Should Public Hay be given Away?

 

The commission also discussed commission president Walt Helmick’s suggestion that they terminate their exclusive agreement with Jamie Warner, which has allowed him, and his father before him, to make hay on the 90-acre county owned hayfield on the East Fork property. Helmick said two other farmers have asked to make hay on the property, as well, with each of them and Warner being allowed to make hay on one-third of the hay field, or about 30 acres each. Helmick said this is only fair.

John Simmons spoke up supporting Jamie Warner, saying that Warner and his father worked hard over many years to improve the hayfield by removing rocks, putting down fertilizer, seeding and grading what was originally a very poor producing hayfield, and now these two other farmers want to come in and benefit from all that hard work. Jamie Warner also spoke up and pretty much mirrored what Simmons said.

The other two farmers, Travis Vandevender and Allen Sisler, spoke up, saying that this is county land and as citizens they should also be allowed to make hay on part of it.

Commissioner Jamie Walker said, by his calculation, the 90 acres produces about 160 bales of hay and if you divide that by three, each farmer would get a little over 50 bales, which would not be worth their time and effort. He suggested the commission put the contract out on bid effective next year, but warned that other farmers could also bid on it.
Commissioner John Rebinski added that if the commission allowed the other two farmers to have portions of the land out of a sense of fairness, what will happen if two or three additional farmers come next year also wanting their fair share of the hayfield. Rebinski said that the commission traditionally always rewards contractors, who do a good job year-after-year, by renewing their contracts, and the Warners have done a good job on that hayfield for 33 years, so the commission should allow Warner to continue to make the hay on that field.

Helmick, for the second meeting in a row, tabled a decision on this until the next meeting.

Source: Pocahontas Times