Public hearing held on data center, cryptocurrency ordinance

   During the April 29 Jones County Board of Supervisors meeting, the board held a public hearing and approved the first consideration of a new county ordinance: Cryptocurrency and Data Centers.

   During the last board meeting, Land Use Administrator Whitney Amos brought the proposed ordinance to the board's attention. There was some discussion on the noise level pertaining to the decibels (dB).

   The ordinance states that the maximum dB is 60. Amos said that is just under the threshold of a wind turbine.

   "At night," she said, "it's required to be 50 dB."

   Supervisor Joe Oswald said his concern is not with the noise level necessarily, but where the noise level will be measured from.

   "I feel it would be interpreted in different ways," Oswald said. "Someone could use it to their advantage or somebody else's disadvantage."

   Amos shared that under the "Noise" portion of the ordinance, it states, "… shall not exceed 60 dB for more than five minutes within an hour, when measured at the exterior of any residence, school, hospital, church, or public library existing on the date of approval of the permit."

   "So it would basically be the neighbor's residence or property line," Amos reiterated.

   "It could be quite a ways away and still be loud," Oswald said. "Let’s say the closest place is a mile away and you take that reading there and it's at 60; that's loud."

   "Who's going to measure it?" asked Supervisor Jeff Swisher.

   Amos noted the ordinance specifies that it has to be a third party, someone who is certified.

   "A report prepared by qualified third-party analyzing the noise profile of the project area… The expense for testing and reporting the results, in written format to the county will be the responsibility of the applicant."

   "It's going to be a constant hum," Amos said, "whether it's louder or softer, there's still a constant hum."

   "That constant hum," commented Linda Stickle of Anamosa, "lots of studies are showing that it's causing a lot of mental issues with people."

   Under the ordinance, a company wanting to establish a data center, for instance, would have to re-zone. That would require a public hearing with the Planning and Zoning Commission, as well as a public hearing with the board of supervisors.

   "Once that got re-zoned," Amos said, "then there would be another public hearing with the Board of Adjustment for the actual application for the data center. So there would essentially be three public hearings for that. And it would be up to the BOA if they feel there needs to be a buffering zone."

   Any data center, etc. that is erected in Jones County would also have to have a concrete foundation.

   Due to the fact that this is a new ordinance, Amos recommended the board approve the first consideration for the time being, giving people a chance to comment before all three considerations are approved.

   "If people have problems with it, they'll come in and tell us," Swisher said. "If they don't, we'll pass it."

In other county business:

   • As the supervisors gave updates on their various committees, Supervisors Jon Zirkelbach and Darrick Hall shared that ECICOG, Heritage Area Agency on Aging, and HACAP are all waiting to see how their federal funding pans out.

   "They sent out a call to action to contact our legislators and congress people to let them know how important that is," said Zirkelbach.

   • Paula Hart, outgoing Environmental Health administrator, introduced the board to Lisa Bogran, Hart's replacement. Hart's last day was May 2.

   • County Auditor Whitney Hein informed the board that Every Child Reads (ECR) Jones County can no longer implement a summer tutoring program, for which they applied for $600 in funding from the county for FY 2026.

   "Because of liability issues, they can't move forward with the project," Hein said.

   The board was OK with ECR using the allocation to purchase books for children instead.

   • Hein provided an update on the courthouse first-floor bathrooms. Due to several things that still need to be addressed, it would be another two to four weeks before they are open to the public.

   • There was a pre-bid meeting regarding the courthouse roof replacement project on April 29. Bids are due May 13.

   • The board chose to hold off on abating a nuisance located at 10664 First St., Center Junction, owned by Amanda Dirks, until the wooden pallets are removed from the property.

   • The board approved a contract and sub-contract with Bard Materials for contract rock.

   Bard was awarded five gravel roads in the northeast section of the county. Their contract amount is $86,932.10. Three roads were added to their allotment, for an additional $22,440. Those roads include Jay Road, 120th Avenue, and Riverview Road.

   "We're still under budget," County Engineer Derek Snead said for contract rock.

   He anticipates all contract rock to be down by mid-May.

   "That's about the earliest it's ever been done," remarked Oswald.

   "It usually spills into the first part of June," Snead recalled.