Louisa County Board of Supervisors seek to oust conservation board member over Baird Timber comments

Jim Rudisill
·3 min read

WAPELLO — An effort by the Louisa County Board of Supervisors to remove a current Louisa County Conservation Board member from his position stalled Tuesday after county attorney Adam Parsons said further discussions are needed to determine whether the grounds for removal have been met.

Supervisor Chris Ball had made the motion to remove Sam Willson from the board following several minutes of discussion during the board’s regular meeting. Supervisor Randy Griffin then seconded the motion and the board appeared ready to vote until Parsons interrupted the action.

More: Louisa County Supervisors reverse course on closed meeting after reporter's questions

“No one has weighed in on whether I think there are grounds to remove Sam Willson from the Conservation Board,” he told the board.

Parsons said more than once that he was not saying the grounds for removal had not been established. He went on to advise the board that no one had asked him for his opinion on whether there were grounds and that it might be beneficial for the board to meet in a closed session to discuss the grounds, whether they were met and possible defenses prior to voting on the removal.

According to the earlier discussion during the meeting, the supervisors were apparently upset because of comments Willson, who is currently serving as the LCCB chair, recently posted on the WQAD-TV Facebook page.

The station had broadcast a story on the LCCB’s discussion and public reaction concerning the possible sale of the 18.5-acre Baird Timber east of Morning Sun. The LCCB had unanimously agreed at its June 6 meeting to not sell the property, but around the time of that vote, Willson and several other individuals had exchanged Facebook postings about the sale.

More: Baird Timber will remain under Louisa County ownership following long-awaited board decision

In one post, a person asked “isn’t the conservation board supposed to preserve?”, which prompted another to reply: “yes, but when the county supervisors can (appoint) members to the (LCCB), believing in conservation doesn’t seem to be a requirement to sit on the conservation board.”

Willson responded with: “They are supposed to, but when the board is corrupted, it runs astray.”

That comment drew the ire of the supervisors, especially from Griffin, who led off the removal discussion at Tuesday’s meeting.

“Corrupted is a pretty serious word. Look it up in the dictionary. It talks about being on the take, of doing something for monetary consideration," Griffin said. "That’s a pretty severe word. I take offense at that and this is the chairman of the Louisa County Conservation Board?” he said.

Griffin then went on to report that Louisa County Human Resources Consultant Paul Greufe was eventually contacted and Greufe talked with Willson.

Following Greufe’s talk with Willson, Griffin indicated Greufe contacted supervisor Brad Quigley, who also serves on the conservation board, Ball and himself to report on those discussions.

“Paul said there were grounds (for dismissal),” Griffin said.

“(Greufe) is not a lawyer,” Parsons then reminded the supervisors.

He then explained Iowa code provides a higher standard for the dismissal of a conservation board member and suggested some of Willson’s comments might also be protected speech under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

The supervisors agreed to table the issue and hold a special closed session on Thursday at 10 a.m. to further discuss the issue with Parsons.

In other action, the board:

  • Agreed to continue discussing a proposed broadband project with Natel, but not provide a $75,000 match to the company’s current effort;

  • Met with Louisa County Public Health Administrator Roxanne Smith concerning her request to change the handbook to provide new employees with vacation time in their first year;

  • Learned the county’s non-health insurance costs would be significantly increasing because of higher liabilities related to the county’s insurance pool;

  • Canvassed the primary election vote and did not find any discrepancies with the initial results;

  • Agreed to continue discussions on the possible extension of fiber optics to Virginia Grove, but without county financial support.

Editor's note: This report has been corrected to state that Parson advised the board that no one had asked him for his opinion on whether there were grounds for dismissal and that it might be beneficial for the board to meet in a closed session to discuss the matter.

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Louisa County supervisors table removal of conservation board member