July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.

Miller: Regulate 'mega-farms' (2/18/04)

Commissioners raises issue in Tuesday discussion

By By Mike [email protected]

A proposed “mega-dairy” in Randolph County that has sparked public resistance has Milo Miller Jr. wondering if Jay County should toughen laws regulating confined feeding operations.

Miller, the president of Jay County Commissioners, brought up the subject Tuesday afternoon, sparking a discussion with his fellow commissioners and the director of the county’s zoning department.

The proposed 1,650-cow dairy operation southwest of Winchester would be developed by Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development and operated by Tony and Ivonne Goldstein.

“If they don’t get permitted down there, they might find their way to Jay County, because they’ve got one in Wells County,” Miller said Tuesday. Miller said he wasn’t against all confined feeding operations, but noted that the proposed dairy includes a 20 million-gallon manure storage lagoon.

He said he would favor changing county zoning laws to put a ceiling on the number of animals and/or amount of manure that can be stored.

Bill Milligan, the director of the Jay/Portland Building and Planning Department, said that the Jay County Planning Commission has discussed confined feeding operations, but decided by consensus to not ask for changes in the zoning ordinance.

Changes in the zoning ordinance can be initiated by the commissioners or by the planning commission. Counties can make laws more restrictive, but not less restrictive, than state laws.

Jay County’s laws regarding confined feeding operations currently mirror state law.

Commissioner Mike Leonhard agreed with Miller regarding the manure issue, saying that there is a small percentage of farmers who ignore regulations and laws about the spreading of manure on cropland for fertilizer.

Commissioner Gary Theurer, who is a Madison Township farmer, also operates a confined feeding operation. He said that changes in farming over the last 20 years have made it virtually impossible to survive without increasing the scale of operations.

Jay County has one of the highest concentrations of confined feeding livestock operations in Indiana.

“This county is an agricultural county. You better watch out whose toes you’re stepping on,” Theurer said. “The ag business has changed ... you can’t be a farmer unless you have big buildings.”

Theurer, who sits on the planning commission, said that he and his fellow members are against the so-called mega-farms, but do not want to discourage confined feeding operations in general.

Miller said he’s planning to attend a public hearing tonight at the Randolph County Fairgrounds regarding the proposed dairy farm.

A public information meeting will be hosted by the Goldsteins beginning at 5:30 p.m., while a public hearing hosted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management will begin at 7 p.m.

Also Tuesday afternoon, the commissioners made county auditor Freda Corwin the purchasing agent for a new computer server that will host information for at least three county offices.

The server, which is expected to cost about $7,200, will host information for the recorder, assessor and auditor.

Also Tuesday morning, the commissioners instructed Jay County community developer Wayne Bailey to move forward with asking for a planning grant for renovations at the Jay County Retirement Center.

Theurer and Miller had expressed some reservations last week about asking for the grant for a project they estimated could cost between $60,000 and $80,000.

Because Bailey said he can include his expenses in the requests, the county’s matching share for both a planning and construction grant would be less than 5 percent.

“If we don’t want (the grant money), somebody else is going to get it,” Leonhard said.

“They’re standing in line for it,” said Bailey.

The commissioners want to replace all windows at the retirement center, which was constructed in 1895. Also planned is construction of at least one Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant handicap ramp.[[In-content Ad]]
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