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Lee County to go Paperless

The Lee County Board of Supervisors is ready to become the latest governmental board to conduct paperless meetings.

County Auditor Anne Pedersen brought up the idea of paperless meetings during the board's most recent workshop.

The board meets at least 4 times each month.  Pedersen says it takes a lot of time, paper, and ink to print documents for each of the five supervisors for each meeting.

The supervisors supported Pedersen’s recommendation to purchase electronic readers.

Chairperson Janet Fife-LaFrenz says replacing hundreds of pages of paper, each week, with one computer file is a good idea.

She says the devices will be stored in the Auditor's office and brought to each meeting, loaded with the electronic documents.

The board plans to purchase six devices, which are expected to cost about $150 each.  The sixth device would serve as a back-up.

The Keokuk City Council recently went paperless at a much higher cost.  The city purchased 16 electronic devices for roughly $300 each.

COMBINED FACILITY

Lee County could provide a financial boost to a proposed home for two county departments.

Supporters of a combined facility for the Conservation and Health Departments say they are running into road-blocks when applying for grants or seeking donations.

Conservation Director Tom Buckley says organizations want to know the county’s contribution before pledging their own money.

The Board of Supervisors has provided $5,000 for a feasibility study, but now the panel is considering a contribution of up to $500,000.

Supervisor Larry Kruse says that is the maximum amount the county could borrow for the project without a vote of the people.

Chairperson Janet Fife-LaFrenz says the idea is to get the upcoming public fundraising campaign off to a good start.

She hopes to identify where the money could come from as soon as possible.

The combined facility carries a price tag of roughly $4-million.

Jason Parrott is a former reporter at Tri States Public Radio.