T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Marshall County Buildings and Grounds Director Lucas Baedke addresses the board of supervisors during Wednesday morning’s meeting as they discussed a proposal from OPN Architects related to potential upgrades at the sheriff’s office/jail facility.

During Wednesday morning’s meeting, the Marshall County Board of Supervisors opted to take their time and table action on approving a proposal from OPN Architects that would cost just shy of $848,000 and authorize the firm to complete designs for upgrades to the sheriff’s office/jail complex between Marshalltown and State Center on Highway 30.

As was alluded to at several points during the discussion, the upgrades, which are projected to be cheaper than building an entirely new facility, will likely require a $12.5 to $13 million bond vote next November, and that was part of the reason the supervisors felt hesitant about moving the process too far along before funding has been secured.

County Buildings and Grounds Director Lucas Baedke brought the board up to speed on the proposal, recalling a special meeting at the sheriff’s office about a month and a half ago detailing the potential improvements and explaining what the motion in front of the board would entail.

“We decided at that point (after the previous meeting) that we should pursue moving forward with them designing the rest of the project, and this is their proposal to basically get us to the finish line,” Baedke said. “This would be final design, construction management, closeout, contract negotiations, all of that. This would get us to the bid, through the project to the end.”

Board Chairman Jarret Heil asked Baedke if it would make more sense to have it completed after a bond vote, and he said it would be the board’s decision on that front. As County Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson noted, part of the funding for the project will come through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars — $2.3 million is currently set aside for the sheriff’s office/jail project.

Supervisor Steve Salasek wondered if the county would be on the hook to pay the entire amount upon approval, and Baedke responded that the company would bill them incrementally as the work is completed.

“We don’t get billed if this thing sits on a back desk for a year,” Baedke said.

He also clarified that the item was not a formal contract but rather a proposal on how much the county would need to pay OPN to get to the end of the project, with a contract to come later. Heil weighed in with a dose of skepticism about committing without more details in place.

“I think my pause on this is that we’re authorizing payment of $847,000 on a project that we don’t have the money secured for,” he said. “I guess my question is what more in the process do we need OPN to do before we take this to a public vote?”

In response to that question, Baedke said the county would need to be at the point of construction documents with a cost estimation built in, which would cost just north of $521,000. So far, the county has paid OPN about $156,000 on services already provided out of an existing agreement for $163,000.

“I’m just trying to understand the timeline here and what this commits us to over the timeline,” Supervisor Carol Hibbs said.

Baedke then indicated that the proposal didn’t require an immediate decision and could be tabled until a later date. Heil said he would prefer to wait and “maximize our dollars” before committing to a major expense.

Hibbs also suggested consulting with County Attorney Jordan Gaffney to review the proposal and look for any potential legal issues that may arise.

“I would like to make sure that the wording here is correct for what we need to get to the point where we’re taking the funding to the people,” Hibbs said.

Baedke concluded that tabling the matter for now was a good idea and would allow the supervisors to come up with a list of questions for him and give Gaffney time to review the proposal. A motion to do so carried by a unanimous vote with the understanding that it will be revisited at a later date.

In other business, the board:

• Approved the consent agenda as listed.

• Approved the hire of full-time conservation technician Ben Steinberg at a pay rate of $24 per hour starting on or after Oct. 29.

• Approved the hire of full-time secondary roads mechanic 1 Randy Kunzie at a pay rate of $29.66 per hour starting on or after Oct. 26.

• Approved the hire of full-time Assistant County Attorney Seth Strahan at a salary of $73,500 starting on or after Nov. 13. Strahan will serve as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) misdemeanor prosecutor, and Gaffney reported that his office will now be fully staffed as a result of the hire.

• Approved the quarterly transfer of $700,000 from the rural services fund to the secondary roads fund.

• Approved the use of the courthouse grounds for Marshall County Veterans Affairs to distribute food boxes to veterans on the morning of Nov. 9. County VA Director Kevin Huseboe said the goal of moving the event, which has been held at IowaWORKS on the south side of Marshalltown the past few years, is to showcase the beauty of the renovated and reopened courthouse, and he expects Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate to be in attendance.

——

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

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.