The Greene County Board of Supervisors met Monday in regular session.

During reports, County Environmental Administrator Chuck Wenthold said the Iowa Utilities Commission, formerly the Iowa Utilities Board, has accepted Summit Carbon Solutions informational public meeting dates for the second proposed route of underground pipeline to capture additional liquid carbon dioxide from ethanol plants. He added Greene County is part of the second route and the informational meeting is scheduled for noon on August 28th at Clover Hall.

County Attorney Thomas Laehn told the Board that the Greene County Conservation Board is considering approving the revised county park ordinances that he helped with. He mentioned that if the revised ordinances are approved, they would take effect August 1st. Laehn also reported that his office had 58 pending criminal cases, which was down compared to last year at this time of 90 cases.

County Engineer Wade Weiss gave an update on the South Grimmell Road bridge in the city of Jefferson. He said the bid letting is scheduled to happen later this month, with the project to potentially start this September and will likely take about one year to complete.

The Board then heard an update with Greene County Development Corporation. Board President Scott Weber talked about the recent interest from different companies about the former Forge building in downtown Jefferson, as well as going to city council meetings across the country and working on a visioning plan for GCDC. The new Multicultural Family Resource Center Director Sara Huddleston was introduced. She spoke about meeting with employers in the county, her job responsibilities and working with law enforcement to overcome language barriers that they might have with individuals they interact with.

Next, the Board heard about an update with the Greene County Career Academy. Iowa Central Community College President Dr. Jesse Ulrich said that ICCC is the fifth largest community college in the country, with 1,200 employees across its nine counties. He said the career academy in Jefferson is the most robust academy in their region and the community college trains over 15,000 people for the workforce. Additionally, the credits from the career academy can be transferred to any higher education institution for either someone’s major or electives. 

The Board then reviewed the mid-year report about the health insurance plan with their representative, Ryan Berven. He told the Supervisors that half-way through the 2024 calendar year, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield predicted the county would have over $410,000 of claims, but there has only been $285,000. The Board also has a reserve of over $2.1 million.

The Board also approved the County Recorder’s quarterly report of fees, accepting the bill of sale of $1 from Midland Power Cooperative to acquire the communications tower at the law enforcement center administrative building that the county currently uses, terminating the old 28E agreement from 2000 with the city of Jefferson about the animal shelter, and approved four applications for disabled veteran homestead tax credit. Additionally, the Board approved a resolution to transfer $150,000 from debt service to Midland Power as the final payment for the law enforcement center administrative building, hiring Hailey Saffel as a part-time dispatcher for the Greene County Sheriff’s Office for $19 per hour that is effective July 10th, and hiring Abigail Champion as a part-time emergency medical technician for the Greene County Ambulance Department for $13 per hour, retro-active to July 1st.