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St. Joseph County commissioners approve routine payments, contracts and grants; table DLZ supplemental agreement
Summary
The board approved the accounts payable docket, a settlement in an employment case, advertisement for a courthouse re-roof bid, a consultant award for a Mayflower Road bridge project, a $1.8 million change order for a lift-station project, a professional services agreement for section-corner work, a CDC grant extension application and a temporary staffing contract; they tabled a DLZ supplemental agreement for clarification.
St. Joseph County commissioners on Oct. 1 approved a string of routine financial and contracting items, including payment of county bills and multiple procurement actions, and tabled one item for further clarification.
The board voted to approve the accounts payable docket and a settlement and release in an employment lawsuit involving Madison Cultus and the St. Joseph County Police Department. Commissioners Dieter, Hazen and Baxmayer each voted "Aye." The board then authorized advertisement of a re-roof bid for Courthouse 1 with planned advertisement dates of Oct. 4 and Oct. 11, following a brief presentation by Bree Roberts, director of procurement.
In transportation business, the board approved the selection of Lawson Fisher Associates for construction inspection services on the federally funded Mayflower Road bridge project, after the county’s scoring panel ranked Lawson Fisher highest among five proposers. Commissioners also considered Supplemental Agreement No. 2 from DLZ for the McKinley Highway added-travel-lanes project (Birch Road to Ash Road) but voted to table that item for one week so staff can verify line-item amounts after speakers noted a discrepancy in the supplemental fee schedule.
The board approved Change Order No. 1 to extend sanitary sewer work for the lift-station and force-main replacement south of Fillmore Road. Presenters described the change order at approximately $1,800,000 in additional work, with about $650,000 of that attributed to required dewatering; the board approved the change order by voice vote.
The county approved a professional services agreement with Evan Marsh Consultants for section-corner maintenance for the surveyor’s office. County staff noted the work is performed annually to meet a state statutory requirement to review roughly 5% of the county’s section corners.
Renata Williams, director of care unit at the St. Joseph County Health Department, requested approval to apply for a no-cost extension on a CDC COVID grant previously authorized in 2021; she said about $700,000 remained and the extension would allow continued use of the funds through August 2025. The board approved the application. The board also approved a temporary staffing agreement with Specialized Staffing Solutions to backfill a critical maintenance position during maternity leave, with a not-to-exceed amount of $9,500.
The DLZ supplemental agreement was tabled for one week to allow staff to reconcile apparent discrepancies and return with the supporting documentation. The meeting recessed following routine closing motions.
What’s next: the DLZ supplemental agreement will return for clarification at the next meeting; staff will proceed with negotiated agreements and the advertised courthouse re-roof procurement.
