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County’s recycling center roof gets fix
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By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
The Houston County Board of Commissioners approved the low bid submitted by Steele Painting of Caledonia to conduct repairs on the county’s recycling center building in Houston. County Solid Waste Officer Rick Frank told the board he had received two bids on the repair project. The low bid from Steele was for $1,275. The other bid was from Randy Bearbower of Caledonia for $2,964.
Frank told the board that they had never had any leaking issues with the steel roof at the recycling center until last month. He said high winds and heavy rains resulted in water leaking through the roof, the insulation and the ceiling.
Upon inspecting the roof, it was discovered the seams in the metal roof needed to be re-caulked and re-nailed. The ventilating ridge cap was in need of replacement.
“Most of the cost of this project is the labor involved,” Frank noted. Commissioner Tom Bjerke asked if the bid included a lifetime caulk or something cheaper. Frank replied it was bid with lifetime caulk, priced at about $7 a tube.
A motion by Commissioner Bob Augedahl and seconded by Bjerke was unanimously passed.
In other board action:
Air conditioning repairs
The board approved the necessary repairs to the Court House air conditioning system. According to Human Resources Director Tess Arrick-Kruger, the 1976 AC unit is in need of compressor safety parts. A set of overload breakers, which protect the compressor during start-ups, will run $897. An oil pressure safety reset, which will turn the compressor off if the oil pressure is too low, will cost $488. The labor for the installation is $88 an hour.
Kruger noted the county has spent $2,028 on various maintenance charges on the aged AC unit this year. She added that Tim Lange of Court House maintenance will be getting estimates for a new unit and service options for planning purposes.
Witt EDA loan approved
The board approved a $30,000 EDA revolving fund loan for Witt Pharmacy, which is taking over the La Crescent pharmacy that had been operated by Franciscan-Skemp.
County EDA Director Jordan Wilms explained Franciscan-Skemp was planning on closing the pharmacy to focus more energies on their La Crescent clinic. Witt, which has a number of pharmacies in the area, including Caledonia, Spring Grove, Houston, Rushford and Harmony, requested the money to help handle the expenses involved in the carry over process in La Crescent.
Wilms noted the terms for the $30,000 loan would be 2.5 percent interest for 36 months. The change in ownership would retain four jobs. The county EDA board reviewed the request and recommended approval.
A motion by Bjerke and seconded by Commissioner Jack Miller was unanimously approved.
Staffing changes
The board approved changes in employment status for several staffers working in the Public Health Nursing Department.
According to Deb Rock, Michelle Severson will maintain full time status during the duration of the SHIP grant program, which currently pays for one third of Heather Myhre’s salary. Severson will take on some of the work load that Myhre had to give up, as she works with the SHIP program. Nicki Folsom was moved from .8 to .9 FTE as well.
These moves won’t cost the county any more money,” Rock explained. “We will just be utilizing the money we are receiving from the SHIP grant.”
Contract with Ehlers
County Financial Director Casey Bradley presented the board with a number of options the county could take with continuing financial services Ehlers and Associates.
Throughout the bonding process of the county justice center, the county will be required to provide continuing financial disclosure reporting. Ehlers has been serving as the county’s financial consultant during the process so far and recommended a contract be approved to provide the disclosure reporting services.
The option Bradley recommended would pay Ehlers a base fee of $1,300 plus miscellaneous office expenses for the first revenue source, plus $100 for each additional issue paid from the same revenue source up to a maximum of $2,000. The option would also pay Ehlers $500 per filing for the first issue paid from a unique revenue source, $100 for each additional issue paid from the same revenue source and a $100 per quarterly filing (if required).
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