The Greene County supervisors at their July 31 meeting began the task of placing a bond referendum for a new Greene County jail on the Nov. 8 ballot, with the plan down-sized from one nixed by voters last November.
During the Reports portion of the meeting sheriff Jack Williams and auditor Billie Jo Hoskins told the board that Ahlers & Cooney, the county’s bond counsel, needs information relative to a proposed bond issue by Sept. 21.
The new plan is for a 14,150 sq ft building accommodating 15 beds and four holding cells, a kitchen and office space, at a total cost of $9,940,937 (including a 15 percent contingency and financing costs).
The original plan was for a 17,650 sq ft building with 20 beds and four holding cells, a kitchen and office space. Total cost of that project was $12,032,812.
The new proposal also includes a flat roof rather than a pitched roof, reducing the cost by $500,000. Williams had initially proposed a flat roof, but the supervisors prevailed in their request for a pitched roof. The pitched roof had a life expectancy of 50-75 years, while the flat roof has a life expectancy of only 20 years.
The tax rate needed to pay the bond has not been calculated. That will be the job of Ahlers & Cooney.
The board agreed to move forward with the project.
A bond issue needs a 60 percent majority for approval. Last November 57.45 percent of voter cast “yes” votes and 42.55 percent cast “no” votes, so the measure failed.
Greene County attorney Thomas Laehn reported on a five-day jury trial that concluded July 24 with a verdict of guilty on a charge of attempted murder and two other charges. He said he had talked with a state court system employee with 37 years in the job who called the trial “the biggest trial in Greene County” in those years.
Laehn said another jury trial is set for Aug. 22, with that trial likely lasting two days.
Laehn also reported a meeting with members of the Bell Tower Community Foundation board and Foundation attorney David Morain at which they discussed the relationship between the Foundation and the county. Laehn said the conversation was “productive.”
He said he and Morain agreed a 28E agreement would be best, including language of how money generated by admission and rental fees at the tower would go to the county, with the county reimbursing the Foundation for the money. “Really, outside entities shouldn’t be using county property to generate income,” Laehn said. “That creates legal problems.”
Another option discussed was the county leasing the bell tower to the Foundation. Laehn said most people thought that wasn’t a good idea by the end of the conversation.
Morain is drafting an agreement.
On the agenda was discussion of a request to designate the bridge on Highway 30 over the Raccoon River near J Ave west of Jefferson as the Capt Matt Nielson Memorial Bridge, and to designate Hwy 4 between Hwy 30 and Hwy 141 as the LCP Benjamin Carman Memorial Highway.
The request was made by Cory Van Sloten of Army Survivor Outreach Services, a company contracted by the Department of Defense to provide support to surviving family of deceased service members. Carman and Nielson were both killed in action during the Global War on Terrorism.
The request was not initiated by either family, but by Army Survivor Outreach Services.
The county will incur no cost with the designations. The Carman and Nielson families will fund and maintain the signage.
The supervisors will pass a resolution at their next meeting as part of the process to get the designations.
County engineer Wade Weiss reported County Road E-57 west of Hwy 4 would be closed effective that day for a resurfacing project that will also add 2 feet of width to both lanes, for a 24-ft roadway. He said the next project will be on County Road N-58, the Greene/Carroll County line.
The supervisors approved a rental agreement with Osceola County for two large secondary roads trucks at a cost of $4,050 per truck per month, effective Aug. 1 through May 31, 2024.
Building/zoning official Chuck Wenthold reported to the supervisors he had surveyed the courthouse basement to see what items need to be moved out before construction in the HVAC system begins later this year. He reported finding 15 file cabinets and nine or 10 desks.
