Pardon our dust: Building projects coming soon

As Wayne County’s commissioners advanced three major infrastructure projects for county buildings, they also began wrestling with how to schedule them in a way that doesn’t disrupt government operations.

During their Oct. 24 meeting, commissioners awarded a wiring project to Northern AV Group of Indianapolis. The work will involve running new cabling to each employee work station for computer and telephone use. The winning bid was $188,531.70 with a 12-week timeline. The next highest bid was for $441K on a 21-week timeline, and other bids were at least $50K higher than that. The good news, said Craig Eason, county information technology director, is that the county was originally planning to spend closer to half a million dollars on the project, so the lower amounts will free up those dollars for other projects. Eason expects the end result of the work, set to begin in 2025, will be a network wiring setup that takes the county well into the future.

A second project on tap moved forward as commissioners were meeting, with the morning delivery of a new power generator for the county administration building. The $283,959 expense was approved earlier in the year as a part of spending $2M in American Rescue Plan Act dollars, federal legislation that aims to provide communities with relief from the ongoing impact of the pandemic. The generator will allow critical county functions to continue operating during a power outage or similar emergency.

Then there are the emerging plans for a new elevator to be installed in the south end of the courthouse near the existing elevator. Commissioners have been discussing the need to improve the building’s elevator situation, which has included the existing, aging elevator being out of service for two days, causing a delay for a trial. A Sept. 18 presentation to commissioners included the potential price range of $1.3 million to $2.2 million depending on the final plans and bids received.

All three projects will involve disruption. Whether it’s drilling through stone, running wiring through ceilings and walls, turning off the power or other work, county employees are sure to notice. Commissioner Jeff Plasterer said they are thinking ahead about how to schedule the changes to minimize impact on operations, which might mean doing some of the work across all three projects at the same time.

A fourth project that residents will notice, the demolition of the courthouse’s main entrance pathway and replacing it with a version that is more accessible, is already slated to start in the new year.

Radio project update

Commissioners received updates on the radio communications improvement project being coordinated by consultant Barry Ritter, who is also a member of county council. The total project cost remains at a little over $3.1 million.

In reviewing whether to award Motorola the contract to install radio tower equipment and Ritter’s recommendation to award Thermo Bond Buildings a contract to install maintenance buildings at the base of the radio towers, commissioner Mary Anne Butters asked Ritter if he had pursued any grant opportunities to help pay for the project.

Ritter said he had not, noting that he wasn’t aware of any opportunities that would cover costs. Commissioner Brad Dwenger cautioned against the challenges of having individual towns and government entities apply for grants that might break the project into smaller pieces, when the main goal of the project is to unify and upgrade radio communications technology across the county.

Most of the project contracts discussed were left pending review and vetting by attorney Ron Cross, but are expected to move forward in the weeks ahead.

Other business

In other business, the commissioners:

• Heard from county clerk Debra Berry, who said that over 3,000 people had voted since Oct. 13, which Berry characterized as “really good.”
• Heard from Health Department director Dan Burk, who said the county is left holding the bill for $50,000 in RSV vaccination costs after Humana health insurance company said it would not reimburse those expenses.
• Burk also noted the department’s new website address, WayneCountyHealth.in.gov.
• Were reminded by treasurer Nancy Funk that fall property tax collection is beginning.
• Noted that an ordinance is being drafted to allow broadband infrastructure companies to receive incentives on business personal property taxes when they invest in updating or install rural broadband capacity in the county.
• Discussed whether they should consider an ordinance requiring rabies vaccinations for animals in the county. Burk said that most domesticated animals are already vaccinated voluntarily, and that the real issue is with feral animals, which would be “almost impossible” to regulate.
• Voted to recommend that county council approve a $148,900 software upgrade to the county’s 911 call delivery software, which would improve interoperability between systems.
• Approved a request from Sheriff Randall Retter to allow K-9 Barry to retire due to age. Deputy Tyler Green will begin training in 2025 to become a K-9 handler and will have a new dog assigned to the department as a part of that.
• Continued discussions about the future of the county’s relationship with the Wayne Union Recycling board and authorized Plasterer to enter negotiations with an eye on dissolving the board. The county would likely contract directly with the Richmond Sanitary Board to continue providing recycling and related services.

Commissioners meet every Wednesday — beginning at 1:30 p.m. the first Wednesday each month and at 9:30 a.m. the other weeks — in the county annex building, 401 E. Main St., Richmond. The public may attend.