Laurie Johnson from DLZ presented a study of CARES Act funding to the Marshall County Commissioners Tuesday morning and what projects would benefit the county most with the use of the funding.
She said the county buildings were assessed for needs that could help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The installation of automatic doors was suggested as a feasible project. Automatic doors would cut down the need for members of the public to touch door handles and spread germs. A suggestion was also made to install sensors on the sinks and flush valves in the bathrooms along with touchless hand dryers. Occupancy sensors could be installed in the courthouse and annex so a light switch would not be needed. It could also act as an energy saving feature.
Air purifying methods would be utilized as well.
Other recommendations included the removal of items that could be deemed as unnecessary which could lead to the spread of COVID-19.
Those items alone are estimated at $150,000. The county has $1.5 million in CARES Act funding with other big ticket items on the wish list.
Johnson noted that there were some other renovations and other major projects that government officials would like to do with CARES Act funding, but DLZ engineers believe those projects wouldn’t be done by the end of the year.
Commission President Kevin Overmyer said he was under the impression that as long as projects were under contract by Dec. 30, 2020 then they would be eligible for reimbursement, but Johnson said it was her understanding that projects needed to be complete by that deadline. She explained that that particular guidance was given when DLZ assisted another county with a similar study. Clarification will be made with the Indiana Finance Authority if money has to be obligated toward a project or if a project has to be done by Dec. 30, 2020 to be eligible for reimbursement.
In the meantime, a workshop will be planned with a technical team from DLZ, other county officials and Buildings and Grounds Maintenance Director Doug Masterson to make a decision on what projects should be put into a schedule. The timeline is tight so that meeting should occur yet this month.
Marshall County Council member Jack Roose asked the commissioners to seek a less expensive solution regarding the purchase of a Winnebago for the Health Department for inoculations, but the commissioners did not act on that purchase during Tuesday’s meeting.
