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Supervisors talk sirens, approve settlement with former courthouse contractor

By Robert Maharry 3 min read

Although the fact that they were back in the courthouse was perhaps the biggest news of the day -- and construction equipment could be heard roaring in the background -- the Marshall County Board of Supervisors still had regular business to tend to during Wednesday morning's regular meeting, including an update on the long-gestating storm siren project and a closed session to iron out the details of a settlement agreement with Perfection/First Onsite, the initial contractor for the courthouse restoration project.

About 20 minutes into the meeting, Marshall County Emergency Management Coordinator Kim Elder and County Engineer Paul Geilenfeldt came to the podium to discuss the latest on the siren project, and she said they had been hard at work preparing a request for bids (RFB) before sending it off to Ahlers and Cooney for any modifications and additions.

Elder then walked through some of the technicalities in the process and the legalities in the RFB document and discussed setting meeting dates and coming up with a bid form. Geilenfeldt said he had been offering his assistance due to his knowledge of bid letting and contracts.

Supervisor Carol Hibbs asked Elder for clarification on some language she worried may have locked the county into monthly payments whether work is completed or not, and they continued to hash over some of the finer details before agreeing to finalize it.

"I think we're really close. It just seems like it's taken a really long time to fine tune this. I want to make sure we're doing it right," Elder said.

She added that adding the sirens around the county -- the plan is for 21, as the T-R previously reported -- will be "well worth it in the end," and the board did not take any official action.

At the tail end of the meeting, the board moved public comment ahead of the aforementioned closed session, and the lone comment came from Mark Eaton, who thanked county staff -- specifically Buildings and Grounds Director Lucas Baedke and Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson -- for getting the courthouse "up to shape and back in progress" and ready to reopen to the public.

After the closed session, the board voted 3-0 to approve the payment of the "undisputed" amount of $1,233,143.05 to Perfection/First Onsite for the company's services. The company's full invoice is for $3,510,244.71, but according to the document shared as part of the agenda packet, the county does not believe it should have to pay that amount and should instead be reimbursed for damages by Perfection/First Onsite.

After the meeting, Baedke, Benson and the supervisors told the T-R there are likely further developments to come regarding the dispute between the two parties but did not specify what they might be.

"We are approving that we are getting our finalization of our invoicing with Perfection/First Onsite," Benson said.

In other business, the board:

• Presented service awards to Rex Jennings (45 years with secondary roads), Luke Hansen (10 years in the county attorney's office) and Kyle Kirk (10 years in the county attorney's office).

• Approved proclamations for Mental Health Month and EMS Week.

• Approved the consent agenda and personnel changes as listed.

• Approved the contract with YSS of Marshall County for 2023-2024.

• Approved the Iowa DOT preconstruction agreement for Highway 30 related to road work affecting the intersections with Eastman Avenue, Fairman Avenue, Gerhart Avenue Jessup Avenue and Knapp Avenue.

• Approved the cancellation of four warrants outstanding for over one year.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.

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