STAFFORD COUNTY — The Stafford County Commissioners were unpleasantly surprised at their regular meeting Wednesday morning, when they learned that a hay grinding operation scheduled for review on the morning’s agenda seeking permission for a special use permit had already set up operations at another location in the county.
Midwest Hay and Grinding’s special use permit application was on the Commissioner’s Aug. 7 agenda, set for 8:30 a.m. at the request of the county zoning board. On Monday, July 22, the board unanimously voted to recommend disallowing Midwest’s request to locate an operation in the county.
“They were not happy,” noted Carl Miller, county appraiser, who also serves as adviser to the Stafford County zoning board. “They had just voted 3-0 to uphold the zoning board’s recommendation when they were shown pictures of them already in operation, with trucks and equipment there, grinding hay.”
Miller said that the Stafford County Attorney would prepare a letter with a desist order, to be served to the operation’s owners by the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office by Wednesday afternoon.
Different site
The permit’s request was to locate on a 20-acre tract owned by T.R. Esfeld, Great Bend, near NW 70th Ave. in Stafford County. Currently, however, operations, with a stock of hay, grinding equipment and several trucks, were observed on land owned by Hugo Damm, south of Great Bend and east of U.S. 281 in Stafford County.
“After the letter is served, they will be required to shut down,” Miller said. “If they do not shut down, then we will continue on with what we have to do.”
Last month, the operation was ordered to shut down in Pawnee County via a consent agreement desist order signed by both owners of the company and the Pawnee County Commissioners by July 27. At that time, operations were conducted on land owned by Esfeld near the intersection of 20th Ave. and R5 Road in eastern Pawnee County. River Township residents near the location brought protest concerns to the commissioners in April, after a large hay fire on-site, citing health and safety concerns from the airborne hay dust.
