Scranton Township resident Cheryl Robson spoke to the Greene County supervisors at their Dec. 22 meeting regarding the amount of water that would be used at a data mining center proposed by Simple Mining to be west of Scranton.
Robson noted the proposed amendment to the county’s zoning ordinance states that if water usage is expected to be more than 15,000 gallons/month, a permit from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is needed. Greene County Development Corporation director Greg Piklapp was present and explained to Robson that the 15,000 gallon amount is appropriate for facilities that are water-cooled. The facility proposed in Greene County will be approval is required from the Iowa Department of Agriculture will be air cooled.
Later in the meeting the supervisors held the third and final reading of the proposed amendment to the zoning ordinance.
Before approving the final reading, board chair John Muir noted the ordinance pertaining to solar installations includes minimum distances between installations, while the data mining ordinance does not. “At some point that needs to be addressed,” Muir said.
Piklapp said that’s a valid point, as other companies have put data farms side-by-side. Laehn said the supervisors have the authority to limit how close data farms can be to one another.
The supervisors agreed to consider amending the new ordinance with distances in the future. County attorney Thomas Laehn reminded them all county ordinances will be reviewed in 2027, and following that review they could make all needed changes “in one fell swoop,” saving a lot of time holding public hearings.
The ordinance as approved and adopted as read. It becomes effective after the ordinance is published in the county’s two official newspapers.
Laehn suggested during his weekly update a change in the supervisors’ process of going into closed session under Iowa Code 21.5(1)(i) per a recent Iowa Supreme Court decision. That portion of the Code deals with going into closed session to “evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance, or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual’s reputation and that individual requests a closed session.”
Laehn’s discussion with the board hinged on the word “and.” He said that using the statute could seem to imply there would be damaging information released if the evaluation were done in open session. He recommended to the board that a person who wants the evaluation in closed session submit a written request that specifies the request is being made to prevent needless and irreparable injury to his or her reputation. If that written request becomes routine, the public could draw no conclusion from the fact of an open session and the supervisors could not later be held liable for any damage done to a person’s reputation.
He offered to draft a written request that could be available for an interviewee to sign ahead of the proposed closed session.
Laehn also updated the board of activity by Summit Carbon Solutions regarding its proposed carbon dioxide pipeline. Summit Carbon has requested the Iowa Utilities Board consolidate Phase 1 and Phase 2 (Phase 1 is north of Hwy 30, while Phase 2 is primarily south of Hwy 30). Summit Carbon is now requesting a scheduling conference for the combined project.
According to Laehn, he has been contacted by eight counties and the Iowa Farm Bureau about filing an objection to the request for the scheduling conference. He said he plans to file an objection, which would be consistent with an objection he filed a few months ago. The supervisors agreed with his position.
Ron Christensen of Habitat for Humanity requested $5,000 in the fiscal year starting July 1. He said last year a Helping Hands project in Rippey was the only project completed in Greene County. That project cost $5,000. He anticipates several applications in the county for the 2026 project year. Christensen did not make a request for funding for the current year as the non-profit had money available.
Terry Lang presented a budget request of $15,000 for Greene County congregate meals. The meals are prepared at the Greenewood Center in Jefferson and delivered to all communities of the county. An average 93 meals are served daily; no one is turned away. The amount requested is the same as in the current year.
Phil Heisterkamp, Bell Tower Festival chair, requested $9,732 to be used to purchase a 30’ X 60’ tent, tables and chairs from Legacy Events. Heisterkamp said a downpour the Saturday evening of last year’s festival required shutting the Brew Station (beer tent), cutting festival revenue $10-$15,000. The committee wished then they had a larger tent to for festival-goers.
“The way the festival is going, we’re at a fork in the road, where either we keep the status quo and do what we’re doing, or take another quantum leap and try to make it better for everyone again,” he said.
Purchasing the large tent, tables and chairs from Legacy Events would save $20,000 to $30,000 in equipment rentals over the next five years, Heisterkamp said. He added that if the supervisors funded the full $9,732 requested, the committee would not request county funds for the next three years.
The supervisors took no action on any of the budget requests.
The supervisors approved an agreement with Reliance Telephone to provide phone and texting service for jail inmates. Inmates pay for the service. “They get warned about not divulging anything, but it’s a really useful tool for me to know what our inmates are saying,” Laehn said.
Sheriff Jack Williams said the county receives a small portion of what the inmates pay for each message or call. “After the inmates get comfortable, they start texting. Other counties that have switched to this are solving a ton of crimes by monitoring what they’re (inmates) are texting and doing on their phone calls,” Williams said. Williams also commended and thanked his deputies for the quick response to two burglaries – one at Casey’s in Scranton and the other at Sparky’s in Rippey – the previous week.
He said similar robberies were done in six or seven other counties, but that his office, with the smallest workforce, solved the burglaries in less than 24 hours, including finding the stolen vehicle used and returning it to its owner. He said his staff sorted through more than 300 tips in a short period of time. “If you see any of the deputies, tell them ‘Good job’ or give them a pat on the back. They did a phenomenal job,” Williams said.
