Supervisors approve airport ordinance, swear in officials

After several delays due to the pending construction of the Ivester Wind Farm, the Grundy County Board of Supervisors narrowly voted to approve a new airport overlay ordinance that will allow the city of Grundy Center to recoup expenses associated with crafting the ordinance in partnership with the Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments (INRCOG).
           
Laura Brown, who resides near the airport west of Grundy Center, was the only meeting attendee to speak against the ordinance, arguing that it was essentially unnecessary at a facility that’s hardly ever used.
           
“Nobody uses the hangar except for the fellow that maintains it,” she said. “I don’t see where there’s any economic advantage to the city in the whole time it’s been there.”
           
Supervisor Barb Smith countered, however, that the ordinance itself would not have any adverse impact on nearby residents. The new guidelines would limit the height of structures that can be built within an 8,875-foot radius of the runway. Schoon, who works for INRCOG and was also in attendance, told the board that the goal of the ordinance was to allow for regulation on a local level. 
 
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