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

During open forum, Greene County Engineer Wade Weiss updated the Board on some projects. He said the E-18 bridge is almost complete. The bridge replacement project was delayed last year due to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources stipulation of the endangered fish species, the Topeka Shiner. Work wasn’t allowed to begin until after August 1st. He said work was further delayed due to the rough winter and wet spring seasons. The bridge has been replaced and Weiss is hoping to get the pavement part finished this week, depending on further weather complications.

Weiss also talked about the gravel road damage by an electrical power company replacing the main power line from east of Scranton to Grand Junction. He estimated the damage to be $100,000 for time and material from the County Secondary Roads Department. He added that the entire cost may not be reimbursed as negotiations continue. The parent company of the project is Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO). 

Also during open forum, Greene County Sheriff Jack Williams said he was going to have a conversation with Craig Flack about an upcoming event to be held at River Farms Recreation on August 3rd. Williams said he was concerned from the previous event about the safety of everyone. He agreed to speak with Flack to make the August 3rd event safer and involve his deputies, with pay, to help cover it. Supervisor Chair John Muir agreed that everyone needs to be kept safe at events.

The Board then approved hiring Dennis Healy as a full-time employee and Roger Hoyt as a part-time employee for the Secondary Roads Department. They also approved hiring Connie Valder as a part-time driver’s license examiner for the County Treasurer’s office and Katherine Jackson as a full-time jailer for the County Sheriff’s office. Additionally, the Board approved the County Recorder’s report of fees for June of $18,081, the County Auditor’s quarterly passport report for April-June of $1,820 for 52 passports, the County Treasurer’s investment report for June of $5,742,608 and issuing 274 driver’s licenses last month.

John Torbert of the Iowa Drainage District Association (IDDA) also gave an update. He talked about a lawsuit filed by the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) organization. Torbert said the lawsuit is suing the DNR and the Iowa Department of Agriculture Land and Stewardship about not doing enough to protect Iowa’s waterways on water quality issues. Torbert pointed out that the lawsuit didn’t name IDDA. He also said it was a quiet year at the Iowa Legislature.

Finally, the Board tentatively approved the engineer’s report to create a new drainage district of DD191. The proposal is to install a 30-inch main line with a 15-inch line to the first and second branches, along with a 12-inch line for the third and fourth branches. The estimated cost was $745,000, with an additional $126,000 from the County Secondary Roads Department. A public hearing was set for August 26th at 9am.