The Greene County supervisors spent much of their Jan. 19 meeting serving as trustees of Drainage District 20, primarily north and east of Churdan. The public hearing was opened Dec. 8, and remained open until the Jan. 19 meeting, allowing landowners in the district time to file an objection to the project if they desired.
Total cost of the project is $2,107,000. Of that, $138,956 would be paid by Greene County secondary roads and $160,790 would be paid by the Iowa Department of Transportation. Total cost to landowners would be $1,575,000. Cost of the project per acre is $1,030. That would be assessed to the property owners in the district. Payback for the investment, derived from increased crop yields, was estimated at 10.7 years.
Drainage engineer Jacob Hagan ran the public hearing with a presentation of the project. All landowners in the district had been mailed information. The deadline for objecting to the project was Jan. 19 at the hearing. At the conclusion of Hagan’s comments and questions and comments by the landowners present, landowner votes were opened and tallied.
To stop the project (remonstrance), 50 percent of the landowners owning 70 percent of the acres would have needed to object. Although there were more objections filed than approvals, non-respondents were assumed to approve and the 50 percent threshold was not met.
Without meeting the threshold for remonstrance, the landowner vote is considered as advisory. The supervisors, serving as drainage trustees, will make a decision at their Jan. 26 meeting. No public input will be accepted.
In other business, Jefferson city council member Luke Winkelman spoke to the supervisors about placing solar panels on the Law Enforcement Center. The city is considering allowing a company to place solar panels on city-owned buildings, and then selling the electricity generated by the panels to the city at a rate lower than Alliant Energy’s rate.
Winkelman suggested the LEC because the city and county operate it jointly, with the city paying 40 percent of the cost. He pointed out that both parties would see savings.
Board chair Dawn Rudolph said she has spoken with three companies who have approached the city, and two of them have responded. She will invite them to make presentations to the board of supervisors.
The board heard a budget request from Sara Huddleston of the Multicultural Family Resource Center. The county has not previously allocated funds to the MFRC.
Budget information showed total revenue for calendar year 2025 at $65,950 and total expenses of $72,736.16. Projected revenue for 2026, including $12,000 from the county, totals $80,850, with projected expenses at $79,760. Huddleston spoke of the Spanish translation services she provides to law enforcement and the county attorney’s office. She is available 24/7 to translate for deputies, officers, those being arrested or in custody, and crime victims.
