T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Marshall County Sheriff Joel Phillips, left, and Buildings and Grounds Director Lucas Baedke, right, address the board of supervisors during Wednesday morning’s meeting. The board voted unanimously to proceed with $2.251 million in upgrades to the sheriff’s office/jail complex using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds while the question of whether or not to put a larger bond on the November ballot is still undecided.

The Marshall County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to move forward with spending $2.251 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for upgrades at the sheriff’s office/jail facility along Highway 30 during Wednesday morning’s regular meeting, with the question of whether or not to bring a bond issue to the polls in November for additional renovations still up in the air for now.

Buildings and Grounds Director Lucas Baedke came before the board to present the proposal from OPN Architects, which includes key elements like window replacement and rain screen addition (with an estimated 24% increase in energy efficiency), exterior masonry repairs, elevator replacement/code upgrade, prepare routes for new HVAC system ducting, upgrading network wiring for telephone cable to CAT5 data cable, multiple restroom upgrades/plumbing, relocating laundry services, solar panels, high efficiency jail HVAC rooftop units, and additional repairs that can be later expanded on to complete the project.

Baedke and Sheriff Joel Phillips sat down with representatives of OPN and made a “priority list” to determine what could be completed under the current budget.

“We’re gonna have some options with some alternates in there as well to make sure we fill all the gaps that we can,” Baedke said. “It gets us basically through the finish line. There are some not to exceed dollars for our structural engineers and our mechanical engineers, so that cost may come down a little bit. We’re just kind of putting numbers in there, and we feel like we can get a better price out of them if we just do a time/materials basis for them.”

Phillips added that his primary concern is starting a project, making progress and then running out of money to where it could affect day-to-day operations. He felt the plan in place was solid and would address some of the most pressing issues at the facility, which was erected in 1969 as an institutional care facility. After that closed, the county began renovating the building in 1998 for the sheriff’s office administrative building and added the jail in 1999.

“The building’s old, and I think some of the things that we’re a little concerned about (include) from the original building in 1969, it’s been renovated once. What are we going to run into once we start that project?” Phillips asked. “I think Lucas has a pretty good handle on that with the architects.”

The sheriff also believed some of the improvements would help cut down long-term operational costs. Supervisor Carol Hibbs asked Phillips and Baedke if there had been any changes in the overall bidding environment, as the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain shortages led to dramatic cost increases and long lead times on all types of construction projects.

“I think it’s getting more competitive as lead times are driving down. You don’t see as many projects happening right now, so I would like to think that with the timing we have, we’re going to be running into fall/winter work, and we have a fair amount of inside work on this. So I’m hoping it’s competitive,” Baedke said.

Board Chairman Jarret Heil then asked how Baedke and Phillips felt the project fit into “the bigger picture,” especially if county officials were to take the bond to a November vote and it failed. In Baedke’s view, the work outlined constituted a good “stopping point” and would at least get the county “moving forward,” and Phillips said smaller upgrades could be made without affecting the bigger long-term improvements for the HVAC system.

“We have a good mix of improvements for employees and the public, so we’re trying to space those out a bit,” Baedke said.

Heil then inquired about the cost of renovating as opposed to building new, and Baedke estimated a 40 percent savings working with the existing facility instead of demolishing the current structure.

“You’re a lot better off remodeling if you can,” Baedke said.

As the discussion wrapped up, Heil felt a conscientious effort had been made to spend the available ARPA dollars wisely and use them in a manner that is respectful of the county’s taxpayers.

“We’re very thankful for these ARPA dollars to allow us to do this at this point and time, and I think it also helps showcase to the public the needs that are out there at a very old sheriff’s office that’s needing upgrades,” Heil said.

Hibbs made a motion to accept the proposal from OPN with architect fees not to exceed $154,690, and it passed by a unanimous vote. As previously reported in the T-R, the total cost estimate for all of the desired upgrades is between $12.5 and $13 million, which does include the $2.251 million already allocated through ARPA.

In other business, the board:

• Approved the consent agenda as listed.

• Recognized William “Skip” Parker of the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office for 25 years of service.

• Heard a proclamation from Becci Fleming of the Marshall County Attorney’s Office declaring April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

• Approved the promotion of Lisa Crouch from administrative assistant to victim witness coordinator and a pay raise from $17.99 to $22.84 an hour.

• Approved the hiring of Bruce Dieken, who previously served in Hardin County, as assistant to the Marshall County Engineer at a salary of $95,000.

• Set public hearings on the proposed 2023-2024 Marshall County budget amendment, the proposed 2023-2024 Marshall County decrease in appropriations and the proposed 2024-2025 Marshall County budget for April 9 at 8:30 a.m.

• Approved a resolution for FY2025 proposed property tax dollars not to exceed $12,652,289 in general county services and $2,946,864 in rural county services.

• Approved a resolution for Marshall County Conservation Board user fee distribution to include Green Castle fees now that the campground project is underway.

• Approved a resolution to appoint Marshall County Public Health Director Sydney Grewell as the Marshall County HIPAA privacy officer.

• Approved a 90-day notice to Tama County for the services of Planning and Zoning Director Taveis Stevens. At the end of the period, Stevens will become a full-time employee of Marshall County and will no longer be split between the two.

• Approved the updated buildings and grounds policies and procedures.

• Approved the purchase of a 2024 John Deere 772G Motor Grader with six wheel drive from Murphy Tractor and Equipment of Des Moines for $463,375.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.