~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
“Controversy about the bell tower is a good thing,” Greene County board of supervisors chair John Muir said at the regular meeting of the board on Jan. 25. “The bell tower matters, and people care.”
At the board meeting on Jan 21, the board unanimously moved to suspend all music from the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower until policies are adopted governing the playing of music.
During the open forum at the Jan. 25 meeting, Rippey resident Nancy Hanaman asked for more information about the temporary suspension. The board asked county attorney Thomas Laehn to respond.
“We need to pause and set up some policies on whether outside groups can be allowed to request music,” Laehn responded
“The (Bell Tower Community) Foundation has set precedents in allowing fundraising through outside groups in the past. There is no legal problem with allowing this,” Laehn said. “There is no policy that covers it, however. If one group is allowed to request music, all groups must be allowed.”
Laehn identified three issues needing clarification in policy-writing: whether the music requested is live or digital; who has the actual authority to make decisions on music; and how to deal with the confusion caused by precedents set by the Foundation.
Supervisor Dawn Rudolph said she was confused when the Bell Tower Foundation “sent the question to us.”
According to Muir, “This brief interruption (to bell music) will result in policy that will prevent future problems.”
The music controversy has been at the forefront since Jan. 14 when the board of supervisors denied a request from the Greene County Democrat central committee to the Foundation to have patriotic music played on Inauguration Day.
The Foundation, despite having honored requests from groups in the past as evidenced by public announcements, referred the request to the board of supervisors through supervisor Peter Bardole, the ex officio member of the Foundation.
According to Bardole during an interview with GCNO on Jan. 16, the board denied the request for music, because “the Public Art Policy does not permit groups or individuals to publicly suggest things to the board. Any ideas for art or music on county property have to originate with the board.”
However, GCNO learned from two reliable sources who asked not to be named that the decision to deny the request for patriotic music was made after discussion between an unidentified member of the board and an unidentified member of the Foundation concerning “the political climate after the 2020 election.”
According to both sources, there was concern that patriotic music for Inauguration Day could result in anger from some voters, and possible demonstrations or violence.
It is unknown if this played a role in the initial decision made by the board.
At the board meeting on Jan. 18, the board reversed its decision and county attorney Thomas Laehn stated the Public Art Policy did not apply to the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower.
Patriotic music was subsequently played live on Inauguration Day, with the Greene County Democrats donating $50 to the Bell Tower Foundation, Democrat central committee chair Chris Henning said. That has been a standard donation in return for specially requested music.
In other business, the board unanimously approved a letter of support for an application to Grow Greene County to help with repair to the Raccoon River Valley Trail bridge 2.5 miles south of Jefferson.
Conservation director Dan Towers said the completion date for the work on the trail bridge has been moved from an estimated July 31 of this year to Nov. 30 in order to attract more interest in bidding.
Chuck Wenthold, environmental health administrator, reported he will be chair of the Beaver Creek Watershed Management Authority for calendar years 2021 and 2022.
The board unanimously approved hiring Avis Keasey as fulltime drivers license clerk beginning Feb. 1 at an initial rate of $40,000 per year. Keasey could receive an additional $2,000 raise Aug. 1 if review of performance is positive.
The board presided over a brief public hearing on a proposed amendment to the county’s FY2021 budget consisting of adjustments to revenues and expenditures. Auditor Jane Heun reported no written or oral objections had been received by the board and the board unanimously approved Resolution 2021-04 appropriating funds to expenditure categories.
Ellen Ritter reviewed the General Assistance budget for FY2022 with total expenditures totaling nearly $23,000, similar to the current year.
Betsy Stursma and Patti Treibel reviewed the county mental health budget for FY2022. To reduce the region’s expected fund balance to within the State’s limit, the tax levy rate will drop from $31.66 (per $1000 in taxable valuation) for the current year to $14.75. Stursma and Treibel expect the rate to be raised back to current levels during the budgeting process for FY2023.
Expenditures for mental health programs are estimated to total nearly $134,000 for FY2022.
