The Greene County Board of Supervisors met on Monday in regular session.
During open forum, a discussion took place with Michael Larson about receiving a tax abatement through the Home Base Iowa program. Larson told the Board that he had read on the Greene County Chamber’s website an article that referenced Greene County allowing for a three-year tax abatement on purchasing a home, if an individual was a military veteran. However, only the City of Jefferson has that kind of program and the county doesn’t currently allow for that, neither does the City of Grand Junction where Larson bought his home. The total amount of taxes were projected to be $4,200 and the Board agreed to abate what they could for the county’s portion. The Board also wanted to meet with Greene County Development Corporation to figure out the confusion with the program.
The Board then appointed Billie Jo Hoskins as the authorized signatory for the county substance abuse grant documents. The Supervisors also approved the treasurer’s investment report of $7,204,273.36 for March and issuing 239 driver’s licenses for last month. They additionally approved transferring $480,000 from rural to secondary roads as part of the 2016 fiscal year budget and there was no public hearing, due to lack of bids on the sale of a property at 105 Lovejoy Street in Rippey.
The Board reviewed the master matrix scoring for a hog confinement expansion project in Hardin Township. Mike Bravard wants to build two hog structures with 2,480 head in each building in Section 5. The master matrix score was 450. The public hearing was set for May 2nd at 9am.
The Board also approved the initial detour agreement with the Department of Transportation for the 2017 overpass bridge project on Highway 30 in Grand Junction. The official detour will be from Highway 169 to county road E-26 to Highway 144. Another agreement with the DOT was pre construction plans for a primary road project was approved as presented.
Conservation Director Dan Towers gave a report on a possible National Wildlife Refuge project. He said there is some federal backing from our legislators to increase the amount of acres in Dunbar Slough and the Willow Creek Watershed as a National Wildlife Refuge designation for public hunting and fishing. He requested a letter of support from the Board and they agreed to write one for the effort. A bill is anticipated to be introduced in the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. with the understanding that if approved, the project wouldn’t be completed for at least 20 years.
There was also a brief discussion about the grain elevator project between Landus Cooperative and Greene County Art Co-op. Landus denied a proposal from Greene County Art Co-op for $140,000 to take ownership of the property that is next to the Raccoon River Valley Trail in Jefferson. Some of the members of the non-profit are working to continue discussions with Landus to come to an agreement.
Finally, County Engineer Wade Weiss reported that they are making six concrete platforms to put the finalists for the Jefferson Matters “Ring Out for Art” sculpture designs to be placed on the courthouse grounds for the public to vote on during this year’s Bell Tower Festival. The Board also expressed to Weiss that they would like to see all three water fountains be repaired in the courthouse ahead of the 100th anniversary next year.