The Greene County Board of Supervisors met Monday in regular session.
The Board heard a housing project proposal from Rowland Construction President Andy Rowland. He said they are looking to build a four-plex housing project in Jefferson. There are two targeted lots, one near St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and one near the water tower area. The four-plex project would consist of two ranch-style and two two-story style housing units. Rowland said each would have a two-car detached garage, along with a refrigerator, garbage disposal, stove, dishwasher and hook-ups for a washer and dryer. There would be no basements included, and each unit would have two-bedrooms. The ranch-style would have one full bathroom and the two-story style would have 1 ½ bathrooms. Rent would be $850 with a two-year lease agreement. Each unit would be 1,000-square-feet.
Supervisor Chair John Muir asked what the Board’s involvement would be. Greene County Development Corporation President Sid Jones said however the Supervisors wanted to fit into a housing initiative program, they would gladly accept. The Board then asked about the other communities in the county. Rowland said it wouldn’t be financially feasible for him to build on one or two lots. However, if they could group together 10-14 lots, he would be more comfortable doing those types of projects. The Board then discussed and they mentioned they were comfortable providing funding to GCDC to purchase land to build housing units on. However, the Board took no action following the discussion.
The Board approved hiring Caleb Crowder as a full-time sheriff’s deputy. He will start June 1st with an annual salary of $42,500, with a $1,000 per year increase following completion of the law enforcement academy program. The Board also approved an agreement with Nyhard Company Incorporated for actuarial services for post employee benefits as presented, signing a proclamation for May as Mental Health Awareness Month and approving a beer license for Lakeside National Golf Club.
The Board agreed with Sheriff Jack Williams’ request to establish a policy to charge for fingerprinting individuals that apply for employment opportunities at the sheriff’s office. They also agreed with a request from Jefferson Matters: Main Street Tower View Team Committee member and Greene County Tourism Committee member Ginny Showman to allow the eastside of the courthouse grounds to be used for artists to sell items on October 12th in conjunction with Deal’s Orchards’ Fall Festival. Additionally, the Board also agreed to allow for lighting to be staked into the courthouse lawn near the south plaza stage during Bell Tower Festival for concerts.
During open forum, Greene County Conservation Director Dan Towers addressed the Board. He said the initial cost estimate from WHK Engineering to fix the bridge deck that was damaged due to ice jams this past winter on the Raccoon River Valley Trail was $250,000. Towers added that it could be about $400,000 with engineering costs and other materials included. He told the Board he will submit a grant application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Also during open forum, Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn addressed the Board. He said he will present a draft for the probation pilot program with Boone County Probation to the Board next week for their approval. He also mentioned using funds left in his budget for this fiscal year to update his office area.
Finally, County Engineer Wade Weiss gave an update. He said work on the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower to replace the roof will happen this week. He also mentioned that the secondary roads department is already approaching using 35,000 tons of crushed concrete and limestone material on the 750 miles of gravel roads this spring.