The Greene County supervisors had a short agenda for their July 15 meeting, listing only the monthly update from Jefferson city administrator Scott Peterson and approval of the auditor’s quarterly report of passport fees collected.
Peterson told the supervisors the widening and resurfacing project on E. Lincoln Way is scheduled for completion Sept. 22. “Work is starting off OK but a little slow,” he said.
Peterson reported the city has taken down 450 trees killed by emerald ash borer in city-owned rights-of-way; another 150 publicly-owned trees remain.
He said how to proceed beyond the publicly owned trees could be “potentially a big issue.” He said he knows that paying for tree removal may be burdensome for property owners, but that dead trees could fall under the city’s nuisance ordinance as a way to “help out” property owners.
He said the city may contract with a private company for tree removal and then bill the property owners as a special assessment on property taxes. The amount due would be spread over 10 years rather than leaving property owners on their own to figure out how to pay.
The city would educate the public about the process, Peterson said. “It’s not something that’s going to happen quickly. The city won’t be heavy-handed on this.”
Supervisor Dan Benitz complimented Peterson on the job the city crews have done in taking down trees, and then made his own personal request regarding plantings on the curve near Abundant Life Ministries being overgrown. Peterson said he’d take a look at it.
Supervisor Dawn Rudolph has been very involved in Scranton city government. She said other city’s are having the same problem with tree removal and suggested Peterson could share information with them. “I’m sure they could use some guidance,” she said.
“It’s certainly not just us,” Peterson said. “It’s going to be everybody.”
County attorney Thomas Laehn during the “reports” portion of the meeting talked again with the supervisors about SF 2442, a bill approved in the last legislative session bill that allows the supervisors in each county to decide whether to have a compensation board recommend salaries for county elected officials, or take upon themselves the responsibility of researching and determining wages themselves.
Laehn had first mentioned SF 2442 to the supervisors two weeks earlier. He reminded the supervisors this week that the state attorney general recommends boards of supervisors adopt a resolution if they want to continue using a compensation board. “It’s purely a policy judgment, how you want you want to move forward,” Laehn said.
He recommended the supervisors decide “soon.” By consensus the board agreed to decide in October how to proceed.
Supervisor Pete Bardole reported he had received a phone call from someone asking about the status of resurfacing the Raccoon River Valley Trail (bike trail). Boad chair John Muir, who is also chair of the Region XII Council of Governments policy council, and Bardole, who is on the council, said the COG has half the funding needed to resurface in Guthrie and Greene Counties.
Muir said the resurfacing “is not on the front burner yet, but closer… We’re trying to be fiscally responsible trying to put together a good trail.”
