Government : Benton County Board of Supervisor Notes for 12/10/24

The Benton County Board of Supervisors met with all in attendance on Tuesday, December 10, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. The meeting was held at the Benton County Service Center Conference Room, 811 D Ave. Vinton, IA.

The meeting can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/bentoncountyiowa

Following a Call to Order with the agenda, minutes and claims approved

Rick Primmer asked Sheriff Tippett if he had a car for county employees to use, Tippett indicated that he did.

ARPA Funds approval was given for Wildcat Bluff and Lawson Construction $39,811.40

Authorized signatures were given for the Certificate of Compliance for CDBG Procurement Standards, and Claim Certification for the CDBG.

Approval was given for Handbook changes effective January 1, 2025 There were five total changes, one added e-cigarettes as a smoking device. Under 4.3 sick leave, vision was added for medical appointments.

Myron Parizek, County Engineer asked for clarification concerning the donated time off for sick leave. The text reads, "Catastrophic illness" means a physical or mental illness or injury, as certified by a licensed physician, or an employee or an immediate family member that will result in the inability of the employee to report to work on their normal schedule for more than 30 work days due to the need to attend to themselves or the immediate family member on a consecutive or intermittent basis."

He explained that when you see "30" you immediately think of one month, but the text says 30 "work" days. He suggested that it be changed to 30 days. Gina Edler also asked if there be another catastrophic event affecting an employee can one employee just donate time off to support another county employee. Shelby Williams explained that the donated time came down to an FMLA requirement which means that the employee would have to put in a request through FMLA and then employees could donate to them.

The decision was made to take out the wording "30 work days" and change it to "extended period of time," and approve the other changes.

The Supervisors approved a Class C Retail Alcohol License for Walnut Ridge Venue LLC.

County Engineer Parizek was given approval for a resolution removing the bridge embargo for a bridge on 17th Avenue in Big Grove Twp.

The supervisors moved to Reports.

Gary Bierschenk reported that he had a meeting last Thursday with Regional Mental Health. He said that due to changes things are unsettled.

Tracy Seeman reported that he had a meeting last Tuesday night with EMS and had a good discussion, ECICOG on Thursday afternoon, Eastern Iowa Trust Fund will be helping to fund another house south of town (Vinton). RACOM met on Thursday morning commenting that it was "sad." Sheriff Tippett explained that there are little things that need to be taken care of. He said that the system is in and it works good, but little things at the site might need attention.Seeman said that there is a list of 30 things that need attention, and when those are complete, the county will send the final payment. Seeman said that he'd like to do the final walk through before it snows, but Tippett said that they were requested to wait until everything was done.

Primmer had a Heartland meeting that he was unable to attend, but the Sheriff attended and reported that there wasn't any big increases in anything presented, but he clarified that he's not in the insurance business, so he's learning the terminology.

Employee Performance Evaluations for Employees were held with Closed Sessions available for those who request it according to Iowa Code 21.5(1)(i) Neither employee felt the need to go into a closed session.

Ben Turnis, IT Director

Primmer asked what goals he had for the upcoming year. Turnis indicated that he'd like to get the Sheriff's Department IT moved into the county system. He shared that the new hire is training well and learning quickly. He also said that he didn't see any changes coming in the new year. He gave an update on the wiring in the courthouse, it is now finished, Secondary Roads was just finished a few weeks ago and switched everything over the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. He is trying to find a better air filter system to better protect the system. He plans to get an audit done to see what needs to be done at the Sheriff's office. He is currently updating the equipment.

Grace Schmidt, Public Health Director

She had already done a self-evaluation with the Board of Health so she submitted the same one to the board.

Bierschenk asked about the vaccine program. She said they are approved for the children's vaccine program through the state. They have all the supplies on hand, but now have the equipment set up and ready to go. Flooring has been installed in the clinic space and they are ready to go.

Seeman asked if most of the kids are up to date on the vaccines. She said she'd have to look at the numbers. She believes that they have files for over 90% of the students covering Vinton, Benton and Center Point-Urbana school districts. He asked how the board is working out, she reported that things are going well and they meeting monthly.

Primmer said he'd like to see the department get more involved with the county employees wellness program providing vaccines, blood pressure checks, and other health related checks.

She expressed appreciation for the IT, maintenance, and Sheriff's Department who has helped to get everything set up for the office. Gina Edler, Deputy Auditor explained that they've set up programs in the Auditor's office to help her keep track of the numbers related to her office. Schmidt said that it has helped her in generating reports.

Primmer asked if there were any things she needed help with, but she didn't see anything to bring to their attention.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.