The Dallas County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Tuesday.

At the meeting, brick mason Pete Foley addressed the Board stating that he was working on the human resources campus renovation project and did not get paid for all of the work he did.  Foley states that he was told he would get paid two days after every invoice that was submitted though the contractor told him he would either only get paid for a portion of the work or payment would be delayed for months.  He states that he plans to make life “as miserable as possible” for Larson and Larson.  He asked the County to pay him for the work he has done and take it out of what they are going to pay Larson and Larson.  County Attorney Wayne Reisetter stated that there is a process to file a claim of this nature and addressing the Board as he did was not it.

Payroll change notices for the Conservation and Emergency Medical Services departments and County Attorney’s office were approved.  2016 County holidays were also approved as presented.  Human Resources Director Erin Freeman says the only date that changed was the plus one for the Christmas holiday.

The room then quickly filled up as the Chinese Association of Iowa arrived to find out more about the Iowa caucuses and County government.  Board Chairman Brad Golightly and Supervisor Mark Hanson then introduced the Supervisors and other officials, while explaining their roles in the County. Hanson says the County budget is around $35 to $40 million and their job is to manage it. Supervisor Kim Chapman asked the group what they have to do to qualify for this leadership program.  One student stepped forward and said they just want to learn more about the culture in America and find out basic knowledge about our democracy and development. The group, ranging in age from 13 to 22, has also toured area police stations, city halls, other meetings and recreational activities such as attending automobile races.  Other topics touched on included the election process and election fraud prevention.

Next the Board approved a request for proposals for the replacement of a wooden bridge on Filmore Court over Beaver Creek.  Plans are to replace the bridge with a large box culvert.

The Supervisors then awarded a contract to Steger Construction out of Dubuque for the F-31 curve project.  Steger submitted the lowest of five bids at $480,592.  The Engineer’s estimate for the project was $597,000 and the County has received a $500,000 Iowa Department of Transportation grant for the project.  Construction on the project is expected to begin at the end of the month. A funding agreement with the DOT for the F31 paving project was also approved.

Three wetland credit purchase requests from the DOT were then approved as presented.  Conservation Director Mike Wallace says after approval this brings the County’s credit balance to 10.3.

The 20th change order for the human services campus renovation project was then approved.

A collective bargaining agreement workshop with the teamsters union for the Sheriff’s office employees was then held.  Now that new steps exist, the union wants deputies that were already at the top step before to be able to continue to move up to the next step of pay.  The concern came from when the step increases take effect.  The teamster’s goal is to allow senior deputies and other seasoned employees to receive their increases when the new steps are implemented on July 1st of each year, rather than having to wait several months until their employment anniversary date. No formal action was taken on the item.

The Board then discussed various flooring options for the human services campus renovation project.  For the main entrance, which is an 800 square foot area, the options presented were or polished concrete, epoxy terrazzo tiles and porcelain tiles.  The concrete cost is estimated at $3,80 per square foot.  The porcelain tiles are come at a cost of $23.65 per square foot – plus a $20,389 change order markup.  The terrazzo tile is estimated at $17 per square foot – plus an additional $13,558 change order.  The architects will be looking into more exact prices and options and the Board will take action at a future meeting.

Parking lot options were also discussed to add more available spaces to the current spots at the human resources campus.  The proposed additions would add either 25 spots to both the north and south sides of the building. This would increase the total spaces available from the current 54 spots to a total of 104. Again, no formal action was taken.

The meeting adjourned at 11:47am.