Two more special projects of O’Brien County funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds were either on the agenda or a topic of discussion Tuesday February 14.
Kim Morran, representing O’Brien County Public Health gave her annual report to the Supervisors. She brought examples of items purchased with grant funds awarded to the department and explained how they were used to improve public safety (infant car seats) or used to provide good learning experiences for students and adults alike (doll with lights showing affects of shaking on brain).
Public Health provides a much wider variety of activities in the community. It provides immunizations and “Best Care for Better Babies.” It works with parents to deliver child dental interventions, kindergarten nutrition programs and much more.
The O’Brien County Public Health Department has been on the ARPA agenda since the funding was introduced a year ago. Space at the main level office as well as federally required privacy concerns became big issues for the organization. A search began for suitable facilities for the department and has been underway ever since. Morran was asked about a new location and confirmed that a location has been decided but it is not yet disclosed. A closed session Friday about real estate is on record.
Bruce Devereaux, O’Brien County Sheriff and Randy Thompson, Maintenance, attended to consider bids for a new roof on the Sheriff’s office and jail. Three bids were received, read and considered. The roof replacement project developed out of replacing air conditioning units. That concern arose when lead times for certain AC components extended into months. If an AC unit at the jail goes down, the problem can be extremely serious, even presenting health risks to inmates.
Nohava Construction presented one bid. Guarantee Roofing submitted two bids. Prices ranged from $99,674 to $248,646. A third company submitted a low bid using lower quality materials.
One bid from Guarantee was close to comparable with the Nohava bid. After much discussion it was decided to ask Nohava to include in their price 4 inches of insulation so that their bid and the high bid from Guarantee can be compared, apples to apples. These replacement costs are to be paid for from ARPA funds.