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

The meeting started with a request by Jefferson City Council member Luke Winkleman for the Supervisors to consider a purchase power agreement with a solar power company to help save the county energy costs. He said the city is looking to do the same thing and because the city is paying 40 percent share of the law enforcement center and the county is paying the other 60 percent, he believed there could be some significant cost savings in energy. The Board agreed to review similar proposals that the city is also considering.

Then, the Board approved the County Treasurer’s Quarterly Investment Report for October through December, as well as the semi-annual report as presented. They also approved a resolution to hire Jessica Goughnour as a full-time jailer for the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, with an annual salary of $47,000 and she will start January 29th. 

Next, the Board acted at the Drainage District Board of Trustees to continue a public hearing on a proposed improvement project for DD20 that was initially held on December 8th. The project was to increase the size of the drainage tile to the standard 0.5 inches of the drainage coefficient instead of the current 0.10 inches. The total project cost was $1,605,000 for the main tile that impacts the close to 30 landowners. 

Engineer Jacob Hagen, with AgriVia, said because the landowners vote did not reach the remonstrative threshold of at least 50 percent of the landowners that own at least 70 percent of the land, the decision would need to be made by the Board of Trustees. After the hearing closed, the Board asked for a breakdown of the cost by parcel so each landowner would have a better estimate of what they would be paying. 

The Board then named AgriVia as the engineer for the three proposed wetland projects by private landowners that are also within DD20. 

After the Board came back into regular session, they heard a 2027 fiscal year funding request from the Multicultural Resource Center. Director Sara Huddleston and Board President Mike Holden talked about the services that were provided and asked for $12,000. The Board took no action following the presentation, as they will consider the request during the budget work sessions.

County Attorney Thomas Laehn gave an update to the Board about the ongoing dispute with the Union Pacific Railroad and a drainage project in their easement. Laehn mentioned that after not receiving a response from UP about their responsibility to complete a project in their easement, the County paid for the project to be done. He said that he is waiting to hear back from UP before having the debt for the project assessed to the impacted landowners and is considering a lawsuit against UP. He noted that all proper steps have been taken to address the matter with UP and that he is seeking information regarding a meeting that the engineering firm, Bolton and Menk had with a representative from UP agreeing that they would do the work and would pass along that information to a local attorney’s office. 

Laehn said because UP is responsible for paying the project, they would also need to pay any legal bills that were generated, if the county wins the lawsuit. 

Then, the Board held a lengthy discussion with County Treasurer Katlynn Mechaelsen about financing for the HVAC project that is taking place at the Greene County Courthouse. She stated that the interest rate that is being collected from the $14-$16 million general fund is putting the county in a good position to possibly borrow less than what was originally thought to pay for the rest of the project, once the American Rescue Plan Act funds are used up. There is currently over $2 million in reserves that the county is going to reimburse the general fund to pay off the bond amount. 

There was also talk about the recently approved financial advisor, the Baker Group, and the possibility of the Board not wanting to work with that company. It was mentioned that the Baker Group wanted to advise the Board not only about setting up a 5-10 year capital improvement plan, but also about current projects, which the Board indicated that they were not interested in wanting to pursue.