At the county board’s April 5 meeting, a pre-design contract with BKV Group, for the county jail, was unanimously approved. After some clarifications and a few changes, the board took another step forward.
Bruce Schwartzman, BKV Group, had met with engineers and some county staff last week to take a critical look at the existing jail building. They determined it can definitely be utilized. With extensive remodeling, the current structure can be part of the new jail facility.
County Administrator Bobbie Hillery drew attention to the $38,000 cost of pre-design written into the contract. This was higher than earlier estimates. Schwartzman explained there will be more evaluation needed than originally expected adding to the cost of pre-design. There was an agreement to make the payment at an hourly rate for the pre-design, not to exceed $38,000.
County Attorney Brett Corson noted the contract goes all the way to completion of construction; he asked if pre-design should be a separate contract. Schwartzman said the contract can be terminated at any point in time. By consensus the board agreed that a clause should be added to the contract clarifying that they will only proceed to the next phase with board approval. Soft costs including things like furnishings, soil borings, and a construction manager were discussed. Schwartzman explained that with the feasibility study the board will have a good sense of what the jail will cost.
The board approved the contract with attention to the items described above.
Other business in brief
•County Engineer Ron Gregg requested approval to order two tandem trucks to be delivered and paid for in the third quarter of 2023. Brent Kohn explained his reasoning for ordering Mack trucks. After some discussion, approval was given to order the Mack tandem trucks now, due to the length of time before delivery.
Gregg asked for approval to advertise for a request for proposals for the construction of a storage building at the county’s Chatfield location. The building would be a stick structure with five bays, one being a wash bay. Board members wanted time to look over the specifications or even look at a similar building in Wabasha County before approval. Consideration of the advertisement request will be on next week’s agenda.
•Social Services Director Kevin Olson reviewed the software tool he uses to oversee the work activity of all his workers, including telecommuters. He said his workers as a team are getting all their work done before what the applications require. Telecommuters as a group are efficient in the amount of work they complete.
•An intermittent remote work agreement for the county administrator was approved. Hillery said she doesn’t expect to use it often and she will report to the board chair and vice-chair at any time she does work remotely.
•Approval was given to use CT Cloud Fax for all fax services. The service is more affordable than the current service and workers can fax from their computers.
•Resolution imagery from Eagleview was upgraded to 3 inches countywide from 6 inches for this current flight. It will cost an additional $27,870 for the upgrade in resolution spread over three years. The cost for the upgrade is a fraction of what it would normally cost. Both County Recorder David Kiehne and assessor Jason McCaslin favored the upgrade.
•The retirement of Gary Morken, highway maintenance specialist, was approved with thanks after 19 years of service, effective April 28. A request to hire a highway maintenance specialist from a list to fill the soon to be open position was approved.
•The retirement of Vicki Topness, office support specialist, was approved with thanks for her 20 years of service, effective April 28.
•Kari Broadwater was hired as an Office Support Specialist, Sr.
•Matthew Rislov was hired as a highway maintenance specialist.
•The board requested that all townships and cities send their precinct information to auditor/treasure Christy Smith before the next board meeting. They need to certify even when there is no change. A discussion about possible redistricting for commissioner districts was moved to the next board meeting. The county will need to send a plan to the state by April 26. District 1 is slightly over 10% above the average number of residents. District 3 is about 7% below the average.
•The board approved an offer for the 2022 Law Enforcement Labor Services contract. This includes a 3% cost of living increase for one year, the position of captain moves up to grade 14, a clause added concerning injury on duty, and a $1 dollar increase plus the 3% COLA for grade 12 positions. Next, union members will vote on the offer.
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