The Greene County Board of Supervisors met Monday in regular session.
During open forum, County Environmental Health Administrator Chuck Wenthold reported on the North Raccoon River Watershed meeting from last Thursday. He said the group decided to call themselves the North Raccoon River Watershed Management Coalition. There are 85 entities in the watershed and they will finalize the bylaws in December.
Roger Aegerter spoke on behalf of Jefferson Matters: Main Street Tower View Team. He requested to use the courthouse grounds again for their Ring Out for Art project. The Supervisors agreed to let them use the north entry sidewalk and the south plaza to display the sculptures. The Board also wanted to make it clear to the selected artists that they are not to drill holes into the concrete bases that the county created earlier this year.
The Board then approved the County Sheriff’s quarterly report of fees as presented. A brief discussion then took place about possibly joining with other counties to build a new jail facility. Sheriff Steve Haupert thought there were too many logistics to justify going in that direction. Supervisor Guy Richardson thought it would save the county money if they didn’t have to operate and maintain their own jail facility. No action was taken on the topic.
Following a public hearing, the Board passed a 3 to 1 vote in favor of a resolution selling two properties that the county owns at Maplewood Addition and Albert Head Addition to the City of Jefferson without cash consideration. Lorrie Lawrence was present and asked about buying the property at Albert Head Addition, but she was instructed that she had to go to the City to purchase it.
The Board heard an update and a 2018 fiscal year budget request from Elderbridge Agency on Aging. The request was for a five cent increase to $2.85 per person over the age of 60 to continue their services of providing meals for the elderly. The Board took no action on the request.
The Board then reviewed the master matrix score for Justin Ostrander in Hardin Township. The score was 455, more than the minimum allowable score of 440. A public hearing was then scheduled for November 14th at 9:45am.
Finally, County Engineer Wade Weiss gave an update to the Board. He said the painting on top of the Mahanay Bell Tower is nearly complete. The bells would then be re-installed next April. He also brought a request from the Union Pacific Railroad to close a portion of the county east of Grand Junction, so they can finish replacing a bridge on the railroad.
Richardson then proposed an idea that starting 2017, once a month, the Supervisors hold their morning meeting in a different community, to show their interest in the county and support of other communities. Supervisor Co-Chair Dawn Rudolph thought that they instead hold an evening meeting in each of the communities. No action was taken by the Board on the topic.