Also discuss Zoom access to meetings
~by Janice Harbaugh for GreeneCountyNewsOnline
The draft of an installment contract to purchase the Midland Power office building and grounds at 1005 E. Lincoln Way in Jefferson was presented to the Greene County board of supervisors by county attorney Thomas Laehn at the board’s regular meeting Nov. 16.
If the purchase proceeds to completion, the building will be used for a law enforcement center and, eventually, a new jail will be built on the grounds.
Laehn said the purchase price is $600,000 to be paid in four yearly installments of $150,000.00 plus interest of $20,000, for a total of $620,000.00.
Estimated date for closing on the property is now April 15, 2021.
According to Laehn, the terms of the contract are standard and were prepared by local attorney John Gerken, who worked with the county on the agreement.
“The county is purchasing the property in as-is condition and will be allowed to do renovations before the property is paid for,” Laehn told the supervisors.
Other terms include sharing the cost of surveying the property and preparing the contract. Midland has asked for easements to allow access to the drive and gate and the electrical line for a generator.
Board chair John Muir wondered if some traffic alert or signage will be needed since officers will be entering the roadway.
Laehn said the contract will be presented to the board at a future meeting.
Pandemic-related issues were re-visited during the board meeting. Laehn repeated the statement he made at the special session Nov. 12 when the board adopted a face coverings mandate for the county.
Laehn said, “The county resolution went into effect immediately, and the mandate is legal. It’s just unenforceable, since Governor Reynold’s emergency proclamation preempts the county’s mandate.”
At the previous meeting, Laehn had explained the county resolution could become enforceable if the Governor’s proclamation expired or was terminated.
Public attendance of board meetings through Zoom was discussed. This option began in late March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has proven to be popular and has given access to the meetings to people who would not otherwise be able to attend.
Thirty people electronically attended the recent special session and electronic attendance has been up at other board meetings where controversial topics were on the agenda.
During open forum, the time when the public can bring matters to the attention of the board, several people spoke about Zoom. Although Zoom has become a common tool for face-to-face virtual meetings, the supervisors use only the audio function. Audio clarity has been a problem mentioned at almost every board meeting.
While people who are connected to the board’s computer through Zoom can hear each other with crystal clarity and can speak clearly to those in the board room and are heard clearly by those in the board room, the audio coming from the board room to those on Zoom is often inaudible or very difficult to understand.
The problem appears to be that only one computer in the board room is connected to Zoom and that microphone is used to cover the entire board room and gallery. Board members close to the computer can be heard, but people speaking from the gallery cannot be understood.
According to a source who has attended both in-person and Zoom meetings from the board room, and who is familiar with sound and electronic mixing, the acoustics in the board room are “terrible.”
“The high ceiling and glass windows make sound dissipate. It can be very difficult to understand people who mumble or have soft voices or lazy speech patterns, even if you’re just across the gallery from them,” the source said.
Nancy Hanaman of Rippey asked about using the video function of Zoom so electronic attendees could see the board.
Chris Henning asked if the board would consider providing a tutorial for attendees new to Zoom to teach the speaking, chatting, and texting features of the service.
At other meetings, suggestions have been made to continue electronic access to the meetings even after the pandemic isn’t a problem.
General board response to the public’s electronic attendance seemed uncharacteristically negative.
Muir spoke of not wanting to be on camera and spoke of criticism of the board from the public being easier through the electronic format. Muir said, “I expect people to come and face us in person.”
County attorney Thomas Laehn said the law doesn’t require electronic access to meetings.
GCNO has noted that members of the public who attend the meetings remotely rarely speak to the board and seem to be attending simply to gain information. GCNO has noted no incidents of criticism directed at members of the board through Zoom.
Use of Zoom for electronic attendance at meetings has been beneficial not only to the public, but to elected officials and county employees. Supervisor Peter Bardole attended meetings via Zoom while household members were in quarantine. County recorder Deb McDonald was sworn in via Zoom while she was isolated due to having Covid-19. County engineer Wade Weiss has also attended meetings via Zoom.
In other business, county engineer Wade Weiss reported seven coils were replaced last week in small bells struck by lightning on the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower.
Weiss said bridge inspections are ongoing throughout the county.
Weiss described work on the bridge east of Jefferson on E-53 near the “sawmill curves on the way to Grand Junction.” Weiss said the bridge should be “good for another 80 years,” but that because the existing structure was “re-used,” the weight of trucks is limited. He said trucks with six or seven axles shouldn’t use the bridge.
Michelle Fields, information technology coordinator, reported on a telecommunications audit done by The Spyglass Group from Ohio. Fields said no recoverable charges were found.
Fields did mention “potential savings” possibly involving extra phones, but said she will need to review the report from SpyGlass.
According to the agreement with SpyGlass, if the county makes changes to its telecommunications based on the SpyGlass report, the county must pay 100 percent of the savings for 12 months to SpyGlass. This 12-month payment is paid in advance.
The board went into a drainage trustee meeting to discuss status of DD187 south of Jefferson near Highway 4 and Cooper.
Construction in the drainage district was completed ahead of schedule on Sept. 14. The board unanimously approved a certificate of completion and the payment of crop damages.
A meeting to discuss the annexation of additional land into the district was scheduled for Jan. 18, 2021, at 9 am.
Student Avery Bardole was recognized by the board for attending the meeting as part of his academic studies. Bardole attended electronically over Zoom.
