By NICOLE HASEK
nhasek@iowainformation.com
Courtesy of the Jefferson Bee and Herald
Multiple projects throughout the county were discussed at the Greene County Development Corporation’s monthly meeting on Feb. 11.
Cassie Fiedler, president of the Paton-Churdan Early Learning Center (ELC), said the school will be moving from their temporary location and plan to move into the former Methodist Church in Churdan that closed last year. She said the location has severe water leaks and they planned to hire a construction company to build a new school, but the anticipated $2.4 million cost was unrealistic.
The ELC purchased the church in September and they have been remodeling the space and they will apply for a Grow Greene County grant.
There are currently 45 children enrolled at the ELC, including five infants, and four children on a waiting list. While they are licensed for 70 children, their current location with three rooms can only fit 45. Before moving, they need to finish renovating the interior and add new electric, plumbing and heating.
“Right now, it’s coming in at about $2.2 million, but we told them we need to be down more around $1 million, and they said that was very achievable,” Fiedler said.
Updates on the project to convert the former Greene County Middle School into apartments were given by Chris Deal. He said the last three months of the project have been busy as they were getting approval from the State Historic Preservation Office. The gym inside the building, which is owned by Greene County School District, will have to stay for five years after the apartment units are built.
“Contractors have been selected, we’ve got tax credit, local tax credit and equity investors identified in the project as well,” Deal said. “Lots of really good progress is happening and continues to happen.”
Deal said he is optimistic of this project starting this year. They plan on starting pricing in six weeks when the design is complete followed by a four-week bidding process. Another four weeks would then be needed for a mobilization effort. He said this has taken so long because they have kept their vision of making this a higher end project.
Danille Curtis, public relations specialist for Midwest Mission, said the organization saw an increase in volunteers and donations last year due to higher exposure. She said they had $3.3 million sent out in humanitarian aid in 2024, reaching over 3 million people both in the United States and internationally. She also said the Jefferson location had over 600 volunteers from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Colorado and Illinois.
City Administrator Scott Peterson discussed the library expansion project and the Origin Homes construction project that will begin in the spring.
Code Enforcement Officer Chad Stevens said they have been working on an action plan based on the Readiness Assessment Housing Committee’s survey results. They will have a full report available at the Greene County Extension and Outreach office next month.
Greene County Medical Center CEO Chad Butterfield said they are bringing back multiple services, including oncology and infusions. He also encourages everyone to get a flu shot if they have not yet, as the flu is on the rise.
Courtesy of www.beeherald.com
If you have questions or need more information, contact
Ken Paxton
GCDC Executive Director
ken@greenecountyiowa.com
515-386-8255