Worth County Brush Enforcement Discussed

Brush enforcement was discussed at the Worth County Commission meeting Monday. The brush ordinance is a voter-approved measure passed 15 years ago. It states that all landowners are responsible for clearing brush along county roads. If a road is deemed in violation, the county will send all landowners along the road in question a brush letter. Failure to cut brush after receiving a brush letter means that the county can cut brush for them and assess it on their taxes. The county will not post cost estimates along with a brush letter; the cost for removing brush is between a landowner and a contractor.

If trees are partially cut in response to a brush letter, and the brush grows back again in five to ten years, then the landowner is still responsible for cutting the brush at that time.

There are setback rules for county roads. Most have a right-of-way of 50 feet, or 25 feet from the center of the road in each direction. However, some are as low as 40 feet and some setbacks are as wide as 60 feet.

The county plans to pass a budget by the end of January. The county is taking bids on various projects between now and the end of the month, and they are still waiting for last-minute tax money to come in that was mailed on December 31st as well as end-of-year interest.

Someone hit the Gilland Bridge in the middle of the night recently, damaging a guardrail corner as well as 10-15 feet of guardrail. The person left the scene.

There was discussion about cutting off more tree branches in the courtyard, including the tree on the southwest corner.

The Worth County Not for Profit group met following the regular meeting and appointed Stephanie Hardy as Secretary/Treasurer. The group was formed to get the USDA loan/grant for a new motor grader and excavator three years ago, since the USDA could not give the money directly to a county. The Worth County NFP is paying off the loan with around $45,000 a year that is passed from the Road & Bridge Fund. The loan is being paid off over a 12-year period at 2% interest.