It’s been four months since Pure Prairie Poultry (PPP) in Charles City shut down its operations.
During a City Council planning session last week, citizens expressed concerns that PPP’s unpaid City water bill of over $500,000 would be passed on to residents. Mayor Dean Andrews said that appears unlikely at this point. He was also asked about the possibilities of someone new taking over the chicken processing plant.
Another PPP question raised was the City’s selling of a one-block section of North Main Street to the plant for future expansion. Councilman DeLaine Freeseman addressed the issue.
Freeseman also acknowledged the continuing concern of any odors that might be produced if the facility is ever re-opened.
Last month, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) filed its final report in Sioux County District Court that it cost the state of Iowa over $2.3 million to care for and, eventually, euthanize some 1.3 million chickens due to PPP’s closure.
IDALS cited frustration in becoming involved with a situation that could have been avoided, noting that creditors’ objections played a key role in preventing the original PPP Chapter 11 bankruptcy plans, which also led to roadblocks to selling the chickens before all of the birds were euthanized.
Objections to the report had to be filed by February 10th. Court records show only one objection was filed by a group of four cooperatives. They claimed IDALS did not have a “clean” title to their chickens to dispose of the chickens and undermined the ability of the co-ops to sell their chickens.
Iowa Secretary of Ag Mike Naig has vowed that his department will pursue all available avenues to recoup taxpayer costs from the responsible parties.
