Will be paid through TIF revenue from wind turbines
~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
The Greene County board of supervisors at their regular meeting Sept. 16 set a public hearing “for the purpose of taking action on the matter of authorization of a loan agreement and issuance of $5.5 million general obligation urban renewal capital loan notes.” The hearing will be held Monday, Sept. 30, at 9 am in the board room at the courthouse.
The Greene County Career Academy, which will be operated through a partnership of the Greene County Community School District and Iowa Central Community College would be the major urban renewal project funded by the loan.
At the public hearing, the board will listen to oral or written objections to the action from any resident or property owner in the county. Additionally, a petition, requiring 410 signatures, presented prior to the hearing, could require the board to hold an election to determine public support for the loan or could result in abandonment of the loan application.
The board did not anticipate objection to the loan as they believe most residents of the county are pleased with the idea of the Career Academy. The loan project is being guided by the firm of Ahlers and Cooney of West Des Moines, and involves the use of Tax Incremental Funds (TIF) for repayment. The increment will come from MidAmerican’s Beaver Creek Wind Park in northeast Greene County.
Taxpayers will not see an increase in their county property tax bill as a result of the loan.
A copy of the resolution and procedures for petition are available in the auditor’s office.
In other business, Chuck Wenthold, zoning and environmental health coordinator, said the Department of Natural Resources hopes to issue a statement later this week on the recent fish kill in Hardin Creek.
County engineer Wade Weiss discussed the purchase of a used maintainer for Churdan. “New maintainers cost $370,000 and a low-hour used one is $110,000,” Weiss said. “The old maintainer can be used as a snow machine.”
The board unanimously approved hiring Rodney Freeman as part-time ambulance driver at $10 per hour for patient care and $4 per hour on call.
The board also unanimously approved a wine permit for Pit Stop in Paton.
The board canvassed the results of the special school election held Sept. 10 specifying the use of revenue the Greene County Community School District will receive from the State of Iowa Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) 1-cent sales tax.
The results were: Grand Junction, 27 yes and 12 no; Scranton, 21 yes and 7 no; Jefferson, 194 yes and 51 no. Total: 312 yes and 70 no.
Approval of the Revenue Purpose Statement enables the district to borrow against anticipated SAVE revenue through 2050. That will allow the repurposing of the current high school as a middle school to be a more complete project than what was included in the April 2018 school bond referendum.
