Unrest over a repair and construction project for County Ditch 24 ballooned to new heights recently, as the Faribault County Board of Commissioners learned Tuesday that everything from physical threats to vehicular damage has been exchanged at the polarizing work site.

Roughly two weeks after a contingent of county residents told the board the ditch’s drainage system causes excessive water flow into their property, one of those residents acted in apparent retaliation for onsite surveying by I&S Group, which was contracted for the project.

“An I&S employee was there,” county drainage manager Merissa Lore informed the commissioners. “And Charlie Carlson was upset his land was being driven on.”

Carlson, the resident at the center of the recent stir in Winnebago City Township, then proceeded to get into the I&S employee’s truck, according to Lore. After driving it through a nearby waterway and stopping elsewhere, he allegedly told the I&S surveyor to “park over there from now on.”

In the process, Lore added, Carlson “blew a tire” on the I&S truck, leading the contracted surveyors to say they will not return to County Ditch 24 “until the situation is resolved.”

As aggressive as Carlson’s alleged actions were, commissioner Tom Loveall said the incident is not surprising considering other reports he has received from the area, which is part of the district he represents.

“We’re seeing evidence of darn-near terroristic threats,” he said. “I’ve heard of these things, people threatening to kill or run over or hurt other people, and now we’re starting to see those attitudes in these situations.”

It is an unfortunate escalation from public debate over the effectiveness of ditch drainage near local farmlands, as commissioner Tom Warmka noted.

“I told them two weeks ago the project had already been bid and was going to happen,” he said.

It is also an escalation that will not be tolerated, Warmka and his fellow commissioners agreed.

“Law and order can’t be held hostage by someone being so unreasonable and unlawful,” Loveall said, noting that even Carlson’s alleged concerns about fields being driven on could have been alleviated by compensation for construction-induced damages.

Moving forward, Lore added that the plan for County Ditch 24 is for a temporary clearing out of the site, which was slated to undergo drainage system repairs.

If and when I&S or anyone else returns to the project site, though, Warmka wondered aloud whether the county should consider taking further precautions.

“Maybe we should send sheriff protection out there for the surveyor,” he said.

Lore assured the commissioners she would keep them updated on future developments with the project, which previously prompted Loveall to publicly defend himself at a Nov. 1 meeting.

When guests continued to press the board about concerns with the drainage in County Ditch 24, he said at that time that he was “tired of being accused” and reminded the group of critics that he never claimed to be the project’s engineer.

The County Board faced some additional scrutiny in a separate issue at Tuesday’s session when Mike Weber, of Clark Township in Wells, requested temporary approval of a rezoning of his property.

Weber claimed to have received support for rezoning, which would enable housing construction on what is now labeled agricultural land, and discussions with the county’s Planning and Zoning department gave him the impression the process was advancing as planned.

County attorney Troy Timmerman, however, recommended the matter be tabled because of a lack of clarity regarding whether the county or the city of Wells has jurisdiction when it comes to rezoning the land.

“It was awfully surprising to me that in the 11th hour, problems came up,” Weber said. “I’ve been dealing with this since 2011.”

Timmerman mentioned the county could ultimately pursue some form of joint jurisdiction to solve the issue, suggesting cooperation with city attorney David Frundt, and the board voted to postpone a decision on the request until a later meeting.

Only commissioner Bill Groskreutz, who represents the Wells area, voted against the postponement, asking that the board hold off on a decision but also postpone things contingent upon Timmerman’s recommendation for the property.

Things were not quite as challenging during the first zoning request of the morning, which came from Lucas Johnson, of Johnson Pork Producers in Rome Township.

The board voted to unanimously support Johnson’s efforts to expand his livestock operation from one barn to two, as the only people who may have been affected by such a change signed off on the request as well.

Johnson’s request for a conditional use permit did, however, spark conversation about the possibility of county regulations regarding windbreak requirements for livestock operations.

“Some think it is an onerous requirement to have windbreaks included,” Loveall said, “but I don’t think it’s that difficult to set a standard if you did want to require them.”

A standard is exactly what would need to be established if regulations were to be enforced, Groskreutz added, since the county would then be tasked with giving a reason for mandating windbreaks, or wind barriers.

And that is something Warmka said the county should ultimately not worry too much about.

“I prefer not to dictate to producers what they’ve got to do,” he said. “If we’re going to regulate this, I want to have science to go with this, not just because the neighbor’s ticked about another hog barn going up. Plus, you want to use natural ventilation. It’s healthy.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, the County Board also:

Heard a presentation from Bob Sworski, of CBS Squared, a Wisconsin-based engineering firm, on renovation and construction possibilities for the county’s Public Works Department facility.

Complete with an extensive report on existing conditions and concerns regarding Public Works shops in Blue Earth and the Wells/Bricelyn area, Sworski’s presentation estimated costs of renovation and an addition to the Blue Earth facility at $7.183 million.

An entirely new Blue Earth facility, meanwhile, would cost a projected $7.393 million excluding the possible expense of a site acquisition, whereas a combined Wells/Bricelyn facility would cost an estimated $2.05 million.

Sworski suggested the Golden Bubble, the former ballroom and reception hall south of Wells, as a potential site for new Public Works facilities in the area and took several questions from the commissioners before allowing the board time to ponder future plans.

“You’ve planted the seed,” Warmka said. “Now we’re going to let that thing germinate.”

Heard an update on construction from county engineer Mark Daly, who anticipates the North Main Street bridge in Blue Earth to be opened in the next week or two and said County State-Aid Highway 18 was slated to be open to traffic in the coming days.

“Because of the wet fall, the roadbed is saturated and tender,” Daly said, of CSAH 18. “We may have to close this section of highway next year when the frost comes out.”

Approved Veterans Services Officer Dave Hanson’s request to accept a $26,000 bid for a new department van as well as 18 donated gas gift cards of $25.