Sibley, Iowa — Two hearings regarding the smell coming from the Iowa Drying and Processing or IDP plant in Sibley have been postponed.
A hearing on the City of Sibley vs. Iowa Drying and Processing case, which was to have taken place in August was pushed back to November 1st and 2nd. Now, according to court records, Harold Dawson, the city attorney, has asked that the hearing be postponed again.
A counter suit was also filed by Iowa Drying and Processing against the City of Sibley, requesting that the court not allow Sibley to continue to cite IDP for nuisance violations. Court records indicate that Dawson also asked the court to postpone a hearing on the counter suit as well, which was to have been on the same dates.
According to the Osceola County Clerk of Court Stephanie Wollmuth, the court has granted the requests, and a scheduling conference will be set up to come up with dates that will work for all parties involved. However, the scheduling conference hasn’t been scheduled yet either.
The City of Sibley has been in an ongoing battle to try to get the odor problem fixed so IDP can continue providing jobs for Sibley residents.
According to commercial real estate broker William Stazzoni with World Group Commercial Real Estate, the plant and property in Sibley has been listed for sale. On the firm’s web site at worldgroupllc.com, the 160,000 square foot plant is listed at $5.5 million.
We spoke with Dawson in September, and at that point he emphasized that the City’s goal is to get the odor issue resolved so the plant can continue to operate — not to force them out of town.
