~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
Success was the theme of the Greene County board of supervisors meeting on July 1.
Pete Russell reported the Bell Tower Festival in June was a “success and we also made money.” She said the open concept type of beer garden worked well. Russell said she’d received much positive feedback about the event and has received a request for someone to speak at the Red Oak city council about the Festival. Money to the tune of $10,000 is reportedly in the bank for next year’s event.
County attorney Thomas Laehn reported success in “changing the reputation of the county” in terms of successful prosecution of alleged law-breakers. He credited careful collection of evidence, among other things, as being important and said the county has recently “won every single motion to suppress” evidence.
Laehn also presented the board with a draft public art policy for the county. This is a continuation of an issue discussed at several previous board meetings. The draft policy describes why policy is needed, definitions of art and placement of art, and procedure to be followed by the board of supervisors in retaining editorial control of art to be displayed on public grounds.
Laehn submitted the draft to the board for input. The policy is scheduled to be officially considered by the board at the regular meeting on July 15. Laehn said, “stakeholders have input,” and he also invited public opinion concerning the policy.
Interested persons can attend board meetings and speak during the open forum part of the meetings. Open forum is a time for any concerned citizen to address the board.
In other business, engineer Wade Weiss reported on the pavement project near Paton. He also spoke about the need for new banners for the 12 poles on the courthouse side of the downtown square. The cost would be about $1,200 and a new design could be considered to focus on the rotunda and stained glass.
The board unanimously approved a resolution allowing the sheriff’s office to charge $25 per set of fingerprints. As reported previously, the sheriff’s office has been providing this service for free and people in need of fingerprinting for their employments were coming to Greene County to have it done because their own counties were charging for it.
The board also approved the year-end cash count taken on June 28 and the FY20 Employee Salary and Wages Schedule. The board noted they had heard positive things about the new Veterans Affairs department.
An agreement between the Greene County board of supervisors and New Opportunities, Inc. for county substance abuse prevention services was approved unanimously for FY20.
The board discussed appointing one of the board members to Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation. This new appointment is necessary due to the addition of sports betting. The appointment will be on the agenda for the board meeting July 8.
The board canvassed results of the special election held June 25 for a vacancy on the Jefferson city council. The winner, Darren Jackson, can now be sworn into his position.
