The Greene County Board of Supervisors met Monday in regular session.
The Board approved a retirement resolution for Assistant to the Greene County Engineer Don Van Gilder for 44 years and 8 months of service to the county. County Engineer Wade Weiss thanked Van Gilder for his years of service and mentioned that he would be brought back for part time help with special projects for his research expertise.
The Board approved hiring Tim Farmer as part time assistant county attorney. Farmer is current an attorney with Trey Sucher Law Firm in Perry. He is currently a defense attorney but will be working the in the Greene County Attorney’s office twice per week with County Attorney-Elect Thomas Laehn. His salary is $38,000 per year and he starts this week.
The Board also approved hiring Caleb Jans as a deputy sheriff in the Greene County Sheriff’s office. The Board approved Sheriff Jack Williams to buy out Jans’ remaining contract with the Jefferson Police Department for $10,954. Jans has also signed a four-year contract with the sheriff’s office. Williams said if Jans leaves before the four years are completed, Jans will repay what’s left on his contract.
The Board then heard several updates and 2020 fiscal year funding requests. Public Health requested $300,000, Jefferson Matters: Main Street asked for $2,500, Greene County Development Corporation requested $50,000 and Greene County Fair Association requested $26,000. The Board took no action on any of the requests.
The Board tabled their decision on doing a countywide assessment of the city fire departments. Jefferson Mayor Craig Berry presented to the Supervisors an assessment that Region XII Council of Governments could do for $3,500. It would have looked at all of the departments equipment to see if there were any redundancies. Scranton Fire Chief Doug Duff said each town’s fire chief already does an assessment which is filed for public use. Instead, Board Chair John Muir suggested that all of the current assessments could be listed on a single document so they could see what each department has.
The Board then agreed for a request from the E-911 Board for a $175,000 loan, over a five-year time period, to upgrade the communication equipment for the law enforcement center. The process must go through a public hearing and a resolution must be passed before the project to upgrade the equipment can begin.
During open forum, Jefferson VFW Post Commander James Wasson asked the Supervisors about the status of filling the open County Veterans Affairs position. He told the Supervisors that a couple of veterans have taken their records to another county because there is currently no VA for Greene County. Muir said they didn’t want to overstep their authority to be involved in the process of hiring the position, since that falls on the veterans affairs commission. However, since the commission hasn’t selected anyone yet, Muir said they will look into it.
Van Gilder also addressed the Board during open forum. He and members of the Courthouse 100 Committee told the Board they will continue to meet and find ways to promote and preserve the courthouse in a positive way.
Finally, the Board heard an overview of the $1.7 million heating and cooling project for the courthouse. Brooks, Borg and Skiles estimated the project to take about one year to complete. No formal decision was made by the Board as funding has not been identified yet.