEMA decision.

Board leaders said they would discuss options with the county attorney. After brief discussion, the board voted to go into closed session "pursuant to" the Iowa Code citation read during the meeting to consult with counsel about the FEMA appeal. The motion to enter closed session was moved by Stecker and seconded by Wachter; the roll-call recorded in open session shows Paz: yes; Garment: yes; Stecker: yes; Wachter: yes; Math: yes, and the chair stated the motion carried.

The public commenter also raised procedural concerns, saying prior reductions had been described as a "blanket reduction" and that invoice-level adjustments were not clear; the commenter asked whether the county would seek court review. Board members acknowledged concerns about rising attorney fees and said the matter would be discussed with counsel. The board chair stated that formal decisions are not made during closed session and that any formal action would be announced in open session if and when taken.

The board cited a statutory authority for holding the closed session during the meeting; the transcript records the citation as "IO code section 21 5 1 c" and references a "FEMA ... appeal." The transcript includes an attorney joining the meeting by phone for the closed-session consultation.