The meeting began with the approval of the October 20th meeting minutes, payroll claims, and claims.
Todd Houk, Highway Department stated that the Highway Department continues to do general maintenance. He stated that he and Todd are working to finish up on Paser rating so they can get their road asset management plan together which is due December 1st. United is working on their bridge asset management plan. Todd sent six staff to get training on how to cut down a tree correctly. Todd attended an REMC live wire training, and he is looking into REMC coming to the highway department so that they can provide the training to his entire crew. Todd also stated that the Highway Department received training in plowing snow.
Todd attended a winter operations meeting with EMA and the schools to discuss operations during winter conditions. He said that the highway department received 140 tons of sand delivered and 200 tons of salt was ordered today.
Doug Westerfeld, APC SIRPC grant funding was accepted and a contract with HWC to revise the counties Comprehensive Plan was signed.
Health Department Executive Director Sean Durbin provided an update on the Rodent Control Plan for the Clarksburg community. Sean reported that the department met with Clarksburg residents on Thursday evening to present the plan and discuss next steps. Doug Westerfeld also attended the meeting and explained the procedures for addressing properties that fail to comply with the plan’s requirements.
The Health Department has already begun community education efforts and has started purchasing necessary supplies, including rodent screens, snap traps, and other materials that will primarily be distributed to homeowners. Alicia Nobbe recently obtained her Industrial Pest Control License, which enables the department to purchase the chemicals required for spraying.
Sean emphasized that this initiative must be a community-wide effort and cannot rely on individual participation alone. He noted that the total budget for the project is $4,600 and requested assistance from the commissioners to help cover the remaining funding gap. Commissioner Jeremy Pasel suggested that the costs could be covered through the disaster line in the budget.
Sean concluded by noting that the eradication process will take several months to possibly one year to complete.
Mike Snyder, EMA Director, reported that the tornado siren project has been completed. During system testing, two sirens were found to be nonfunctional. This led to a discussion regarding the proposed service contract for maintenance. The quoted cost for the contract is approximately $34,000.
Mike stated that he is further reviewing the proposal and will seek additional quotes for comparison. Commissioner Brian Wenning expressed concern about the significant cost increase, noting that the previous service contract was $2,200 per year, and the new proposal totals $34,000 for three years, just one year later.
Mike added that he has received mixed feedback from other counties regarding their experiences with the company offering the current service contract.
Snowplow service bid requests for the Annex were sent to several businesses. Only one bid was received, from Banks Lawn Care, and the commissioners voted to approve the submitted bid.
The commissioners voted to fill a vacancy and re-appoint a member on the Lake Santee Boards.
Chris Ramey – WTRE News
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