OTTUMWA — Tons of tires still lay scattered along Cemetery Road in Wapello County, though county officials plan to have them cleared this summer.

More than 1,000 tires were illegally abandoned along Cemetery Road after flooding last year. The Wapello County Board of Supervisors discussed the issue at their meeting Tuesday morning.

The county received three quotes from contractors for the project, and the supervisors decided to go with the lowest quote, about $5,980. They will not take official action until next week. The property owner where the tires were left has to complete some paperwork.

“We need to come up with some kind of ordinance because this is expensive,” suggested Supervisor Greg Kenning. “We need something to restrict the number of tires that people can store.”

Board Chairman Steve Siegel also suggested if they create an ordinance, it clarifies who is responsible for clearing them up.

The supervisors are able to fund the project through a community disaster grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Wapello County was awarded $125,000 to complete projects in diaster areas that were not funded by other sources. The remainder of the grant money will be used on a new generator for the county and to demolish abandoned homes damaged by floodwater.

The supervisors talked about who is responsible for those abandoned buildings or trailers, since in most cases, the property owner does not own the building, but rents the land out. And in some cases, the building owner has been awarded FEMA money and left their mess for the property owner.

“The property owner has some responsibility there because they were collecting rent; I think they would have more control over that,” Kenning said.

“We have that option, but we also have this money to clean up some of these,” said Supervisor Jerry Parker.

The tire cleanup will be on next week’s supervisor meeting agenda.

Meanwhile, the board:

• Approved the county’s agreement with Ottumwa Regional Health Center for an employee wellness plan. The plan will cost the county $40/person for a year, which will be paid out of the insurance fund.

• Noted the emergency management commission has selected an applicant to fill the emergency management coordinator position. The individual has passed a background check, however, they have yet to pass physical and drug tests. Once those are satisfied, the person would start on July 6, Parker said.

• Noted that Iowa Public Radio KDWI 89.1 in Ottumwa is back on the air.

Pat Shaver can be reached at (641) 683-5360 or via e-mail at p.shaver@ottumwacourier.com