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Board reviews year-end projects: animal-control facility, health-department upgrades and a balanced budget
Summary
At a brief meeting after closed session, county staff highlighted completion of a new animal-control building (Bender Builders), health-department renovations including new attorney-client rooms (~$13,000), park and blight-removal projects funded by state grants, and a balanced 2024 budget with cautious optimism for 2025.
After completing closed-session business, the San County Board of Commissioners heard year-end remarks from county staff highlighting capital projects, facility upgrades and budget results.
Nathan (staff) summarized major accomplishments, saying the new animal-control facility built by Bender Builders is expected to be finished within a week and that exterior fencing and landscaping will follow. He said keys are available for board members to preview the building and that staff plan an open house before animals are moved in, with adoption opportunities.
Nathan also described upgrades to the health department — including new siding, windows and landscape work — and said the county spent about $13,000 on attorney-client meeting rooms at the building entrance to provide private space for confidential conversations. He praised the facility’s improved energy performance and noted staff appreciation for the new spaces.
The board discussed parks and grant-driven work: an Evergreen park project added a pup course and pavilion, an MEEDC grant paid for a new playground and soft surface at Peek Memorial Park, and state land bank funds supported demolitions that cleared blighted houses to create parking lots and buildable lots in several communities. Nathan said Chill Grant funding supported housing rehabs in the county.
On personnel and benefits, Nathan said changes to the county’s health insurance program produced a reduction in employee costs and that the county settled five of six union contracts; the courts consolidated several small court unions into a single court union, which Nathan described as simplifying future negotiations. He added that the county transitioned employee reclassifications from a third-party review to an in-house process.
Nathan highlighted a new county website rollout and recycling-center improvements, including glass collection and interior facility upgrades, and said the county closed 2024 with a balanced budget and expects to finish 2025 in a positive position though projections will be tighter.
The chair also announced the organizational meeting for Jan. 6 at 1:00 p.m. and said he had scheduled a Jan. 14 meeting with Mara, a city manager who requested time to ask elected officials about county programs.
