~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
After many months of negotiations between the Greene County board of supervisors and the Bell Tower Community Foundation, a 28E agreement was presented to the supervisors for approval at the Oct. 23 meeting by county attorney Thomas Laehn. Laehn said the agreement was acceptable to the Foundation.
Laehn reviewed several parts of the agreement which binds the board of supervisors and the Foundation together to operate and manage the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower. The agreement will allow the Foundation to receive county funds and is required for any organization wishing to receive funds from the county.
Laehn said the agreement is binding through June 30, 2024, and is automatically renewable “unless either party terminates it.” At termination, any property purchased by the Foundation for the Tower “becomes the property of Greene County.”
“There must be 30 days’ notice for termination for any reason and 14 days’ notice for cause,” he said. “Otherwise, the agreement is considered to be breached.”
Further, Laehn said the County is responsible for maintenance and insurance for the Tower while the Foundation is responsible for workman’s compensation insurance for employees and volunteers.
Laehn said the procedure for handling money collected by the Foundation from admissions and rental of the observation deck has changed. The Foundation must now remit all fees to the treasurer’s office each month but will receive the money back. This procedure will ensure proper recordkeeping, Laehn said.
“The Foundation must keep (accounting) books and records and permit Greene County to inspect those records,” Laehn said.
According to the resolution, the Tower was built in 1966 from funds bequeathed to the county at the death of William Floyd Mahanay in 1947. The Foundation was established in 1986 “to promote the Tower and to accept financial gifts for its enhancement.”
Chair John Muir said, “We will work together in good faith to operate the Tower.”
The resolution approving the 28E agreement with the Foundation was unanimously adopted by the board of supervisors.
In other business, Tina Beaman and Peggy Hoyt, representing Highway 25 Corridor Housing Initiative, spoke to the board about the Initiative which proposes to give grants to people in Scranton, Churdan, Bayard, Coon Rapids, and Ralston to improve the outward appearance of their homes.
Beaman and Hoyt described successful CHI projects already in progress in towns along Highway 144 in Greene County.
Beaman said participants can sign up for projects to give a home curb appeal and safety. She said 50 percent of the cost of materials can be reimbursed for each approved project, up to $1,000.
Hoyt said, “Project approval is not based on age or income.”
Beaman said decisions on project approvals will be made by Apr. 15. The projects would then be completed, and money would be disbursed Nov. 15 upon receipt of photographs of the completed work.
Hoyt and Beaman asked about a possible grant of county money from Louis Dreyfus funds to add to the “pool of funds.”
The board discussed previous money given to some of the Highway 25 CHI towns for other projects.
“We don’t want double-dipping,” Muir said, and supervisor Mick Burkett reminded the board Dreyfus money could “dry up” in three years.
“We will keep Greene County money in Greene County,” Beaman said.
Bayard and Coon Rapids are in Guthrie County but other funds will be used for projects there.
Muir invited the Initiative to fill out an application for Dreyfus funds though the board took no action on Beaman and Hoyt’s grant request.
The board unanimously passed a resolution to correct a resolution passed in July 2023 which had listed the annual salary of Greene County deputy sheriff Christopher Frehse as $75,380.32. The wage was corrected to $77,380.32.
Auditor Billie Jo Hoskins reviewed a proposed budget amendment and the board set the date of a public hearing on it for Nov. 6, 2023, at 9 am in the courthouse boardroom.
Environmental health coordinator Chuck Wenthold reported the Navigator carbon pipeline company has “pulled their project,” meaning Navigator no longer plans to construct a pipeline in Iowa. Sources report this decision was based on grass-roots opposition to carbon-capture pipelines and difficulties in using eminent domain to acquire needed land.
Wenthold also reported on meetings with Beaver Creek Watershed which has hired a new coordinator.
Engineer Wade Weiss updated the board on tile repair, concrete patching, and road projects.
Attorney Thomas Laehn reported 86 pending cases which is above average due to increased law enforcement activity.
The board unanimously approved a Class C Retail Native Wine License for Deal’s Orchard from Dec. 5, 2023, to Dec. 4, 2024.
