Watch for open house a new jail Aug. 28-29
The new jail is nearing completion. Sheriff Jack Williams reported at the Aug. 17 board of supervisors meeting that the state inspection is slated for Aug. 24. A public open house will be held the weekend of Aug. 28-29, and inmates will be moved in Aug. 30.
The supervisors also heard an update on a project that has taken longer than the new jail. Justin Foss, senior project manager for Alliant Energy, said construction on the Grand Junction solar project will begin in 2027 or 2028. That project was granted a conditional use permit by the county board of adjustment in July 2023.
According to Foss, Alliant has spent $7 million in “meaningful investments to bring the project forward.”
He said purchase options with landowners have been extended, and explained that part of the delay in the project has been due to uncertainty about what tariffs might be put on solar panels. “We’re definitely making methodical steps forward to continue to move that project,” Foss said.
The project will go forward as it was designed and permitted, requiring 700-800 acres for the 100 megawatt project. However, Alliant has since added several battery storage projects, and the company will likely ask the board of adjustment to consider an amendment to the ordinance to add an allowance for 100MW in battery storage. A battery that size takes up about 10 acres, Foss said, and added that battery storage is “a safe, proven technology.” He suggested Poweshiek County’s ordinance as a model for the needed ordinance amendment.
The location of a battery has not been determined.
Landowners will probably still be able to farm their land for the 2027 season. Foss said.
Funeral director Aaron Schroeder discussed sharing the cost of a mortuary cooler with the county. He said the state requires that a body must be embalmed or cremated within 72 hours of a death, but there are times when an autopsy can’t be completed in that timeframe. When that happens, he takes the corpse to a mortuary cooler in Carroll at a cost of $300 per day.
The cooler would be placed at the same site as Schroeder’s crematorium east of Fairview Veterinary Clinic in Jefferson. The supervisors directed county attorney Thomas Laehn to work with Schroeder on a 28e agreement for shared cost and maintenance.
Schroeder also asked for an increase in the cost of county assistance cremations. That cost has been $1,250 since 2000. Schroeder asked it be increased to $2,500, which is half his actual cost. The supervisors approved a motion increasing the cost as requested, effective immediately.
The supervisors passed resolutions approving the hiring of Candice Salvin as a part-time EMT for Greene County Ambulance at an hourly rate of $22.50, effective July 29; and appointing Karla Janning to the Region XII Housing Authority board of directors to represent Greene County. The supervisors also directed the auditor, serving as Commissioner of Elections, to include a question on the Nov. 3 general election ballot in all cities to renew their local option sales and services tax (LOSST). Commissioner Billie Jo Hoskins said she has received revenue purpose statements from every city in the county, and that all city councils opted not to name a sunset date.
