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

The Board approved a temporary transfer of $320,000 from the general basic fund to the Resource Enhancement And Protection (REAP) program fund and appropriate the final 15 percent for REAP.  The County will be reimbursed through grants to recoup the expense at the end of the year.

The Board then reviewed the Master Matrix scoring for a new hog confinement for S&A Partners.  County Zoning and Sanitation Tim Healy said the score was 475 with the minimum score of  440 needed to pass by the Iowa Department of Natural Resource’s (DNR) Matrix.  It is for three buildings in Section 25 of Paton Township.  Next Monday will be the public hearing on the topic.

The Supervisors voted 2-2 and ultimately denied the motion to place the first reading for a noise reduction ordinance for the County.  Supervisors John Muir and Guy Richardson voted in favor, while Supervisors Tom Contner and Mick Burkett voted against.  Supervisor Dawn Rudolph was not present at the meeting to vote.  Contner’s concerns was that it would be hard to enforce and there is still a noise ordinance from the state that is established.  The proposed ordinance will be on the agenda for next week’s meeting for another attempt.

A public hearing was then held for the industrial tax exemption ordinance.  Resident Chuck Offenburger was the only one who made comments.  He said he was in favor of the ordinance, not because it directly affects him, but for overall economic development.  He pointed out that outside investments have helped to push the economy forward for the County and he would like that to continue with opportunities like the new ordinance.  Following the public hearing will be three required readings before the ordinance can take effect.

Finally, County Engineer Wade Weiss brought an issue to the Supervisors.  He said the County took control of an old fueling station in Scranton.  The DNR wants to take samples of the soil to confirm that there is no contaminated soil from any underground fuel storage tanks.  He also asked the Board about possibly getting nine bells on the Mahanay Bell Tower fixed while work is going to be done on five other bells next month to try and save the County money for future maintenance.