At the February 13 meeting of the county board, plans for a remodel of the Fillmore County office building were approved. County Coordinator Bobbie Vickerman explained a remodel has been a topic of discussion for almost two years. A plan to have one front desk for both social services and public health has been put off because of the significant cost.
Jessica Erickson, director of nursing, applied for a WIC (women, infants, and children) grant. The proposed remodel would move WIC up front so clients could go directly in. She said it has been a safety concern the way it is now. Public health was awarded $33,000 (WIC grant) to be used toward improvements. The project must be completed using the grant by September 30.
Two bids had been submitted, the lower bid from Knutson Construction is in the amount of $59,687. The $26,266 needed from the county to make up the difference was not in this year’s budget. Commissioner Randy Dahl said he was very concerned about the back door and the uncontrolled public access at that point. This remodel will provide better security for the office building.
The facilities committee recommended moving forward with the remodel. Commissioner Duane Bakke said the county’s portion will have to be taken out of the Infrastructure Fund.
Other business in brief
• Winona Heating and Ventilating, Inc. (WHV) submitted a proposal in the amount of $29,980 to replace Automated Logic Controls serving the HVAC system in the office building. The current controls were installed in 1999 and are running on hardware and software that is no longer supported. Funds are in the facilities budget for the upgrade. The upgrade was approved as recommended by the facilities committee and Terry Schultz.
• Donna Rasmussen, SWCD, requested and received the approval and signature for the 2017 Local Water Management Grant Financial Report. This grant is part of the Fillmore County Natural Resources Block Grant. All grant funds were expended ($14,278). The funds are used for staff time, dues to the SE MN Water Resources Board, and for monitoring/data collection expenses. The county has a cash match totaling $6,862 which is used for administration/coordination expenses.
• Approval was given to advertise for sealcoat projects on CSAHs 9, 20, 14, 8, 38, 2, and 27. County Engineer Ron Gregg said Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) and Wheelage Tax funds will be used for the sealcoat projects.
A request to advertise for two summer temporary employees for the highway department as recommended by the personnel committee was approved.
• No comments were received on the dress code policy which was approved. No comments were received on the employee evaluation policy which was approved.
• Approval was given to advertise for Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for a County Compensation Study as recommended by the personnel committee. Vickerman said $35,000 has been budgeted for the study. The purpose of the study is to construct an updated classification and compensation system. The study is to be completed by April 1, 2019.
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