Lewellen chosen as county safety coordinator

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors has made a decision regarding a new safety coordinator.
At the regular meeting Aug. 16, Supervisor Mike Olson said they had narrowed the prospective candidates down to one choice.
“Charla Scmid and I conducted three interviews on Aug. 15. All three candidates had a lot of good points, and all three were very good. After considerable conversation and thought, our top choice for the position was Morgan Lewellen, and that is our recommendation,” Olson said.
Supervisor Donna Robinson asked if hours, job description, and the wage were all presented and deemed acceptable by Lewellen. Olson confirmed that Lewellen approved of the job duties and the salary. Lewellen currently serves as a dispatcher in the Montgomery County Communications Center. Olson felt she should take over the position immediately.
“In this, I think the sooner we get them in place the better. We can get Lewellen in place and get her exposed to what she’s going to be dealing with and move on from there,” said Olson.
The supervisors unanimously approved the appointment of Morgan Lewellen as safety coordinator.
The supervisors also heard comments from Jan Norris, who had a few follow-up comments to a presentation given to the supervisors at the Aug. 10 meeting by Kaylee Langrell from Turnkey Logistics, who also represented Summit Carbon Solutions. When asked about the safety of carbon gas pipelines, Langrell’s response, according to Norris, was incorrect according to the Federal Pipeline Regulatory Agency.
“After 50 people were injured in a town in Mississippi two years ago, a full investigation was conducted and found that CO² was what had entered the victims, not hydrogen sulfide, as Langrell stated. In fact, because of that accident, new rulemaking is being conducted to update standards for CO² pipelines. Imposing the same safety standards for natural gas pipelines was found to be inadequate,” Norris said.
Norris also referenced the statement made by Langrell, that this pipeline project was the first Summit had undertaken. She urged the Montgomery County Planning and Zoning Commission to take preemptive action.
“The commission should be asked to draft a pipeline ordinance immediately. The commission has placed a one-year moratorium on wind energy, and the Southwest Iowa Planning Council is helping with comprehensive plans, but the pipeline is urgent. I am hopeful opposition will be successful in stopping an Iowa Utilities Board permit from being issued, but it’s the job of the supervisors to prepare the county in case it goes through,” commented Norris. “I am hopeful the planning and zoning commission will be able to draft an effective and comprehensive pipeline ordinance to protect Montgomery County and our taxpayers. We will have to take our chances whether or not the state will supercede it, but our county deserves the effort.”
Lastly, Supervisors Chair Mark Peterson issued a statement to the department heads that more work was needed for the Nishna Productions employees.
“Nishna Productions is doing shredding for us, and they’re running short on work. If there are offices that can use that, it would be good to get that material taken care of. Dan Wright has offered to move things around, and a vault is being earmarked to keep secured documents locked up until the Nishna Productions workers can get to it,” advised Peterson.