Williamson County officials approved a negotiated agreement for the county highway department and voted to purchase office furniture and computers for the assessor’s office, while spending more time discussing a proposed sign for the county animal-control facility and a software conversion to DevNet.

The highway-department agreement discussed by staff included two editorial corrections — a corrected holiday count and placement of a legacy wage rate for employees hired before 2010 — and a plan to add the wage language in an appendix or addendum. County staff said the agreement as negotiated was otherwise ready for signature. A motion to approve the agreement was made, seconded and carried during the meeting; a roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript with at least one “yes” recorded for Jim Marlow. The transcript does not contain a full roll-call tally for all members.

The vote to authorize purchases for the assessor’s office covered new desks, furniture and computers. Staff said the expense will be charged to automation/GIS funding. The meeting record shows a motion and second; the roll-call exchange recorded both “yes” and “no” responses tied to individual speakers in the transcript, but a full, unambiguous tally for all members is not recorded in the transcript excerpts.

County staff presented conceptual designs and budget estimates for a new sign at the animal-control facility. Consultants and staff discussed options ranging from a simple lit sign for nighttime visibility to a larger video/display sign. Several speakers raised safety and traffic-congestion concerns, saying that a video-capable sign might create distracted-driving hazards because of multiple ingress and egress points on the adjacent road. Staff described site utilities and permitting work under way: engineers submitted water/sewer permits, an entrance permit from the state agency (IDOT) has been issued, and staff are awaiting EPA responses and final consultant drawings. The transcript included discussion of 3-phase electric service in the vicinity and options for routing power around wetlands, but no final budget figure for the sign was confirmed in the record provided (a large numeric figure appears in the transcript but is unclear and is listed here as not specified).

Staff also briefed the board on the planned migration of county tax and billing data into DevNet. The county has used the current vendor for about 26 years; that vendor submitted a proposal to convert historical records, with staff estimating the conversion work could be roughly 200 hours and a conversion fee discussed in the meeting of about $14,000. Board members asked whether the proposal should be a capped or definitive price rather than an open-ended estimate; several asked the vendor to revise the proposal so the county would either accept a firm fixed price or specify an hourly overage rate for work exceeding 200 hours. Staff said they would obtain clarifying language from the vendor and follow up with the board or, if needed, schedule a conference call with the vendor to resolve the contract terms.

No statutes, ordinances or other legal authorities were cited in the transcript excerpts provided. Several staff and contractors were referenced during the meeting and asked to return more detailed cost and design information for the animal-control sign and to provide a clearer pricing structure for the DevNet conversion.

Looking ahead, staff said they expected final drawings and specifications for the animal-control project within weeks and that procurement for the sign would follow coordination of utilities and the final consultant drawings. For the DevNet conversion, staff said they would return with clarified contract language on price and hours before work begins.

Votes at a glance

- Collective agreement for Williamson County Highway Department — Motion to approve carried; roll-call vote included at least one recorded “yes” (Jim Marlow); full tally not specified in transcript excerpts.

- Assessor’s office furniture and computer purchases — Motion to approve carried; recorded roll-call exchange included recorded responses in the transcript but a clear full tally was not specified in the excerpts provided.