The Greene County Board of Supervisors met Monday in regular session.
A majority of the meeting was discussing the HVAC project and a new roof for the Greene County Courthouse. County Engineer Wade Weiss talked about a new proposal from the architects to install the two boilers and the chilling unit for the air conditioning on the fourth floor, with roof access to the vents and other parts of the chiller. He added that it would be more cost effective to have all mechanical parts in one location, than keeping the boilers in the basement. He pointed out that a new roof, with about 4.5 inches of foam, along with a board with a PVC coating, would be an alternate to the primary project bid.
The other topic that was discussed was about the upcoming ballot measure for individuals in the unincorporated parts of the county to consider with the change in revenue purpose statement for Local Option Sales and Services Tax (LOSST) funds. Supervisor Chair John Muir mentioned that the Board is going to continue to fund the Secondary Roads Department and the Sheriff’s Office their respective portions of LOSST as a form of property tax relief, but the ballot measure is changing the language to allow for “any lawful purpose” so that they can use the additional LOSST funds toward the overall cost of the HVAC project.
It was also mentioned that the Board wanted to use the $1.8 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the federal government to the over $3.1 million HVAC project before the sunset date happens on June 30, 2025 to use that federal funding. Muir said the HVAC project has been held off for years and now the current boiler is at the end of its life and they want to keep the courthouse viable for the future. County Auditor Billie Jo Hoskins noted that if LOSST funds are not used to help pay for the project, then property taxes would be increased. The Board agreed to start getting educational material to the public about the November ballot measure.
Additionally, the Board approved hiring two part-time individuals for the Greene County Ambulance Department, including Scott Stork as needed with a $24 per hour wage and Kyle Cornelious as an emergency medical technician with an $18.75 hour wage, both effective September 19th.
During reports, County Attorney Thomas Laehn said there were 73 pending criminal cases in his office, which was prior to a few arrests made this past weekend. He mentioned that there were several domestic abuse cases for his office, and while he was unclear about what caused these alleged incidents to occur, he said his policy is to prosecute those cases regardless of the victim’s wishes. Laehn said as county attorney he represents the people of Greene County and not the victims and so he will prosecute each domestic abuse case in the interest of justice because that’s his job.
Also during reports, Muir said the sheriff’s office, architects and construction manager at-risk are still working to lower the overall amount for the new county jail. Until the amount is lower than what Greene County voters passed in the election last November, Muir said there will be no bid letting date to select a contractor.