Stark County commissioners on Monday voted to reserve $1 million from the county’s capital-improvements fund to cover needed repairs at the Local Emergency Center (LEC), after receiving bids for sanitary and domestic water pipe replacement.
LEC board members and staff presented two contractor bids: $589,000 for sanitary sewer piping replacement (phase 2) and $255,000 for domestic water piping work, for a total of about $844,000. Because the LEC serves as a multi-county facility and Stark County represents roughly 70–77% of the LEC’s owner population, commissioners were warned that the county would shoulder most of the cost if the center borrowed for the work.
SwimC (the multi-county LEC consortium) explored a Bank of North Dakota repair loan, but SwimC cannot directly secure the loan because it lacks its own taxing authority. That would have required Stark County to pledge county tax levies for the loan; commissioners preferred to avoid that route. "I would prefer us not go down that road," one commissioner said as the board discussed whether to use county capital funds instead.
The board first approved the LEC maintenance budget and then voted to hold $1 million in the county capital improvements account as an earmark to cover the LEC repairs rather than pursue a loan; the motion passed on a roll-call vote with all commissioners supporting the action.
Why it matters: The LEC has had recurring moisture and piping failures, including basement flooding and sewer issues that affect sheriff’s office operations and evidence storage. Commissioners said deferred maintenance has increased the scale of repairs and that addressing the infrastructure now should reduce long-term costs and service disruptions.
Next steps: The LEC will work with contractors on scope and scheduling. Commissioners and LEC staff acknowledged more projects remain (parking-lot work and other deferred items) and said the county will approve individual capital expenditures as the facility and owner counties finalize their cost-share agreements.
Financial note: Commissioners quantified the county’s potential share at roughly 72% of the $844,000 estimate (about $607,680) but placed a conservative $1 million placeholder in capital improvements to cover the full and any related contingency work pending final contract awards and owner approvals.