Committee completes review of proposed health ordinance

<p>Helen Wilbers/FULTON SUN</p><p>Former health ordinance committee member Tim Safranski, standing at left, and current member Jeff Jones address Callaway County commissioners during a Monday meeting. Others in attendance included former members Josh Lehenbauer and Kenny Brinker, and members of local activist group Friends of Responsible Agriculture.</p>

Helen Wilbers/FULTON SUN

Former health ordinance committee member Tim Safranski, standing at left, and current member Jeff Jones address Callaway County commissioners during a Monday meeting. Others in attendance included former members Josh Lehenbauer and Kenny Brinker, and members of local activist group Friends of Responsible Agriculture.

A flurry of applause sounded when members of a health ordinance committee - organized to review a confined animal feed operation-related health ordinance - wrapped their last meeting.

Nine months after the committee formation and one month after Callaway County commissioners voted to dissolve the committee, a group of former members pressed on. On Thursday, they gathered to reviewed the ordinance's final section, hoping to see it go to a public vote in August.

"The end's in sight here," committee member Leo Patrick Smith said.

Smith plans on compiling a complete, updated draft of the ordinance for review by committee members. He will then share the draft with some English teachers, who will edit the copy.

Moderator Rick Hess suggested the final draft should be shared with Kent Wood of the Callaway County Health Department. Parts of the ordinance would require the health department to form a CAFO review committee, which would have duties such as reviewing and approving county health permits for incoming CAFOs and inspecting the sites every five years, among others.

Following review, committee members plan to distribute the final draft to media and the Callaway County Commission by March 12.

"As a Class 2 county, we're not allowed to do an initiative petition (to place the ordinance on the ballot)," said Shirley Kidwell, a member of Friends of Responsible Agriculture. "The commissioners have to vote."

Committee member Jeff Jones suggested requesting an answer from commissioners within a set time period, to help inform next steps. Ultimately, members settled on a week.

Part of the reason for the tight timetable is the deadline to file as a candidate for the Nov. 6 general election. The deadline is March 27, and filing opens at 8 a.m. Feb. 27.

Callaway County Clerk Denise Hubbard said, the presiding county commissioner's seat is among the offices open for filing.

Smith said if the current batch of commissioners decline to place the health ordinance on a ballot, there's a chance the next might.

In other words, even if the ordinance doesn't find a place on the August ballot, it's far from dead.

As written, the ordinance would apply to new CAFOs with a specified density of animals: 1,000 or more animal units at 150 units or more per acre.

The ordinance would establish setbacks to keep CAFOs and waste products a certain distance from populated areas, water and recreational facilities. It also introduces a variety of other safety measures to keep diseases from spreading to people. Additionally, it requires information about land on which waste is being spread to be documented and submitted to the county recorder.

The ordinance's final draft will be available for review upon release by the committee.