Humboldt County Iowa

Contact Information

Office Hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Emergencies call: 515-332-2600

Humboldt County Emergency Plan 26/08/2007,07:26

Emergency Management

Pat Colwell was hired in January of 2008 as Emergency Management Coordinator for Humboldt County.  The year has been filled with outstanding training opportunities.  He has taken or attended over 21 courses and schools.  On May 25, 2008, he was called to help fellow Emergency Management Coordinators respond to the Parkersburg F-5 Tornado where he spent nine 16-hour days.  This was followed by a phone call to get back to Humboldt, as the County was experiencing flooding and sewer backup.  He worked this incident for about two and half weeks.  He applied for an Emergency Operation Center (EOC) Grant.  This was a nation-wide grant and only one county in Iowa was picked but we did not receive this grant.  We will continue to look for other opportunities to subsidize this project.  With the help of a grant writer, he applied for a grant application to participate in the Emergency Management Performance Grant for FY 2009.  The Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT) has been actively training and recruiting new members.  Training for new members will be conducted as soon as we have enough applicants to fill a class.  Storm Spotter Training will be provided again this spring.  The agency again will be collaborating with county agencies to coordinate emergency plan exercises.

Humboldt County Zoning

There were 64 building permits issued in FFY 2007/2008.  Zoning policies and ordinances are being reviewed for potential updates, which includes updating the zoning maps.

Humboldt County Sanitation

The sharing of sanitarian duties with Pocahontas County has been in effect now for nearly tw0 and one-half years.  The shared program continues to be beneficial to both counties and is a testament to the ability of counties to work together and serve their citizenry.  This office is responsible for the grant program (Grants to Counties) that helps fund the plugging of wells, the rehabilitation of existing wells and well water testing in the county.  Additionally, the sanitarian issues new well permits and septic system permits by way of Chapter 49 and Chapter 69 of the Iowa Code.  The sanitarian is also charged with responding to nuisance complaints.