~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
At their meeting on Apr. 24, the Greene County board of supervisors discussed a possible ordinance establishing a permitting process for food, services, and merchandise vendors on the July 25 RAGBRAI route through Greene County. Any ordinance would only cover the unincorporated areas of the county since cities have their own ordinances.
County attorney Thomas Laehn recommended the supervisors discuss fee schedules for permits, a requirement vendors have general liability insurance coverage, requiring permission from landowners for vendors to set up, and safety considerations such as vendors being on the right side of the travelled road.
Requiring permits for children under age 14 was discussed and whether a permit would be needed if a vendor was giving away bottles of water.
Mary Weaver, Rippey, asked about beer sales.
Supervisor Dawn Rudolph noted the ride through Greene County would be in the morning and chair John Muir said beer permits in unincorporated areas would not be approved.
After discussion, the supervisors agreed to recommend a fee schedule for vendors of $400 for for-profit vendors, $100 for non-profit vendors, and $1 for vendors under the age of 14.
The supervisors seemed to agree a children’s permit fee would teach children about economics and governmental processes. They agreed the amount of profit children might make would not affect the need or cost of a permit.
The supervisors did not address sales tax, sales tax permits, sales tax rates, or payment of sales tax by children who might not understand giving up part of their profits.
Penalties for selling without a permit could be arrest for being a “nuisance,” though Laehn suggested “emergency permits could be purchased on the spot” the day of the ride.
The board asked Laehn to write a draft ordinance for RAGBRAI vendors and present it at the meeting on Monday, May 1.
Riley Gibson and Sherry Timmons, representatives from the Summit Carbon Solutions’ carbon pipeline project across Iowa, updated the board on progress.
Gibson said there will be 9.6 miles of pipeline through Greene County and voluntary easements of 91.11 percent of the land needed for the pipeline have been obtained.
Gibson said 68.8 percent of the 467 miles needed in the state have been acquired.
Timmons and Gibson said the Iowa Utilities Board will meet in October and there is a “push on identifying drainage districts to get paperwork in order.”
Safety of a finished pipeline was reviewed, and Gibson said airplanes will fly the lines every two weeks to spot any visible problems. Comprehensive assessments will occur at five-year intervals, according to Gibson.
Muir asked whether the future of ethanol is in question now.
Gibson told the board ethanol in Iowa is a $10 billion a year business and the pipeline will make ethanol plants more competitive.
Rudolph asked whether other counties are giving “pushback” to the pipeline construction. Gibson said there was some pushback in the earlier phases.
In other business, Anthony Minnehan, representing The Highlander Corporation, requested $10,000 in Dreyfus funding for rental housing renovation in Churdan. He said four of nine apartments in a 50-year-old building have been renovated using funding from other sources. A fifth apartment is partially done.
Minnehan said Churdan 2.0 is a fiscal sponsor for The Highlander Corporation.
Described as “the only rental facility in Churdan,” the apartments cost $90,000 each to renovate and will eventually rent for $1,000 per month, according to Minnehan. This would include heat, water, snow removal and mowing.
Rudolph said she has seen the renovated units and described them as “nice, but not extravagant.”
Minnehan said the project had been “turned down by Grow Greene.”
Rudolph told him Grow Greene had received many applications for funding and wanted to fund projects that could be fully completed.
After discussion, the supervisors acknowledged the need for rental housing and unanimously voted to award a total of $10,000 in Dreyfus funding to the project, to be paid in two payments as funds become available.
The board unanimously approved a resolution to transfer $76,000 from the Election Equipment Fund to the General Supplemental Fund to pay for new election equipment recently delivered.
The old election equipment was traded in on the new.
Chuck Wenthold, environmental department, told the board the county’s discounts on workers’ compensation insurance provided by IMWCA (Iowa Municipalities Workers’ Compensation Association) could decrease if the County does not have a written seatbelt or restraint policy.
He discussed a model policy from IMWCA “created for the safety of employees while operating official vehicles, equipment, and personal use of vehicles for official business.”
Attorney Laehn had told the board earlier he saw no legal problems in the model policy. The board discussed the information but did not take action on it.
Wenthold also told the board of a board of adjustment meeting on Thursday, May 4 at 6 pm in the courthouse boardroom to consider conditional use permits for Grand Junction Solar.
