The Greene County Board of Supervisors met on Thursday.

The Board continued their discussion about the county jail project and how to fund it. During the discussion, County Treasurer Katlynn Mechaelsen said that by using some of the $2.1 million of surplus funds, and repaying that through the interest that is being accumulated from those investments and in other financial investments, the tax levies would not have to increase and they could make the project work financially. The Board unanimously approved the base bid with the alternatives of two additional cells and a heated Sally Port for the patrol vehicles, for a total of $11,367,290. It was also mentioned that over $724,000 was paid toward that total from other fees associated with the project.

Next, the Board continued a discussion about the HVAC project for the Greene County Courthouse. The total cost for that project was just over $3,122,000 and about $1.7 million is going to be used from the allocation of the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The Board was leaning towards using some of the reserves for this and borrowing the rest. In order to borrow the money, there would need to be two public hearings. The first one is tentatively scheduled for March 31st, with the second hearing to happen on May 5th. Before the second hearing, County Auditor Billie Jo Hoskins mentioned that the public would have a chance to file a petition for the project to be voted on by the next November election, with the petition due by May 1st. They tabled any action for further discussion at their next meeting.

The Board then approved a resolution to transfer funds from general basic to conservation reserve of $100,000 and from LOSST to the bike trail of $5,000. They also reviewed the county veterans affairs 2026 fiscal year budget request and ended the meeting in a budget work session.