~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
The open forum portion of the Jan. 22 meeting of the Greene County board of supervisors erupted in accusations and criticism from several speakers focusing on the activities and methods of Greene County Development Corporation.
GCDC has recently asked for county funding of a Multi-Cultural Family Resource Center to assist new immigrant families access needed resource and language services for students. It has been a topic of controversy in past weeks at supervisor meetings.
GCDC has received $50,000 from the county annually for several years. The new request is for an additional $5,000 a year for each of the next three years. The extra funds would go toward the salary of the director of the Multi-Cultural Center.
At the Jan. 22 meeting, Dennis Hall Jefferson objected to county funding for GCDC in general and the Multicultural Center in particular.
“Be very careful about working with GCDC,” he told the board. “They shouldn’t be underestimated in a business situation.” He advised the supervisors to get written guarantees from GCDC on paper before doing business with them.
Supervisor Dawn Rudolph said, “We’re looking at things seriously. We’re listening and hearing you,” supervisor Dawn Rudolph said. “They (GCDC) know they need improvement on leadership. I haven’t agreed with some of their projects. They didn’t think things through and (projects) failed.”
Rudolph went on to say, “We don’t always agree on how the money is spent, but we don’t micromanage those funds. There are some benefits (from GCDC activities) to small business. We’ve had a lot of discussion about the Center and what GCDC is doing now. We do need good growth.”
“When we allocate funds to non-departmentals (non-county non-profits) we look at what they’ve done in the past,” she said.
Remarks from Kirk Citurs of rural Scranton about immigration brought discussion from the board, others present, and Zoom attendees.
“Our nation has been invaded by 10 million illegals,” Citurs said, citing statistics from unnamed sources on the internet.
“There are 150,000 children missing after coming over the border and 200,000 dead from fentanyl. GCDC wants to bring illegal aliens to Greene County. We already have a supply of workers to meet our demand. Land prices will fall,” Citurs said.
Citurs accused GCDC of working with the International Rescue Committee and Democrats to destroy the “red State of Iowa and red Greene County,” referring to the party color associated with Republicans, not Communists.
“Diversity! I can take a vacation if I want diversity. Diversity is weakness. Unity is strength,” he said. “We have our culture and it’s stable.”
Hall added, “Busloads of people are coming from Chicago. GCDC insists on bringing illegals here.”
Sheriff Jack Williams was again asked if Greene County is a sanctuary county. He told the board Greene County is not a sanctuary county.
Rudolph said there is a website that lists Greene County as a sanctuary, but the county has not been one since 2016. She said a correction has been requested but the website told her it would take months to correct.
GCNO found a listing of sanctuary cities and counties on the Center for Immigration Studies website as well as other sites. Greene County, Iowa was included on the sites. The CIS website had been updated in Dec. 2023, but Greene County remained listed as a sanctuary.
Williams also addressed confusion as to the difference between “undocumented” and “illegal.”
“Undocumented and illegal are the same thing,” he said.
Supervisor Pete Bardole, board representative to GCDC, was asked if GCDC is bringing undocumented workers to the County.
Bardole said GCDC is not bringing undocumented workers.
Another speaker accused “one party” of insisting on bringing illegals. “Immigrants work for cash, and they don’t pay taxes.”
Supervisor Dan Benitz said, “We’re forced to accept a new social society.”
“We don’t want to force anybody to be what they’re not,” chair John Muir said. “It’s natural for the world to change. We have to understand each other’s cultures.”
Muir and other board members tried several times to return the focus of the issues back to the responsibility of the board of supervisors for the financial good of the county.
Rudolph spoke about concern that services such as ambulance, fire, and law enforcement could become overwhelmed if there were a large number of new residents.
“An over-abundance of low-income housing is not good,” she said, while acknowledging people can need low-income housing through no fault of their own.
“This (need for services) is happening to the school already,” Muir said, referring to the request for a Multi-Cultural Family Center.
That prompted Hall to ask whether the school accepts “vouchers,” apparently confusing the new vouchers, or educational savings accounts system for parents to receive money to contribute to private school attendance for their children, with open enrollment.
Bardole said, “Yes and no,” and referred Hall to the school’s website.
“Perry (Iowa) said they wish they’d had a Multi-Cultural Center,” Bardole added.
Some attendees grew weary of lengthy comments and Chris Henning, rural Cooper, protested over Zoom that these issues were not on the agenda and a public open forum was not appropriate for debate.
The open forum time was ended when Benitz said, “I’m glad everybody showed up,” and Muir said, “We know people care.”
Henning later asked the board how many trees will be cut down for the construction of the emergency communications tower planned for near Seven Hills Park. She was asking verbally over Zoom for an attendee whom she said was being ignored on Zoom Chat. The attendee was concerned about the beauty of the park.
Muir said no trees will be cut down in the construction.
In other business, county attorney Thomas Laehn gave the board a 28E agreement signed by GCDC allowing the board to give money to the non-profit. A 28E agreement is required by State law before county funds can be given. The board accepted the agreement after making it clear they were not actually funding GCDC at this time.
Laehn also asked for a future resolution from the board to establish a committee for allocation of funding from the opioid settlement. Laehn estimated Greene County will receive $272,000 over an 18-year period. The request for a resolution will be considered at the meeting on Thursday, Jan. 25.
Funding for Prairie Rivers will also be on the Thursday agenda at 8:45.
Steve Naeve, area supervisor for the Second District Iowa Department of Corrections, told the board about services and clients served within Greene County. He discussed a difference between the level of crime committed and the risk an offender will re-offend, saying the severity of crime does not necessarily predict the risk of re-offence.
The board unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the issuance of $10,000,000 general obligation capital loan notes, series 2024, and levying a tax for the payment thereof. This money will be used to finance the new Greene County jail.
The proposal for a new jail was approved by a super majority of 60 percent of votes cast at the county election held Nov. 7, 2023.
The resolution and financial information in entirety can be found under Agendas and Minutes on GCNO.
The board unanimously accepted the treasurer’s investment and semi-annual report presented by treasurer Katlynn Mechaelsen.
The supervisors received a question about whether LOSST (Local Option Sales and Services Tax) is collected by rural businesses in the county. The supervisors agreed all businesses should collect LOSST.
