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

During open forum, County Attorney Nick Martino asked the Board if they would pay for him to take the new assistant to the county attorney to a training class that will be held later this month. The Board agreed to allow Martino to ask if the new assistant would be interested in attending, but didn’t decide if they would pay for him to go.

The Board then heard an update from Jefferson City Administrator Mike Palmer. He said the bid opening for the $1 million Community Development Block Grant will be on March 23rd. He also reviewed work that is being done to update the new gravesite software to search for loved ones. Finally, Palmer mentioned that the City is interested in obtaining the former Pizza Ranch building. The item will be considered on Tuesday night’s City Council agenda.

The Supervisors then approved the $13.4 million budget for the 2018 fiscal year, following a public hearing. The Board also approved a resolution for the Board to take a zero percent increase in salaries and give a 2.5 percent increase to all other elected county officials for the next fiscal year.

Sheriff Jack Williams then made a request on behalf of ACCESS Assault Care Center to install teal lights on the spotlights of the Mahanay Bell Tower in April for Sexual Assault Awareness Month and purple lights for October’s Domestic Abuse Awareness Month. The Board decided to talk with the Bell Tower Community Foundation and see if it would be okay to install them for one week instead of a month.

The Board then approved hiring Christopher Freshe as a full-time deputy with a starting salary of $40,000 prior to the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy certification. Freshe is expected to start April 12th.

The Board then had a discussion with representatives from Greene County Development Corporation about the proposed community development project with Iowa Business Growth’s Zach Mannheimer. Following the discussion, the Board was leaning towards committing to the initial phase of the county-wide project and contributing $24,000. However, no formal action was taken by the Board.

Finally, the Board approved a Class B beer license for Lakeside Golf Club.