Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Okay, I have a few questions. So you had mentioned earlier that your plans are not firmed up yet. Unfortunately, safety is one of the authorities that the supervisors are given under home rule. So some of the concerns I have, one, is looking at your map, it looks like the Mid-American Transmission Lines go right through your range. So I wanted to know if you got an encroachment permit or an agreement with an American because they kind of rule the roost or something like that. And if you don't get approved, how does that change your life?

Okay.

Yeah, I mean, we know that those lines are running over the top, and then we would have to contact an American. Probably a really good question for Mark Marine, who I'm not sure is here today, as he's kind of taking the lead on the building side of things. That, along with a couple other factors with other governing bodies, are things that we'll look into, but did not preemptively look into because we didn't have approval from him.

Wouldn't that be a good idea to find out before you bring it to the zoning and the board? Because it can change in private plans.

They do believe he uses his rights as a land currently. They've been farming there and using it as a field and things like that. So I do believe there's some sort of agreement.

But this plan is completely different. You are going to be constructing berms, which will change the drainage, which MidAmerican does have authority over. They have to do a full engineering review before you guys can do anything. So I have a copy of the encroachment agreement requirements of MidAmerican. I'm happy to forward that to you. But I'm a little concerned that half your plan is right under the transition line.

there's really no other place you can put that yeah i mean we uh more than having to get rid of those and obviously talk about american part of the project's layout not being complete is so that if we do run into areas in which cannot be developed or need to have some changes we have the ability to do that um if there's a portion of the land and the american comes and says that we cannot you know place a burn there we will

Okay, so another question I have is looking over the NRA range requirements, one of the things they recommend is that the siting be facing north and all your sites are facing south. And the reason why they have it north is so it's not firing into sunlight. So help me understand how that would get around the sage requirements recommended by the NRA.

So the natural tonality rate of the lemon It's not a huge gradient, but it is down in a bit of a ravine. Obviously, we can't shoot towards the north. There's no background there. There's the road there. While the NRA does provide some guidelines, they're not strict rules they have to follow. In fact, High Lake is one of the largest outdoor public shooting ranges in the state of Iowa. Their entire range is

Looking at where your firing lines are, allow your firing lines to cross each other, so how are you going to do sideburns for that?

Can you give a specific example of actually how they cross each other?

Well, looking at your diagram, your long range is crossing the... the tree line there which of course is another concern you probably have to take some of those trees down which will interfere with drainage when you do that if you do that but that will cross the short range 500 yards and a thousand yards actually cross each other so i'd like to know how you do how you plan on doing the side burns for that uh they don't cross each other the the eastern arms are facing to the shooting to the east and the uh

The long range section is facing the south in a completely different direction. I don't know if they even cross each other.

The structure on the map, the diameter that the supervisor has gotten, assuming the zoning got, shows the crossing. So I don't know if that is on the same... Can I approach the dynamic plan with what you're talking about?

So the trajectory or path of the bullet may intersect, but where the firing positions are parallel to each other. So you're not crossing over anyone else shooting because you're both on a parallel plane. Just the trajectories have the potential to cross into each other, but it's the same range, just two different firing positions.

It's just that I have not seen It's set up like this very often for safety reasons. So that's why it seems like we're cramming a lot in a small area. And from a safety perspective, I normally don't see that. Usually they don't share areas like that.

On a long distance range, it's not customary to have burns all the way up to every target. But if you go to the highly shooting range, they have targets all the way up to 700 plus yards. And they have backstops where the targets are, but there's no side stops for, well, the shear. It would affect your ability to shoot at different targets and severely limit the use of the range. And because you're firing such long distance, even if you're switching targets, there's really no safety concern there.

So how high are your burns going to be?

So the current approximation is 20 feet.

20 feet.

For the 1,000 yard berm? So the 1,000 yard berm, just like other ranges, usually is a public berm, because you are making adjustments for that height overboard. Obviously, it's a much greater distance. In reference to the size of the berms, I was speaking to the Eastern Barrier Range, where you have the rifle and pistol range, 20 feet. The average on most ranges is 15, so we're exceeding that average on the rifle in physical range. Individual berms for the longer range portion, like David was speaking to, is kind of a berm for each set of targets, just essentially a backstop. Those, again, the longer you go out, the higher the berm has to be, but 20 feet is kind of our standard starting with one that we have in mind.

What do you plan on using for baffles?

inside of the burbs, or?

Where they usually go in. Some people use tires, some people use wood. What do you plan on using?

Again, I would have to get that information from Mark Moraney, who I'm not sure is here. He's doing most of the construction.

Are you referring to the baffles where we're at, exactly?

Are we just gonna heat into the soil?

That's, well, yes, that's what a backstop is.

The bad part is there's the one in front of the firing and there's the one that, because when you, especially for long ranges, when you shoot, you risk it going up like this. And I'm concerned about that because, especially in the southern portion, there's houses back there.

So at a firing position, especially rifles or things like that, there are... that makes you aim below it, and if you were to aim above it, it could be destructed out of some sort of resistant material like AR-500 steel, or things like that that are consistent with targets, steel targets, things like that. I think that's what you're referring to. Some sort of limiting device that would prevent your ability to shoot over the berm? Is that kind of what you're getting at? Yeah, so.

So just looking at your topography map here, it looks like you might have to take some trees out in order to meet your 1,000-yard plan. Is that a good assumption? There is a potential risk. OK. Has there been an environmental impact on that, regarding as that would completely change the drainage, especially in a floodplain?

are not on the edge of the middle river. It's farther on the west side than already, but

It still reduces drainage. So it would affect the drainage in that area. It would change the topography, and it would change the drainage. So it could affect the floodplain. And that's another point I want to make, too, is whenever you change your floodplain, regardless of the burns or when you take out trees, that affects everybody around, not just your property. It affects everybody around you, including the easements from American Energy's transition lines, which in their encroachment agreement, they don't let you do anything until they send their engineers out to do that. So that's something to consider. The last question I have is, have you talked to DNR about this, soil and water? Anybody about your plans? Have you run your plans by anybody at all?

So we spoke with the DNR before, and we're generally familiar with a lot of the considerations, and so we're seeking the approval for application, and if there are specific considerations that need to be addressed afterwards, that's what we'll do.

We don't have any current final drawings, so

So I'll entertain a motion regarding this Vanguard training facility.

I will make a motion to deny.

Is there a second? I'll make a motion to entertain. So there was a request as to what code we are going to be using to make our decision, and I'd like to read you the code that we're going to be using. Iowa Code 331.301, General Powers and Limitations. A county may, except expressly limited by the Constitution of the State of Iowa, and if not inconsistent with the laws of the General Assembly, exercise any power or any function it deems appropriate to protect and preserve the rights, privileges, and property of the county or of its residents, and to preserve and ensure their peace. safety, health, welfare, comfort, and convenience of its residents. That's what we're going to be using. So I'll entertain. We have finished discussion. I would like to get a roll call vote regarding the motion to deny.

Michelle? Supervisor Hobbs? Nay. Supervisor Fitch? Nay. Supervisor Stancil?

Nay.

Thank you so much.