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Explanation given for illegal disposal of house

Staff reporter

Marion County Sanitarian and Zoning Administrator Bobbi Strait told Marion County Commission Monday that she was contacted by the public regarding illegal dumping of construction and demolition waste.

The incident involved Marion County Commissioner Dan Holub and Seacat Do-it-Best Hardware and Lumber of Marion, when a house on North Cedar Street, Marion, was demolished and the debris was moved to Holub's mother's property, northwest of Marion.

Strait said she hand-delivered a letter to Holub regarding the violation. Holub then completed a permit application for proper disposal of solid waste. At that time, Holub agreed that he would not bury or burn the rubble, and it was on Ruby Holub's property, at 2376 Sunflower, only temporarily.

"It was less than a week from the time we tore down the house until contractors were coming in," Holub said. "We had to do something."

He continued that there was no intent to hide anything and that workers hauled the debris during the day and it was dumped in plain view from the road.

"We have until the end of the month to get rid of it," Holub said.

Strait went on to clarify errors that were reported in another newspaper regarding the violation.

In other business:

— Strait reported she had received numerous complaints of sewer in the yard of a residence in Burns. She currently is working with the homeowners and the City of Burns to remedy the situation.

She will meet with city officials to discuss clean-up options and a time frame.

"Inadequate sanitation is a condition to condemn a property," Strait said.

A last resort would be to shut off the water to the residence which would make the house uninhabitable and would require the occupants to vacate.

— County lake superintendent Steve Hudson presented a list of trailer lot tenants and a schedule of lot rent collection. He noted that one trailer owner removed a trailer from the lot, leaving an open space. The commission instructed him to leave the lot vacant for now which could be used by occasional campers.

Hudson asked the commission for direction regarding the disposal of old signs. He asked if they could be sold or given away to discourage new signs from being stolen. The commission will take the request under advisement.

Hudson requested and received a 10-minute executive session to discuss personnel. The meeting reconvened with no decisions.

— County transfer station manager Rollin Schmidt reported there were 12 applications for recycling grants, including Marion County's. He was told by the state that the recycling grant applications would be reviewed after electronic waste applications were funded.

The county transfer station collected 779.58 tons in June for a total of 3955.77 tons so far this year. The cost of disposal per ton is $36.86.

— The county soil conservation district presented a report of activities and a request for the same amount of funding as previous year — $28,790. The district's total budget is $99,157.

— County road and bridge supervisor Tom Holub requested and received a 15-minute executive session to discuss personnel. When the meeting reconvened 10 minutes later, the commission approved a family medical leave for an employee.

The next commission meeting is at 9 a.m. Monday at the courthouse.

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