~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
At the meeting on June 28, the Greene County board of supervisors continued discussion of possible construction of a detached 30-bed jail to be located near the new law enforcement center west of the municipal cemetery.
ISG, an architecture and engineering firm who had worked with county sheriff Jack Williams several years ago, had presented information at the supervisors meeting on June 14. At that time, the board asked ISG representatives for information about other jails they had designed or worked on.
A representative of ISG had spoken briefly at that meeting of possible water concerns on the building site, citing “swamp water,” and suggested additional fees for investigating this.
In researching swamp water, GCNO found this is a layman’s term sometimes used in water engineering instead of “necro-leachates” when speaking of water draining from a cemetery to lower ground. Research shows burial chemicals such as arsenic from older graves and many other chemicals involved in burial materials do not degrade and can be found in wells and ground water and soil located downhill from cemeteries.
At the June 28 meeting, it was learned ISG has already submitted a draft agreement for the construction to be reviewed by county attorney Thomas Laehn. Williams reported Laehn has reviewed the draft.
However, chair John Muir said the public has questions that need to be answered.
“We have some hesitancy,” Muir said of the board taking action on the draft agreement. “The public has questions about the number of beds in the jail. Do we need 30 beds if neighboring counties have additional beds available?”
Williams said 30 beds would meet federal standards.
“We have five groups of inmates (to accommodate): minimum security, medium security, maximum security, sex offenders, and females,” Williams said. “We house 350 to 400 inmates per year.”
Laehn was not available to comment on the draft agreement.
The board noted information requested from ISG about other work they have done specifically on jails has not yet been presented to the board.
Supervisor Rudolph said, “We need a contract in hand and we need answers for people.”
The board tabled consideration of the draft agreement and stated an intent to gain information from other counties about the work of ISG.
In other business, a public hearing was held on the application of Franklin Pork, LLC owned by Kent Scheib, to amend the master matrix scores for the site. Scheib recently purchased the operation and removed dead trees which affected the points for landscaping in the original matrix scoring.
Scheib proposed not replacing the trees and subtracting those points. He proposed adding points by injecting or incorporating manure on the same day as it is land-applied. This would net a passing score of above 440 points on the matrix.
Chuck Wenthold, environmental director, reported a call from a person who wanted trees at the site. Muir also reported concerns from the public over lack of trees and manure management on fields close to Cooper.
Scheib stated he does not have trees around his other two sites because the DNR requirements cite specific types of trees and landscaping which he found to be complicated.
According to Rudolph, trees “help with odor control and eye appeal.”
Supervisor Pete Bardole said, “We can’t require you to have trees, but we strongly suggest it.”
The board seemed in general agreement about their support for trees and landscaping.
After discussion, Muir said, “A trade-off of trees for manure might be beneficial to the neighbors.”
In the end, the board recommended Iowa Department of Natural Resources approve the construction permit application of Franklin Pork, LLC, with the amended master matrix scoring. Comments from the public and board will be sent with the application, according to auditor Jane Heun.
The vote was 4 to 1 with Bardole casting a nay vote.
Conservation director Dan Towers presented three change orders for work done on the bike trail bridge repair south of Jefferson by Dixon Construction. Dixon requested an additional $642 for extra re-rod, $7,425 for additional concrete and removing a log jam, and $1,368 for heat blankets on the concrete.
The board unanimously approved the change orders but questioned whether these could have been anticipated in the original estimate. The repair is 85 percent funded by FEMA.
Towers reported the repairs are almost completed. The board discussed having a ceremony such as a ribbon-cutting when all is ready.
The board unanimously approved the hiring of Deana Shriver as a part-time, as needed, ambulance driver at $10 per hour when driving the ambulance and $4 per hour when on call.
The board also unanimously approved the hiring of Bethany Hauptmann as a paramedic at $20 per hour, on an as-needed, part-time, basis. Hauptmann requested 12-hour shifts.
Open forum discussion addressed questions the public had previously called in to various supervisors.
Muir asked if Greene County is a sanctuary county. Williams said that it is not a sanctuary county.
Engineer Wade Weiss reported an inquiry by Mary Richards, rural Cooper, about federal funds coming to the county through the American Rescue Plan. Weiss said Richards was wondering what the funds can be spent on and she was wanting a farmer to be on the committee being formed to plan the spending.
An inquiry about possible prizes or incentives given by the county to encourage COVID-19 vaccination was discussed.
Rudolph said, “I am more for spending dollars for tax relief rather than a vaccination lottery.”
