Most of meeting spent in secret
Staff writer
County commissioners spent most of their Monday meeting in secret sessions.
The longest session, 45 minutes, was called for discussion of potential litigation with county counsel Brad Jantz.
After that closed-door discussion, commissioners voted to have a letter sent to the Marion County Record in response to an editorial published Nov. 18. The editorial took commissioners to task for failing to pass a mask mandate despite pleas from the county health nurse and public health consultant, 27 county health-care providers, 89 county residents, and a county school superintendent.
They also voted to send a letter about contact with planning and zoning director Sharon Omstead to wind farm opponent Tom Britain, whose Nov. 12 encounter with Omstead at a Florence convenience store resulted in a sheriff’s report being made.
Two shorter executive sessions of five minutes and another lasting 15 minutes were held to discuss personnel performance.
Commissioners also told transfer station director Josh Housman to expand hours so county residents would have an easier time dropping off refuse and recyclables.