Commission approves design work for HVAC system at LEC

The Cloud County board of commissioners, during its regular meeting on Monday, approved chairman Gary Caspers to sign an agreement with Orazem & Scalora Engineering, P.A. to do design work for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system at the Cloud County Law Enforcement Center at a cost of $47,300.
Eric Johnson, Campbell & Johnson Engineers, P.A. presented the proposal, to have Orazem & Scalora do the design work, to the board.
Budreau Construction will be the general contractor on the project.
Hood Heating Air Plumbing Electric will be the mechanical and electrical contractor.
Campbell & Johnson will serve as the prime consultant.
Also during the meeting, the board approved a wage change for Brandi Peterson from $15.88 to $18.04, effective June 7, due to her probationary period ending.
The board also approved a wage change for Katherine Kearn from $11.52 to $12.52, effective June 2, due to her passing the Home Health Aide class.
A wage change for Melissa Miller from $20.36 to $20.86, effective January 21, 2021, due to the end of her probationary period, was also approved.
Representatives from the Senior Center in Cloud County presented a 2022 budget request for one mill to the board.
Senior Center funds will be distributed by population to Senior Centers in Concordia, Clyde, Glasco, Jamestown and Miltonvale.
It was reported to the board that the citizens over the age of 69 made up 21.6 percent of the population in the county in 2019. That percentage increased to 27.4 percent in 2021. Approximately 18,780 meals a year are prepared in the Concordia Senior Center.
The board received budget requests from Recycling, Solid Waste, Register of Deeds, Noxious Weed, Road & Bridge, Road & Bridge other, Recycling, County Treasurer, Sheriff and Law Enforcement Center.
Applications received for America Rescue Plan Act funds include: Emergency Preparedness, $224,698.86 for the Cloud County First Responder Communication equipment upgrades; County Appraiser, $100,000 for countywide GIS mapping.
Sheriff Ken Davis requested a $1 per hour increase for all employees excluding himself and the nurse. He said the department would be excluded from any increase in wages for county employees in 2022.
No decision was made on the request from Davis.
Commissioners met with department heads during the meeting. Reports presented were:
Mike Hake, Solid Waste director – Summer hours at the Recycling Center will begin on June 14. The hours will be 6:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
James Quillen, Emergency Management director – The incident command trailer is done and they are working on a delivery date.
Kristi Benyshek, District Court Clerk – A retirement celebration for Sue Peltier will be on June 14 from 2-4 p.m. and they are hiring replacement. Preparing remote work agreements. Filing cabinets are available for any department that needs one.
JoDee LeDuc, County Treasurer – Compared 2019 to 2020 vehicle titles for the first five months of the year and they were up by 386. People are buying vehicles and paying delinquent tax bills.
Jerry Collins, IT director – Phishing emails have been going around. Increased the speed of the internet for the Courthouse, Law Enforcement Center and Health Department.
Andy Asch, Highway Department administrator – Summer crews have started. Hall Brothers should be starting cold mix soon. Looking at purchasing a copier and dump truck. Chip sealing over sand seal would be a $34,000 difference for the Ames/Miltonvale Road. A full staff starting on Monday. A couple of roads were torn up by kids, asked the sheriff what would be done.
Barry Porter, Appraiser – Certified values have gone to the County Clerk. Rural property needs to have three acres of land on a deed for sanitary purposes.
Ken Davis, Sheriff – Bike Rodeo in Miltonvale was well received.
Henry Eilert, Maintenance manager – Concrete pad at the Law Enforcement Center is completed. Moved furniture around departments. Working on the Memorial Ball. Cleaned the parking lot and will be replacing part on the chiller.
Shella Thoman, County Clerk – Preparing the budget information for all county taxing entities. There will be no primary election in August for city/school elections. Aurora city council and the Cloud County Community College board of trustees will have write-ins as not enough people filed for the positions.
Brandi Bray, Health Department administrator – Emergency food pantry is in high demand. Vaccinations are by appointment on Monday through Thursday and appointments for young people are available. Myra Brooks is the new provider for Family Planning. Medicare survey and audit went well. Getting ideas for wind damage repairs.
The board approved the following expenses totaling $79,050.16:
General Fund, $34,591.84; Road & Bridge, $15,921.56; Court Services, $1,968.56; County Tourism & Convention, $518.29; Employee Benefits, $1,100; Juvenile Reinvestment, $90.11; Auto Special, $334.50; Juvenile Justice, $1,229.10; Community Corrections, $1,852.66; Appraisal, $195.35; County Health, $5,494.43; Noxious Weed, $14,741.15; Election, $316.53; Solid Waste, $696.08.