Fillmore County Supports Appeal for Individual Disaster Assistance

At the October 8 meeting of the county board, Sheriff John DeGeorge and Deputy Jason Harmening asked the board for its support in the appeal for Individual Assistance for owners of homes in the city of Spring Valley damaged by flooding during June heavy rain events. Since then, additional individual properties that sustained damage have been added.

On September 19, FEMA denied Minnesota’s June 27 request for Individual Assistance related to the flooding in Fillmore County and many other Minnesota counties. The state is considering whether to appeal the denial for Individual Assistance.

FEMA did not deny public assistance for damaged roadways. DeGeorge said we are basically asking them to take another look into Individual Assistance. The board voted to support the appeal process for Individual Assistance for disaster relief for damages caused by June rainstorms.

Airport Drain Field

County engineer Ron Gregg asked for and received board approval to rescind a resolution adopted at the last meeting for the final payment for the Airport Terminal. Gregg wanted to leave the contract with Wieser Brother General Contractor, Inc. open. He noted he was satisfied with Wieser and that the contract had been fulfilled, 100% completed; the drain field was not part of that project. The board then approved payout of retainage on the contract for the Airport Terminal in the amount of $35,659.02 to Wieser Brother General Contractor, Inc. Commissioner Mitch Lentz voted no.

The terminal building has a holding tank that was expected to be pumped every 3-4 months, but due to the water softening process the tank fills often and needs to be pumped at least every month.

SEH is drawing up a plan for a drain field; they designed the holding tank.  By leaving the Wieser contract open, a change order can be put into place. There should be no cost to the county. Land Use Director Blake Lea said soil testing has been done with the consultant to determine the best place for the drain field. Gregg said a mound system should solve the problem.

Other Business in Brief

• Joe Imholte, Contegrity Group, listed three change orders for the jail project including caulking and joint sealants ($38,539), addition of yard hydrant (($4,194), and a water heater deduction ($8,200). The board approved the addition of the yard hydrant and the water heater deduction. However, the board felt there was an error in excluding the cost of the caulking and joint sealants from the original board approved budget. A motion was approved authorizing the caulking and joint sealant work to be completed, but it needs to be determined who should be paying for this work.

Imholte updated the board on the progress of the project. In the middle to the end of February the jail addition should be completed and turned over. Phase 2A and 2B (renovations of the existing building) will take about 18 months.

• The AMC annual conference was discussed. By consensus the board agreed department heads can choose to attend this conference when they have funding in their budgets.
• Director of Nursing Jessica Erickson asked for approval to purchase 14 Trauma First Aid Kits, Molle bags and bulk order bandages as requested by the Opioid Task Force Group. The kits will be placed in various county government facilities. The Molle bags will be attached to first aid kits and hold Narcan for Opioid overdose. DeGeorge noted every deputy carries at least two doses of Narcan. The purchases were approved as presented.
• Christina Bothun, social worker, was promoted to Lead Adult Social Worker, effective October 14.
• The request to hire Klysen Schoppers as a replacement highway maintenance specialist was tabled until he gets his Class A endorsement.
• The higher of two bids in the amount of $286 per acre submitted by Gavin Wangen for the county farm was approved.
• A resolution was adopted for Operation Green Light to be displayed around the courthouse from November 4-11 to honor and recognize the sacrifice of veterans.
• A three-year agreement between Fillmore County and the University of Minnesota for Extension programming was approved.