Government : Benton County Board of Supervisor Minutes 3/3/20

March 3, 2020

The Benton County Board of Supervisors met in regular session with Supervisors Primmer, Bierschenk and Seeman were all present. The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. Unless otherwise noted, all actions were approved unanimously.

Seeman moved/Bierschenk seconded: To approve the minutes of February 25, 2020. Motion carried.

Seeman moved/Bierschenk seconded: To set land use hearing date of Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at 9:15 a.m. for Jeffrey and Amy Herbert for a part of SW ¼ NW ¼ 28-82-11. Motion carried.

Bierschenk moved/Seeman seconded: To approve part-time hiring of Gary Benson in the Auditor's office for additional election help on an as needed basis at $20/hour effective immediately. Motion carried.

The Board discussed some recent letters received. One was from residents who live near the proposed location of rumble strips and the other from DOT regarding traffic safety. Bierschenk reported that strips are generally not used where the sound could be "obtrusive" to nearby residents or businesses. Alternate measures may be taken, such as flags, beacons and larger signs. He would like the county to do whatever it takes to keep the people happy and the intersection safe. Primmer pointed out that anything the state decides would supersede what they do at the county level. Auditor Rippel pointed out the legislation regarding this and to keep up with the weekly updates that are provided. No action was taken, and the Engineer was not present. They hope to get a representative from the DOT to attend a future meeting and be involved in further discussion.

A lengthy discussion was had regarding the various bids that were received last week for the proposed new Transportation Building. Seeman has been trying to serve as the general contractor, which he said would save the taxpayers money. They went over how the work was advertised and what aspects of the process was missing such as insulation and electrical work. The County Attorney recommended that they re-advertise for the missing areas of the project. Thompson also outlined ramifications of having a supervisor or the supervisors serving as a general contractor. They would reach out to a few people and see if they were interested and willing to help serve as the contractor. A new notice will be placed in the papers so that we can continue to move forward with getting this project started as soon as possible.

Bierschenk moved/Seeman seconded: To adjourn. Motion carried.

_______________________________

Rick Primmer, Chairman

ATTEST: _________________________________

Hayley Rippel, Benton County Auditor