Finance committee previews conduit project, security upgrades and grants to come

The county’s finance committee told commissioners of several time-sensitive capital and administrative items that will come before the board.

Vice-chair of finance reported a resolution will be prepared to authorize placement of conduit between the administrative building, courthouse and jail while nearby road work provides access. The conduit would be installed during current road construction windows; the committee estimated conduit-only expenses in the range of $140,000 and said the work would not include pulling fiber (that would be a separate expense and future project).

The committee also reviewed security upgrades for the administrative building and said the scope and bids are being adjusted to fit budget constraints while preserving needed security features. Committee members signed several waivers for maintenance work (cooling systems, chillers, water heaters) and authorized purchase waivers that the chair executed.

Finance reported it approved three full-faith-and-credit resolutions requested by the drain commissioner for three drain projects (one in Royalton Township and two in Hager Township) that will arrive on the board’s consent calendar next week. The committee also discussed a road-department contract for tree removal that the department says is in breach; the recommendation was to move forward with the next-lowest bidder to complete the work.

Committee members were advised a pension-trust meeting is scheduled with Russell Investments and that consolidation of weekly road-department financial reports to finance (with broader distribution while a $2 million loan remains outstanding) remains under discussion.

The committee did not vote on the conduit during the meeting; a formal resolution with final numbers will be presented to the full board next week.