~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
Don Orris, representing the new animal facility committee, updated the Greene County board of supervisors at the regular meeting on Aug. 17. Orris said the committee would like to move ahead with a scaled-down plan.
“We have raised $592,000 over the past four years, but we can’t raise the total we’d hoped,” said Orris. “We looked at the animal facility in Perry and talked with Mark Peters about his new construction.”
Peters is a local veterinarian who used metal building construction for his practice on the north edge of Jefferson.
“Metal buildings have improved over the past few years,” said Orris. “Now, some of them have R values (for insulation) that can meet the codes. We’d like to go forward with a metal building.”
Orris listed reduced expenses for the revised plan as $39,000 for the architect and $13,000 for civil engineering. These reduced fees are in addition to the lesser cost of a metal building compared with the concrete building originally planned.
“We would build the building first, then the dog park,” Orris said. “The building will look similar to Mark Peters’ building.”
Board chair John Muir encouraged the project, saying, “It will be better than what we have and something we can be proud of.”
County engineer Wade Weiss reported on general clean-up after the derecho that roared through Greene County on Aug. 10.
“The number one priority has been restoring power,” Weiss said. He described downed trees across the county and ongoing efforts to clean up. Weiss reported a window had been broken in the bell tower. He said it is due to be fixed Tuesday.
Supervisor Pete Bardole said, “The (earlier) tree-trimming near Squirrel Hollow made a difference when the storm hit.”
“Everyone stepped up for clean-up,” said Muir and supervisor Dawn Rudolph said, “It’s amazing we didn’t have injuries.”
The board discussed having an inventory of damage ready for FEMA applications.
In other business, the board adopted Resolution 2020-36: Resolution Endorsing the Use of Face Coverings in Greene County to Mitigate the Transmission of COVID-19. The idea of a resolution was presented at a previous meeting by Becky Wolf, Greene County public health director.
In brief summary, it states every person in Greene County “should wear a face covering” when “in public; inside of any indoor public setting; outside if keeping 6 feet apart from other people is not possible; and when using public transportation.”
The entire resolution lists times when face coverings are not needed and describes the appropriate kinds of face coverings.
The complete resolution is available here.
County attorney Thomas Laehn discussed a need for a community service option for adult offenders. He plans to meet with a group to discuss possibilities.
The board adjourned into a drainage trustees meeting to discuss a letter of support of the Iowa Nutrient Research and Education Council’s
North Raccoon River Wetlands Initiative proposal to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
This is related to a previous controversy involving northern counties’ objections to urban counties being included in the same watershed.
Supervisor Tom Contner noted, “This watershed deal is getting bigger. (It seems like) it’s being shoved down our throat.”
County attorney Thomas Laehn advised the board to respond to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship as drainage trustees instead of county supervisors.
It appeared the trustees approved the letter of support, but no formal action was taken.
