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

During reports, County Engineer Wade Weiss gave an update. He started by sharing last Friday’s public meeting for the Safety Action Plan through the Iowa County Engineers Association. He talked about the representation from local law enforcement, emergency medical services personnel, and others shared areas of concern with traffic safety on the county road system and then about the use of rumble strips on the centerline and edges of roads to help further keep the motoring public safe and alert. 

Weiss then talked about the change in designs for the roof replacement from BBS Architects as a bid alternate with the HVAC project for the Greene County Courthouse. He said the change was an increase not to exceed $30,500 for a total of $217,918 for the designs. The Board agreed to move forward with the change so as to not slow anything down with the project.

Then Cooper resident Chris Henning addressed the Board. She told the Supervisors that Summit Carbon Solutions had recently filed an updated map of impacted landowners on the proposed second phase of the underground liquid carbon dioxide capture pipeline to go from Louis Deryfus to POET Biorefining in Coon Rapids. She also showed a map of the current watersheds in the county and said she wants Greene County to be ready to further oppose the project. 

Next, the Board approved appointing Supervisor Vice Chair Dawn Rudolph to the City of Jefferson Animal Shelter Board, as she replaced Assistant Greene County Attorney Laura Snider, who went to part time as the assistant county attorney. 

The Board then reviewed its renewal of health insurance with Blue Cross/Blue Shield for 2025. Assured Partners representative Ryan Bervens said there are 190 members, which includes the 74 county employees, that are on the county’s health insurance coverage. He noted that the claims to date are about $255,000 below where estimates would be at this time of the year. Bervens encouraged the Board to decrease the overall premiums that the county pays, which would also mean a small decrease in what the employees would pay, for health insurance coverage of either 2.5 or 5 percent drop in rates. The Board tabled its decision because the Board Chair, John Muir, was absent from the meeting.