Supervisors host annual organizational meeting

By Rick Morain
Jefferson Herald

The Greene County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 3 held its organizational meeting for calendar year 2023.

The board started by reappointing John Muir as board chair and Dawn Rudolph as vice chair (chair pro tem). Muir, Mick Burkett, and Pete Bardole are serving terms that end Jan. 2, 2025, while Rudolph and new supervisor Dan Benitz’s terms end Jan. 3, 2027.
The board will continue its regular meeting time of Monday at 8:30 a.m. Regular meetings are routinely moved to Tuesday when an observed holiday falls on a Monday. Other meetings are held Thursdays at 8:30 a.m. during the budget process, which will begin immediately.
Business hours of the courthouse once again are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except for holidays and other days and times as posted.
County holidays in 2023 will be observed as followed: Presidents’ Day on Monday, Feb. 20; Memorial Day on Monday, May 29; Independence Day on Tuesday, July 4; Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 4; Veterans Day on Friday, Nov. 10; Thanksgiving on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 23 and 24; Christmas on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 25 and 26; and New Year’s Day on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024.
The board will conduct its semiannual cash counts on Friday, June 30, and Friday, Dec. 29.
Official county newspapers are once again The Scranton Journal and The Jefferson Herald.

Assignments of supervisors to commissions, committees, and other boards are as follows:
 • Pete Bardole, airport commission (non-voting alternate), Jefferson Matters: A Main Street & Chamber Community, Greene County Development Corporation, Bell Tower Community Foundation, Region XII policy council, public art liaison, and emergency operations center committee.
• Mick Burkett, Central Iowa Juvenile Detention (alternate), E911 service board, pioneer cemetery commission, Second Judicial District Department of Corrections, veterans’ affairs liaison, and Highway 30 Coalition.
• Dawn Rudolph, decategorization board, joint entity board (law enforcement center), investments, insurance & finance committee, Greene County board of health, Central Iowa Community Services governing board & CICS children’s behavioral health committee, New Opportunities (alternate), Freedom Rock committee, Region XII policy council (alternate), Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation (ex officio), and emergency management commission.
• Dan Benitz, airport commission county representative (non-voting), drainage districts vice chair, joint entity board, Greene County Recycling Agency, New Opportunities, Region V hazardous materials response & LEPC (alternate), courthouse security committee, and Central Iowa Juvenile Center committee.
• John Muir, drainage districts (chair), Central Iowa Community Services governing board (alternate), investments, insurance & finance committee (chair), Region XII COG executive board & policy council (Region XII COG 28E), chief elected official board (Iowa Workforce Development Region 8 28E) & Region XII Development Corporation, COG housing board, Second Judicial District department of corrections (alternate), and emergency operations center committee.
• Other appointments by the board were as follows:
Public information officer, Dawn Rudolph; E911 service board member, Sheriff Jack J. Williams; Greene County civil service commission (six-year terms), Steve Pope (county attorney appointment), John McCormick, and Mary Jane Fields; Greene County board of health (three-year terms), Thomas Fagg, DO, Juanita Gilley, Dawn Rudolph, Annie Smith, Amanda Bills, Keith Van Beek, DDS, and Rochelle Guess, ARNP.
Connections to Region XII: Regional Housing Authority executive board, Karla Janning; technical advisory committee, Wade Weiss (Tanner Stauffer alternate); policy council, Jane Heun and Victoria Riley; Greene County Animal Shelter board, Laura Snider.

A large number of residents were appointed in four categories to the Greene County compensation commission in condemnation proceedings. They were as follows:     
• Real estate salespersons/brokers: Linda Eighmy, Amanda Bills, Dale Hoyt, Doug Lawton, Al Rowedder, Dale Higgins, and Nicole Uebel.
• Owners/operators ag property: Craig Brelsford, Johnetta Harms, Roger Norgren, Kim Bates, Paul Mears, Dale Thompson, Richard Burnell, Ryan Higgins, Dan Tronchetti, Dave Cunningham, Mike Holden, Bruce Wessling, Craig Fillman, and Luke Hoyle.
• City property owners: Mick Burkett, Ned Johnston, Guy Richardson, Bill Figenshaw, Mike Mentzer, Jim Sankot, and Andy Krieger (Grand Junction).
• Knowledge of real estate values: Doug Carman, Craig Marquardt, Roger Custer, Jerry Peckumn, Jared Taggart, Ralph Riedesel, and Bob Allen.
Also Greene County pioneer cemetery commission, Mick Burkett, Ada Ross, Neal Hoyt, Clayton Dudley, Jeri Reese, and Tanner Scheuermann.
• Greene County medical examiner (two-year terms), Robert Clemons, MD, examiner, and Jack J. Williams and Michele Madsen, medical examiner investigators.
• Greene County conservation board (five year terms), Peg Gannon chair, Steve Haupert, Jerry Peckumn, Mary Jo Koch, and Dave Morlan.
• Greene County zoning commission (three-year terms), Mike Bravard, Sharon Fisher, Chris Henning, Bill Frederick, Mark Peters, Nancy Hanaman, Glen Christensen, Jeff Pudenz, and Michael Subbert.
• Greene County board of adjustment (five-year terms), Angie Jewett, Wade Sohm, Dan Tronchetti, Cale Juergensen, and Mike Holden.
• Greene County veterans’ affairs commission (three-year terms), Bruce Chaffee, Jeff Lamoureux, and Barbara Labate.
• Greene County magistrate appointing commission (six-year terms), Craig Marquardt, Jenny Wessling, and Jerry Boyd.
• Other appointments by the supervisors were as follows: courthouse custodian, Tony Janssen; part-time custodian, Brian Wind; information technology/drain clerk, Michelle Fields; engineer/weed commissioner, Wade Weiss; environmental health/zoning director/safety director, Chuck Wenthold; county veterans’ service officer & general assistance (part-time), Michael Bierl.

Appointments by county officers were as follows:
• Attorney: Laura Snider, assistant county attorney; and Jeri Angell, office manager.
• Ambulance (full-time only): Michele Madsen director, paramedic; Lacy Follett-Brubaker, paramedic; Becky Freeman, AEMT; Ryan Moranville, EMT; Allison Powell, EMT; and Mark Renslow, EMT.
• Auditor: Billie Jo Hoskins, deputy; Pam Olerich, real estate & tax coordinator; and Tori Gettler, A/P clerk.
• Recorder: Maralie Ruth, deputy.
• Treasurer: Jessica Larson, property tax clerk to be first deputy effective July 1; Lisa Tucker, motor vehicle & office assistant; Avis Keasey, driver’s license clerk, second deputy effective July 1.
• Sheriff (full-time only): Nathaniel Chapman, chief deputy/jail administrator; Shane Allen, captain/deputy sheriff; Shane Monthei, Christopher Frehse, Brandon Turner, Cale Crowder, Ashley Wilson, and Heath Enns, all deputy sheriffs; Karen White, administrative assistant/secretary/assistant jail administrator; Kim Christensen, secretary; Tressa Hatfield, Crystal Beyers, Josh Derry, and Stacy Myers, all jailers; Amanda Clouse, Mindy Durlam, Jean Tuhn, Sydney Crnkovich, and Krista Reed, all dispatchers.
• Engineer: Tanner Stauffer, assistant to engineer, and Sherry Graven, office manager.
• Appointments by the county conservation board were as follows: Tanner Scheuermann, director; Joe Allen, park ranger; and Dan Sayre, park attendant.
• The supervisors set treasurer’s depository limits for 2023 as follows: Home State Bank of Jefferson, $20 million; Peoples Trust & Savings Bank of Jefferson, $10 million; and Heartland Bank of Jefferson and IPAIT (the state investment body for county governments), $5 million each; auditor, $12,500; recorder, $50,000; and sheriff, $200,000.

OTHER NOTABLE ACTION

The board approved the cash count performed Dec. 30 by supervisors Burkett and Muir.
The board approved transfers of funds as follows: $50,000 from the general basic fund to the conservation reserve fund, $8,000 from the general basic fund to the bike trail fund, and $5,000 from the local option sales and service (LOSST) fund to the bike trail fund.
The Bell Tower Community Foundation presented a funding request for the next budget period in the amount of $10,000. The current amount was $8,700. President Carole Custer and treasurer Bob Schwarzkopf updated the board on the foundation’s activities in 2022 as well as the funding request. Also present were tower staff coordinator Pat Richards and David Morain, who is assuming Schwarzkopf’s treasurer role. The board took no action on the request pending budget preparation.
Sheriff Jack Williams informed the board that the emergency management commission had named him as interim coordinator in the event of a disaster and absence of the coordinator.
County Attorney Thomas Laehn said he would like to get abandoned railroad properties owned by adjacent property owners, currently not being taxed, onto the tax rolls.