~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
The Greene County board of supervisors unanimously approved a request for funds from Don Orris and Mary Weaver on behalf of the proposed new animal shelter. At the regular board meeting on May 6, the supervisors pledged $5,000 from Dreyfus funds toward the $1.13 million total construction cost for the project. According to board chair John Muir, “We all agree that this needs to happen.”
Orris explained several people have been working on writing grants for the shelter and the supervisors’ pledge can be used as leverage in pursuing other grants. He hopes to have fundraising completed by next spring. He explained that grant money is often time-limited and grants already awarded to the shelter could expire if the total money needed for the shelter isn’t reached by a reasonable date in the future. The group has raised about $450,000 to date.
Supervisor Tom Contner asked about clear title to the ground where the shelter will be built and asked, “Can that be used as leverage, too?” Weaver and Orris replied that it could.
The county’s so-called Dreyfus fund is money paid to the county by Louis Dreyfus LLC in lieu of property taxes. A few more years of the development agreement that established the payment in lieu of taxes remain.
The supervisors previously agreed to share with the city operating costs for the shelter once it is built. The county will pay up to $15,000 per year. The Dreyfus fund money is the first county money put into construction.
The supervisors also signed a proclamation making June 2 Jerry Roberts Day in Greene County. Roberts is the 2019 recipient of the Greene County Impact Award for outstanding volunteer support of activities in the county. A ceremony will be held on Sunday, June 2, at 3 pm in the courthouse rotunda.
Chuck Wenthold, environmental health, reported that full permits for the Brown Pork Site and McCormick Pork Site will go into effect May 14.
Sheriff Jack Williams reported interviewing two well-qualified applicants for deputy. Supervisor Mick Burkett inquired as to the applicants’ experience. Williams said their experience was equal but “the decision came down to a college degree.”
The successful candidate, Cale Crowder from Guthrie Center, graduated last Saturday with a degree in criminal justice from Waldorf University in Forest City. He will start work June 1.
The board unanimously approved $1,902 for the County Substance Abuse Prevention Grant FY20.
