Greene County zoning officer Chuck Wenthold briefed the supervisors at their March 11 meeting on Summit Carbon Solution’s plan to build 27 additional miles of carbon dioxide pipeline across the county. The company proposes a total of 340 miles in addition to 690 miles that are now awaiting permit approval from the Iowa Utilities Board.
Summit is already in the process of getting approval for a short section of pipeline in the county. The new portion would run roughly diagonally from the Louis Dreyfus plant on Grand Junction to Willow Township is southwest Greene County and then to the Poet ethanol plant in Coon Rapids.
Wenthold explained the 340 new miles of pipeline are split into 14 different permit applications, each with a different docket number.
Summit will hold a public meeting on the project Wednesday, April 24, at 12 pm at Clover Hall on the fairgrounds in Jefferson. All landowners within a set distance of the pipeline will receive a letter about the meeting.
County engineer Wade Weiss reported that county secondary roads and the Jefferson street department have begun work in preparation for rebuilding the Raccoon River bridge on W. Grimmell Rd. He said the secondary roads crew has removed trees in the right-of-way and that a disc golf basket at Daubendiek Park will be moved temporarily.
He also discussed detour options and road preparation with the supervisors.
During an open forum time held after reports from department heads, lifelong resident and farmer Mike Holden encouraged the supervisors to use a Zoom meeting format that allows the public using Zoom to send comments to the board via the app. He also asked for clarification of setback distances discussed at a recent meeting of the board of adjustment.
Finally, Holden asked the supervisors to fund Greene County Development Corporation at $50,000 for FY25, rather than the $45,000 tentatively awarded.
According to Holden, the county has provided GCDC with $50,000 annually for the past 20 years with no growth factor. He said if a 2 percent growth factor had been used, GCDC would now be receiving $73,000 a year. A 3 percent annual growth factor would have put the allocation at almost $88,000 this year. “I think funding has already been cut by not having a growth factor. I’d sure like to see you reconsider and approve full funding for GCDC,” Holden said.
Bryan Helmus, a 2-year-resident of Jefferson, then repeated comments he made to the supervisors earlier, saying decreasing funding for GCDC would hold it accountable. According to Helmus, GCDC is “an elephant in the room,” and he has seen widespread distrust of GCDC at Jefferson council meetings. He said the distrust is built by GCDC’s failure to hold public meetings.
Helmus said GCDC has a public relations problem, and the GCDC board should work hard to “regain the trust of the citizens.” “If they don’t have what’s best for the citizens in mind, which is about a lot more than economic development, in my opinion they’re not doing their job,” he said.
Helmus suggested decreasing funding would hold GCDC accountable to all citizens of Greene County.
“You can’t have a board of 8,000 people,” supervisors board chair John Muir said. “They’re entrusted to make decisions for the betterment of Greene County, and I think those are things we’re looking at very seriously. I don’t believe it (GCDC) has been mismanaged. But, there is much tighter scrutiny now, just looking at what exactly their goals are.”
Pete Bardole is the supervisor’s ex officio member on the GCDC board. “Pete shares with us all the time, as much as he can,” Muir said. “There’s confidential conversation.”
Muir wrapped up conversation with Helmus saying that if anyone has strong concerns about GCDC, they should talk with GCDC president Scott Weber. “I’ve never had an experience with Scott in a one-on-one that he wouldn’t share as much as he could.
City administrator Scott Peterson had his monthly visit with the supervisors. He said Wade Weiss and the county secondary roads department is “a fantastic partner” on the Grimmell Road bridge. (The bridge is in the Jefferson city limits but is important as it’s on a farm-to-market road. Weiss has worked for years positioning the project to receive enough state funding to make it viable.)
Peterson said the city public works crew has removed 450 dead ash trees and still has 150 more to take out. The Jefferson tree committee plans to plant 100 trees along Cedar St this spring.
The supervisors canvassed the vote from March 5 special election for rural residents concerning the Local Option Sales and Service Tax (LOSST). Proposition IK, which removed the sunset date for the tax, was approved by a vote of 82 to 78. Proposition IL, which would have changed the stated purpose for the tax, was defeated by a vote of 88 to 73.
The election was held to assure LOSST revenue could be used to pay off general obligation bonds sold to finance an HVAC project at the courthouse.
County auditor Billie Jo Hoskins told the supervisors that according to bonding attorneys at Ahlers & Cooney, the proposition could be put to voters again in November.
“We had good articles but it was too late in the game,” supervisor Dawn Rudolph said. “It was a confusing vote. We need to do a better job explaining.”
The supervisors also received bids from five contractors to serve as construction manager at risk for the new jail. Bids ranged from $686,000 to $1.2 million. The jail committee will interview representatives from each company on March 22 and will then make a recommendation to the board.
A construction manager at risk oversees construction to assure quality control.
