The Greene County Board of Supervisors met yesterday in regular session.
The Board approved a resolution of support to the Iowa Drainage District Association (IDDA) for legal defense of the nitrite lawsuit with Des Moines Water Works suing the County Supervisors of Buena Vista, Sac and Calhoun. The resolution called for financial support of $5,000 per year for three years to be paid to IDDA which will then be given to the attorneys that all three counties are using in the lawsuit. Greene County is not a part of the lawsuit. Greene County farmer George Naylor urged the Supervisors to think about how to address water quality issues in the County now and not wait to hear how the lawsuit will turn out, because by then it will be too late. The Supervisors decided to table how they will pay for the commitment to a later meeting.
The Board then approved nine property tax abatements for $2,942. The discussion with Jack Pedersen about assistance with a Dana property was tabled because Pedersen wasn’t at the meeting.
During the open forum, Don Orris spoke to the Board about being a facilitator for a new animal shelter for the County. The Supervisors agreed that a new shelter would be beneficial for the entire County. The Board said they would work with the City of Jefferson to establish a new facility in the City and the Supervisors and the City could work out how to pay for it. Orris said he will travel to different animal shelters surrounding the County and do more research to get a cost estimate for a new shelter.
Also during the open forum, Drainage District Clerk Michelle Fields and Regional Mental Health Coordinator Diane Jackson talked to the Board about creating a new system for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). They asked the Board if they could create a new website with administrators having the ability to update their own HIPAA policies and have their employees sign that they’ve read the policy. The new software would also allow for some email addresses to be encrypted for privacy. The cost is $3,000 per year, which Supervisor Chair John Muir felt was a good structure to have in place and they have the option to not use it in future years. The Supervisors agreed and the item will be on next week’s agenda for formal approval by the Board.
The meeting ended in closed sessions for some department head evaluations.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 26th due to the Memorial Day holiday on Monday.