The Dallas County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Tuesday.
At the meeting, payroll change notices were approved for a seasonal maintenance worker for the conservation department and a part time corrections officer as presented. Union tentative agreements were also approved after the County came to an agreement with all seven collective bargaining units. Supervisor Mark Hanson said all contracts are for a period of three years, for the first time since he started on the Board 11 years ago. He says this provides some certainty which will be beneficial when it comes to looking at finances.
A public hearing was then set for Tuesday, March 24th at 9:30am in regards to an Emergency Medical Services vehicle tele-monitoring system contract. EMS Director Mike Thomason said they are looking to add these devices to all four ambulance vehicles, to monitor engine functions, idle time, speed and GPS locations. He says this will help to help supervise the equipment and aid with maintenance. The cost is expected to be around $440 for the equipment, along with a monthly service charge of $75. Right now, Thomason says they don’t monitor this information. Instead they wait for a check engine light to come on if there are issues, though the vehicles are on a regular maintenance cycle. Supervisor Brad Golightly questioned why this additional expense is necessary. Thomason said administratively it would allow him to know where trucks are and when, how fast they are going and why. Right now he said this is something they struggle with, in terms of knowing where the ambulances are and this equipment should help alleviate that issue. This system does not give dispatch a location to know where the trucks are, though there are other systems on the market that offer that service. Thomason says this contract would lock the County in for one year, after that it would be a month-to-month contract. Engineer Jim George says currently, the Secondary Roads Department is running a similar system on the majority of their fleet.
Dust control vendor permits for the Secondary Roads Department were then approved. George says these are the same five vendors as the Supervisors approved last year. This program gives the public the opportunity to have the dust control material spread on their gravel roads. George says typically the cost is around $1 per foot, with a 400 foot average length. This includes two applications, one in the spring and again in the fall. The Board unanimously approved the permits as presented.
A bid was then awarded to Flynn Company out of Dubuque for the reconstruction of R-16 south of Highway 6. Dallas County has not worked with Flynn before, but other municipalities who have used the company say they do good work and should be a good fit for this project. The cost is estimated at $1,327,996. The late start date for the project is July 1st, with 50 working days allowed, or about 2.5 months to finish the project.
A granular material contract with Rhinehart Excavating Inc. out of Dallas Center was also approved in the amount of $7.30 per ton delivered for the north portion and $6.00 for the south.
A public hearing was then held in regards to the amended final plat of Kenyon Hill Ridge. This is for an existing subdivision north of Van Meter, for a planned unit development district. Previously this was platted into 18 residential lots, but now the property owner wants to realign the property into 21 different lots. The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the resolution. Following the hearing, after hearing no comments from the public the Supervisors approved the final plat.
The Board then heard an update on the human services campus renovation project. The Supervisors were asked to take a look at progress in order to eliminate surprises in the future. They agreed to tour the facility following the regular meeting.
Potential Board of Health member Cynthia Swanson was then introduced to the Supervisors. There has been a vacancy on this board for quite some time and Swanson said her interest in the position peaked after reading about the open spot in the newspaper. Swanson is a nurse who has lived in Adel for more than three decades and previously worked at Dallas County Hospital for five years. Supervisor Kim Chapman said he has known Swanson for around 36 years and she’s a good character who would be a good addition to the Board of Health. Swanson will go through a full orientation in the next couple weeks if her appointment is approved at the next Supervisors meeting.
An agenda item in regards to relocation of the civic division of the sheriff’s office was then tabled for next week’s meeting. Sheriff Chad Leonard said they are waiting for a few answers on budgetary items before moving forward.