Worth County board approves routine claims, acknowledges manure plans and directs payment for opioid treatment startup; hears lengthy generator repair report

At a Worth County board meeting, members approved the agenda and routine claims, acknowledged three annual manure-management-plan updates and directed staff to issue a $9,347.09 payment toward an opioid-treatment startup associated with Perry Rich, officials said.

Board action on routine business came alongside extended discussion of public-works projects and a report on generator and HVAC problems at county facilities. County staff described deliveries of pipe for smaller road projects, ongoing backyard replacements of damaged culverts and a recommendation to replace aging radiator hoses and a cam sensor on a county generator after a technician’s inspection.

The board opened by approving the agenda and any amendments by voice vote; the chair noted the motion carried. Members then approved pending claims and accepted the sheriff’s daily report following separate motions that were seconded and carried. The board approved a payroll eligibility item related to an employee identified in the transcript as Katrina. Separately, members acknowledged three annual manure-management-plan updates after a motion and vote.

On a donation request, the board discussed a request for funding to support an opioid-treatment program startup associated with Perry Rich. County funds of $9,347.09 were identified in the county budget for the request. A board member told colleagues they had previously agreed to the expenditure at a February meeting and instructed county clerk staff to issue payment; the clerk Jackie was asked to write the check and the board member said the payee’s address had been provided.

Facilities staff reported multiple maintenance issues at county buildings. A county employee described finding water in a courthouse basement and arranging temporary pallet support for items stored there, plus purchasing and running a dehumidifier to protect stored materials. In a separate report on a public-health generator, a technician found low coolant, an intermittent cam-pulse loss, cracked or deteriorated radiator hoses (described as 13 years old) and an overheated block heater. The technician recommended replacing radiator hoses and the block heater and replacing a cam sensor and associated housing; the sensor and housing were estimated at about $1,000.

Staff said the supplier was able to source the cam sensor part. County staff also reported having a maintenance/service arrangement for generators that includes periodic oil and filter service; the transcript indicates different generator brands and service arrangements exist for water-treatment facilities and tower sites. A staff member named Mark said he received training on a portable generator and had run it because the county had about $14,000 worth of vaccine stored at a facility.

The meeting also included a brief construction update from a speaker identified as Rich Warren, who said the county has pipe on order for smaller pipe-replacement projects and that crews were replacing sections of failing plastic and concrete pipe with steel pipe on at least one road to avoid closing the road. Warren and other speakers referenced a delay in a historic-bridge evaluation database that has slowed a hydraulic/box culvert work stream; they said the database should be restored by the end of the year into next year.

No new ordinances or code amendments were discussed. The transcript records multiple motions on routine items that carried by voice vote; several operational directions were given to staff (issuing a check for the opioid-treatment startup, scheduling generator repairs, and continuing pipe and culvert replacements). The board did not tie the generator repairs to a specific procurement timeline in the recorded discussion.

The board did not specify dates for follow-up reports on the generator repairs or the opioid-treatment payment in the portion of the transcript provided.