The Official Newspaper for Foster County

New roof for Public Health building

Black mold has been found in the basement of the Foster County Public Health building due to seepage and leaking, but getting to the root of the problem has proven to be more difficult than planned.

The Foster County Commission learned at their meeting last week that large, heavy items in the basement of the building are hampering the inspection process.

During the meeting held on Tuesday, May 17, Foster County Public Health Nurse Lisa Hilbert and commissioner David Utke explained the situation.

Utke informed the board that they are going to have to look at getting a new roof for the building.

Hilbert reported that there is black mold in the basement. She said she doesn’t know the extent of the mold because there are large, heavy cabinets in the way. She said they inherited the cabinets when they bought the building in 2011.

Hilbert talked about hiring a group to remove the items, as some are very heavy.

She said she would check with the school to see if there are any groups who may be willing to help.

It was discussed by the board that since the items in the basement were not purchased with county money, they can do whatever they deem necessary with them.

They discussed selling the cabinets or hauling them to the dump.

A motion was passed to pursue quotes for a new roof for the building.

A motion was passed to pay up to $1,000 for removal of the items from the basement.

In other business:

• The board learned that part of the flooding in the City of McHenry is due to an approach that is not being used.

Removing the approach would help to let water flow. The landowners of the approach have no complaint about having it removed because they cannot use it.

There is a group of large trees that are in the way of getting farm equipment through the approach and into their field.

Foster County Road Superintendent Nate Monson said removing the approach would help with the water flow.

The board asked Foster County State’s Attorney Kara Brinster for guidance on the matter.

A motion was passed to have the approach removed by the next meeting unless Brinster found a code in the North Dakota Century Code that prohibits the action.

• The board heard from Foster County Sheriff Justin Johnson who attended the meeting to ask for an increase in overtime wages for his deputies.

Apparently, years ago, the commission’s policy was set to pay deputies an extra $15 per hour for overtime, which is much lower than their regular wage.

Johnson argued that all of the sheriff’s departments he has spoken to offer their deputies time-and-a-half for overtime.

A motion was passed to pay the deputies time -and-a-quarter for overtime for the rest of the year since it has not been budgeted for.

• The board learned that so far no applications were received for the emergency manager/911 coordinator position.

The board discussed contracting with another emergency manager.

• The board heard from Foster County Tax Equalization Director Karen Evans who attended the meeting to present two abatements to the commission.

She also reported that the Foster County Equalization meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 1 at 6:00 p.m.

 
 
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