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County Office Building interior remodel

March 13, 2017 by Karen Reisner

Fillmore County Journal

At the county board’s March 7 meeting, County Coordinator Bobbie Vickerman described proposed interior improvements to the Fillmore County Office Building to better provide client privacy and to improve security. Commissioner Duane Bakke was absent.

Vickerman proposed that the Public Health/Social Services desk be a shared station for people seeking assistance. She said the proposed changes are being planned to minimize construction work and cost.

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) will be moved from the back of the building to the front. There will be secure interview rooms. Chairman Randy Dahl explained that the open back door will be eliminated. This plan is the least intrusive way to secure the building during office hours and on weekends.

The front of the building was recently hit by a vehicle. Bids to fix the damage and for the proposed improvements are being sought. Vickerman hopes to bring the bids to the next meeting.

Approval was given for a SEMCAC resolution to authorize application for the Minnesota Housing and Finance Agency Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program. Social services manager Neva Beier reported that in 2016, $11,148 of these grant funds were spent on 54 individuals (14 eligible households) to provide short-term housing assistance.

A telecommuting request from Kari Cahill, Vulnerable Adult and Child Protection Intake Worker for 28 years with the county, was approved. Beier said she will be available to work with walk-ins when needed. She said Cahill’s home meets requirements for telecommuting. Beier said this will make a total of seven telecommuters working for the county. Dahl maintained that telecommuters are expected to have a greater case load. Commissioner Gary Peterson asked about security. Beier explained the security requirements that need to be met by telecommuters.

Other business in brief

• Stantec engineer Brett Grabau reported that all construction is finished and approved on the Greenleafton Wastewater Collection and Treatment Improvement Project. The board approved a change order in the amount of $6,121.50 with Generation X Construction, LLC. The change order was for the closed circuit television inspection of the sanitary sewer collections mains which has been completed. With the final inspection and warranty work complete, the final payment in the amount of $48,698.07, which includes the change order amount, was approved.

Grabau noted the project cost was $1,039,310, which is $4,177 below the revised contract amount.

• Grabau said Stantec was hired for Cherry Grove. A report on the possible wastewater project is complete and has been sent to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. No concerns have come from the MPCA at this time. The next step is to set up a meeting with the Fillmore County Sewer Committee and then with the Cherry Grove residents.

• Sheriff Tom Kaase requested the purchase a specialty printer for the sheriff’s office for the jail fingerprinting process. He said the printer is needed for a service his office provides for citizens that need a hard copy of their fingerprints. The printer cost has not been budgeted. Kaase suggested a fee could be charged, which would pay for the cost of the printer over time. He recommended the purchase of the Lexmark printer with a five-year warranty at a cost of $1,843.86. The board approved the purchase of the printer as recommended and then approved a $20 fee for citizens requesting the service.

• The county currently has 10 copy machines. Vickerman said the machines will be replaced with only nine, one in each department head office. The board reviewed a number of bids to replace the machines from one vendor. Over all, the county will save money with a centralized copy machine purchase. Approval was given to purchase the machines from Loffler. Contracts will be bought out on the current machines and they will be sent back.

• Veterans Services Officer Jason Marquardt is a certified CPR/AED trainer. A request to use Wellness grant funds to purchase cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automate external defibrillator (AED) training equipment was approved. Ten mannequins will be purchased at a cost of $710 and 10 CPR pocket masks will be purchased at a cost of $110.

• Vickerman introduced the first reading of revisions in the purchasing policy regarding department head requirements for purchasing budgeted items. Currently, any purchase over $500 must be brought before the board for approval. Department heads by consensus recommend this be raised to $7,500. Kaase noted if the items were in the departmental budget, they were already approved through the budget process. County Attorney Brett Corson suggested any increase over the $500 will be a good move.

Commissioner Marc Prestby was not against an increase, but felt $7,500 was too drastic of jump. Peterson suggested $2,500 would be a good level. Commissioner Mitch Lentz noted that if the amount is raised and there is any abuse, it can be lowered once again. No action was taken.

Filed Under: Government, News

About Karen Reisner

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karen@fillmorecountyjournal.com

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