Washington County approves staffing moves, Secondary Roads DOT amendment and preservation appointments; Wellman memorial funding deferred

At its May 5 meeting the Washington County Board of Supervisors approved multiple personnel actions in Ambulance Services, authorized a pending hire in Secondary Roads, approved a DOT-format budget amendment for Secondary Roads, and made one appointment and two reappointments to the Historic Preservation Commission. The Board took no action on a separate funding request from the City of Wellman for a memorial project and referred that request to the May 12 agenda.

Personnel actions approved include accepting the retirement/termination of Paramedic Aaron Olson (effective April 22, 2026), changing EMT Mary Ebersole’s status from 32-hour to 40-hour full-time effective June 17, 2026, and changing Paramedic Melissa Handy’s status from 40-hour to 32-hour full-time effective April 29, 2026. The Board also approved hiring Larry Sinn as a Parts & Service Technician in Secondary Roads pending pre-employment screening and an estimated May 11 start date.

County Engineer Jacob Thorius presented the Secondary Roads FY26 Iowa DOT Budget Amendment; the Board approved the amendment in the DOT-required format. The Board appointed Alex Meyer to a Historic Preservation Commission vacancy through Dec. 31, 2026, and reappointed James Yoder and Raquel (Rocky) Roberts for terms through Dec. 31, 2028.

Wellman City Administrator Kelly Litwiller asked the county to contribute toward the City of Wellman’s Veterans & First Responders Memorial, saying the City has raised $75,000 in private donations and received $3,000 from a Wellman Telephone Ripple Grant; pavers are being sold at $150 to $450 to help raise funds and the estimated project cost is $265,610. The Board took no action and scheduled the funding request for further consideration on the May 12 agenda.

All motions noted in the minutes passed unanimously unless otherwise indicated.