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

Jefferson City Administrator Mike Palmer gave a monthly update on the City.  He said the City Council will appoint its building and code enforcer position at Tuesday night’s meeting.  There were 18 applicants for the open position.  A new lift station is being installed to handle the added capacity of Wild Rose Jefferson facility.  Palmer notes that they are on target to be completed with extending sewer to the casino by June 15th.  The casino also passed its inspection by the State Fire Marshal’s office.  Cobblestone Hotel Inn and Suites structure that’s attached to Wild Rose Jefferson is enclosed and the roof is installed.  All windows are also installed and crews are starting to do the electrical and plumbing work with a target completion date of August 1st.  Finally, Palmer added that they have 120 members for the Jefferson Community Golf Course.

The Supervisors then agreed to help with the demolition project at 201 Ayner Street in Dana.  Chair John Muir explains why the Board wanted to help with the project.

“Well, we haven’t done any projects in Dana really before.  We realize that all the cities are strapped for resources for revenue.  And (Mayor) Jack Pedersen had done a good job of getting kind of the ground work laid.  It’s just good for the community.”

After much discussion, Muir added that the Board will pay for half and the City will pay for the other half of the demolition.  Funds from the County will probably come from Local Option Sales and Services Tax.

The Supervisors approved to hire Jeana Keller as a full time jailer with the Sheriff’s office.  Sheriff Steve Haupert said Keller was a part time jailer and will move into a full time role due to the resignation of Justin Durlam.

Other items that the Supervisors approved included fireworks permits for Eric Brincks and Jack Williams Jr., the County Recorder’s report of fees for May of $15,110.77, the County Treasurer’s investment report for May of $5,531,193.07, the driver’s license report for May of 209 and transferring $15,000 to the election equipment reserve fund were also approved.

John Torbert with the Iowa Drainage District Association (IDDA) gave his annual report to the Supervisors.  He report that this year’s legislative session was a success for the IDDA.  They got some funding for their nutrient reduction strategy.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is filing a rule for the Waters in the United States proposal.  He said it would give the EPA more regulatory control over all waters in the country.  The 297-page proposal leaves a lot of grey area when it comes to how water will be regulated by the federal government.  Congress has asked for the proposal to be withdrawn, but the EPA will not comply.

Torbert then talked about the Des Moines Water Works lawsuit.  He hopes the issue will be handled quickly through the courts, but it may take 8 to 10 years to do so.  It will be handled at a federal district court in Sioux City.  He noted that the lawsuit essentially is trying to regulate all drainage districts with the Clean Water Act.  Currently the Iowa Department of Natural Resources handles regulating the drainage districts.  Torbert added that if the lawsuit is successful, it could have a national impact.

The Board then discussed the regional mental health advocate position.  Coordinator Diane Jackson said they’re new advocate is Brett Michaels and payment for his position would no longer be from the state government, but from the shared counties.  His salary is to increase from $17 per hour to $19.50 per hour starting July 1st, as determined by the judicial district.  Discussions are currently taking place to see if the shared supervisors of Guthrie, Greene and Dallas counties can reduce his salary.

Finally, County Engineer Wade Weiss requested approval of a contract with the Verdin Company to replace five strikers on the West Minster Bells for the Mahanay Bell Tower.  He said currently, only one striker of the five is operational.  The proposal is for $32,650 to install five new strikers on site.  The Supervisors agreed to proceed with the project.