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<br />\~O{) ;, r Yll1ultf ~U-<;t (oad ~S <br />f1ley)vlL~. . WJ . . em rf(~Y;Yl{J <br />\ {;{J)dt Y7q srr It I vl J <br /> <br />Commission Minutes-June 16, 2005 <br /> <br />2911 <br /> <br />SPECIAL MEETING OF CASS COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />JUNE 16, 2005 <br /> <br />1. MEETING TO ORDER <br />Chairman Darrell Vanyo called the meeting to order at 12:00 PM with all members present <br />as follows: Vern Bennett, Ken Pawluk, Robyn Sorum, Darrell Vanyo and Scott Wagner via <br />telephone. <br /> <br />Also present were Michael Montplaisir, County Auditor; Bonnie Johnson, County <br />Coordinator; Leah Viste, Assistant State's Attorney; Tom Soucy, Construction Design <br />Engineer Supervisor, County Highway Department; Stan Wolf, Weed Control Director; John <br />Kringler, Extension Agent; Jim Thoreson, Chief Deputy, Sheriffs Department; and members <br />of the media. <br /> <br />2. MAPLE VALLEY AG PRODUCTS/BUFFALO GRAIN CO. LLC, Aareement aDDroved to <br />use County Road #1 as landlna strlD on a temDorarv basis <br />The purpose of the meeting today is to consider a request from Maple Valley Ag Chemical <br />to use Cass County Road #1 from Tower City north to County Road #10, as a landing strip <br />for its aerial applicators. The reason for the request is because of extensive rainfall and soft <br />ground conditions, as well as the apparent need for timely application of herbicides and <br />fungicides on area crops. An agreement was drafted between Maple Valley Ag Chemical <br />and Cass County and would be in place for a maximum of three days following the <br />execution of the document. <br /> <br />Joe Killoran, a certified crop advisor from western Cass County, was present as the <br />spokesman for Maple Valley Ag Chemical Inc. He said because of heavy rains, farmers do <br />not have access to their fields to spray for weed control. The only way to treat the crops is <br />through aerial spraying. The grass runways are very wet and would become rutted by using <br />them. He said based on crop development stages today, the time frame to spray would be <br />within the next five to seven days. If spraying is done after that period, the crops would be <br />lost either partially or completely. <br /> <br />Ms. Viste said State's Attorney Birch Burdick added a clause to the agreement regarding <br />negligent flying operations as outlined in state law. Mr. Killoran did not foresee any <br />problems with the addition. <br /> <br />Mr. Vanyo questioned how many acres could be sprayed in one day. Mr. Killoran said the <br />pilot is restricted by wind and weather variables, but under perfect conditions, about 800 <br />acres could be sprayed in one day. Only one plane would be using the county road. <br /> <br />Mr. Bennett feels the county should do everything possible to help with this situation. He <br />does not feel that three days is adequate time to complete the necessary spraying and <br />would like to see some flexibility. <br /> <br />Mr. Wagner asked about the traffic counts on County Road #1 and motorist safety during <br />this process. Mr. Soucy gave a rough estimate and said 100 to 400 vehicles travel the road. <br />Mr. Killoran said he will have two staff people to block traffic at each end of the road to <br />ensure that motorists will be stopped before the plane lands. <br />