Property north of old county ‘poor farm’ to be sold
Staff writer
A 10-acre plot of land on Old Mill Rd. north of the former county “poor farm” will be sold after county counsel Brad Jantz worked up paperwork to transfer it to the county’s land bank.
The land is unused and is becoming overgrown, Commissioner Mike Beneke told other commissioners Monday.
It was used by the Road and Bridge department, but they no longer do use it, Beneke said.
A small portion of the land contains the “poor farm” cemetery, and that will not be included in the sale.
The land is surrounded by farmland, and Beneke said he thought someone would want it for that use.
Commissioners also heard budget requests Monday.
Prairie View chief executive Marcy Johnson asked commissioners to give the agency $109,000.
The counseling service served 615 county residents during 2024, an increase of 24% over the previous year, Johnson said.
Besides counseling for people with mental health and substance abuse, Prairie View offers supportive housing and employment, crisis services, school-based mental health services, and suicide prevention services, she said.
“Through last year, we have grown quite a bit,” Johnson said.
The majority of patients are uninsured or underinsured, “which creates a significant gap in funding to cover cost to deliver services,” she said.
Treasurer Tina Groening asked commissioners for $322,989.50 in the 2026 budget.
That’s $13,099.50 more than 2025 and includes salaries and wages, contract services, commodities, and capital outlay expenses.
Dispatch supervisor Chelsea Weber asked for $90,250, an amount which didn’t include salaries.
Weber wants to buy six new computers for dispatch stations.
“I was informed of it at the end of January of three to be replaced and have been in contact with IT,” Weber said. “I was just informed May 27 the updated replacement total is six, not three.”
Commissioners discussed hiring matters in a 10-minute executive session, then went back into executive session for 15 more minutes to discuss hiring again.