clay county commission
Karen Newman
Clay County Public Health (CCPH) Director of Nursing Jamie Hennen appeared before the Clay County Commission this week to request permission to advertise a vacated public health registered nurse position in the department. The individual hired for this position will serve Clay County’s over sixty-five population under the Waivered Services Health Plan Contract. The position is supported by health contract funding which is based on the number of clients served and time-study funding.
West Central Regional Juvenile Center Superintendent (WCRJC) James O’Donnell met with the commission to seek permission to sign a grant agreement managed by the Minnesota State Department of Health. Funded in 2019 for a two-year term the grant covers the cost for two full-time positions in WCRJC’s transition program Because of the dedication of WCRJC staff, they been granted a two-year extension. The center will receive $257,614 with no matching funds from the county required.
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides relief funds to small businesses, schools, households, state, and local and tribal governments that have been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. A local ARPA committee meets to hear proposals for projects from local entities which could possibly be funded through ARPA. Projects given a positive nod by the local ARPA committee are presented to the Clay County Commission for final approval.
Joe Olson, Clay County Facilities Director, requested $28,000 from the county’s ARPA funds to be paid to Trane Company for a proprietary software system which will control the Clay County Courthouse HVAC system.
Olson also requested and received permission to advertise for bids to begin the $215,000 Air Handler Replacement Project in Clay County’s Family Service Center. The project is under the HVAC portion of the ARPA-approved Capital Improvement plan.
According to the CDC, a layered approach is recommended to assist ridding air of the virus that causes covid. This approach includes using multiple mitigation strategies, including improvements to building ventilation, to reduce the spread of disease and lower the risk of exposure. In addition to ventilation improvements, the layered approach includes physical distancing, wearing face masks, hand hygiene, and vaccination which are already practiced in Clay County’s public buildings. (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/ventilation.html)
The implementation timeline calls for advertising bids from February 10 to March 4. Bid opening is scheduled for March 8 with the award of the project set for March 15.