The Greene County Board of Supervisors met Monday in regular session.

About 13 people attended a public hearing for the proposed hog confinement for Section 5 in Washington Township. The master matrix score was 535, and the minimum that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources requires is 440. Most of the points were due to being close to the maximum points for distances allowed from the site to surrounding structures and other neighbors. The site includes two buildings for a total of 4,996 head of hogs, which will be ran by Schyler and Tim Bardole.

Some of the concerns that were brought up included: the amount of daily water that will be consumed, about 8,000 gallons, from a drilled well, and that amount taking away from neighboring wells; the number of hogs consuming the water; the growing number of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in Greene County totaling 99 for hogs and over 100 overall for livestock; issues with an out-of-date master matrix; resale value of neighboring properties; and quality of life issues. Schyler Bardole said by having a hog confinement, it was the safest and most stable way of investment he could have in his family farm business. He said both hog barns would be owned and operated by himself and his family. All of the daily chores will be done by the family, they will knife in the manure and alert neighbors prior to doing soand plant fast growing trees to be good stewards of the land. He said the location that was selected was the only one that worked, due to regulations with integrators and the manure management plan.

Following the public hearing, the Supervisors voted 3-0 in favor of the CAFO, and will provide all concerns to the DNR. Supervisor Pete Bardole abstained and Supervisor Tom Contner was absent. A request was also made to the Board for a resolution to be sent to the state legislature asking them to review the master matrix and update the system. The Board agreed to approve the request at a future meeting.

The Board also held a public hearing on the 2019 fiscal year budget amendment. There were no changes made to what was being proposed. No comments or objections were made during the public hearing. Following the hearing, the Board approved the amendment as presented. They also approved the disallowances for family farm tax credits.