A construction permit application for a swine finishing barn in Section 22 of Ellsworth Township was sent on to the Department of Natural Resources following a public hearing Tuesday during the Hamilton County Board of Supervisors meeting.

The new barn is located on the Greenfield Fox Finisher Farms site and will be the second on the site.

“The type of operation is one new, 2,510-head deep-pitted swine finisher confinement building at an existing swine facility site,” said Board Chairman David Young. “The animal units will be 2,000 animals units of 5,000 finishing swine.”

The project will add a second barn just east of the existing barn of the same size.

There were no objections to the project filed before or during the hearing, though Young said he had been contacted by concerned neighbors.

“I had personally gotten several calls from some of the neighbors,” he said, adding that he was surprised they weren’t in attendance at the hearing.

“I was on site yesterday with the DNR and an Iowa Select Farms representative for about an hour. I would say that the Greenfield family has been farming and raising pigs in the Jewell area for a very long time. This is just an expansion.”

Young said he felt the manure management plans were in order and the plans for the facility meet the specifications required by law.

In a related matter, public hearings for four more finishing facilities were set for Nov. 14 during the 9 a.m. board meeting. The board will review:

• Stagecoach Finisher Farms, a two new 2,500-head, deep pit, swine finisher confinement building, in Section 28 of Fremont Township;

• Doolan Finisher Farm, three new deep-pitted, swine finisher confinement buildings for a new confinement facility located in Section 10 of Fremont Township;

• Abbott Finisher Farm, two new 2,500-head deep pit swine finisher confinement

buildings for a new swine confinement facility, located Section 18 of Fremont Township;

• Chase Finisher Farm, two new 2,500-head deep pit swine finisher confinement

buildings for a new swine confinement facility, located in Section 18 of Fremont Township.

“These are in the northwest part of the county,” Young said.

A public hearing will also be held on the Fiscal Year 2018 budget amendment during the Nov. 14 meeting.

The board also approved a territory transfer agreement for water service for Briggs Woods Park.

Young explained that Xenia Rural Water had been providing service to the park but with the new Conference Center under construction, Xenia could not provide the capacity needed. According to Young, the Conference Center will receive water service from the City of Webster City.

The cost to transfer the service was $61,000, Young said.