~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
At their regular meeting on July 27, the Greene County board of supervisors agreed to open all doors in the courthouse to public entry. Restrooms will also be open.
“Everything will be like it was before,” said chair John Muir. He added, however, that a change in the status of COVID-19 infection in the area could cause a return to restrictive measures for the courthouse.
Supervisor Pete Bardole reported he had attended a meeting of the merging entities Jefferson Matters: Main Street and the Chamber. He said the new entity will be called Jefferson Matters: A Main Street and Chamber Community.
Executive director of the new entity, Reegan Hanigan, was present and said her office is now at the welcome center at Thomas Jefferson Gardens.
County attorney Thomas Laehn reported the courts are now open and there is a 100-case backlog in Greene County.
Chair John Muir reported he had electronically attended a meeting of the North Raccoon Watershed. A watershed management plan was approved, though not unanimously.
Objections to the plan had to do with Environmental Protection Agency funds and reducing nitrogen levels in run-off water. Muir said the plan could open the door “to possible future restrictions on pounds of nitrogen” used on land within the watershed.
The board adjourned into a drainage district trustee meeting to discuss DD14 and DD191. Jacob Hagan of Bolton and Menk, consulting engineers, was present and presented each situation.
For Drainage District 14, located in Greenbrier and Jackson townships, lidar and sonar was used to determine drainage patterns. Hagan recommended 110 acres on the south end of the district be annexed into the district.
The board approved the annexation unanimously.
Classification of the 110 acres was then done based on the benefits to each landowner in the district. Hagan said four criteria were examined when assessing costs to each landowner: 1) soil wetness; 2) how much of the tile does the landowner need; 3) how close is the landowner to the tile; and 4)water run-off factors, such as from gravel roads.
Hagan said an estimated cost of $400,000 would be assessed to landowners, based for each landowner on a per acre basis of benefits from the drainage.
Auditor Jane Heun said there were several options for paying the assessments. The entire assessment could be paid by October 1. If a landowner contacts the auditor’s office, half the assessment can be paid in September and half paid the next March. Another possibility would be for landowners to pay in installments up to 20 years at 6 percent interest, if set up with the auditor’s office.
The board unanimously approved the classification and assessments for DD14.
A completion hearing was then held for DD191, located between Jefferson and Scranton. According to Hagan, the final cost of the project came in at $247,000 which was less than the bid of $261,000.
Hagan said fees for crop damage and compaction were calculated and will be paid to the landowners affected.
The board unanimously approved completion for DD191.
The board heard annual reports from John Torbert, executive director of the Iowa Drainage District Association, and Ryan Berven, Group Benefits Partners for the county’s health plans. Berven reported that based on claim experience early in the year, the county may see no increase in premiums when the policy renews.
