by April Scheinoha
Reporter
The Pennington County Board has finalized plans for the third floor of the Government Center (formerly known as the courthouse). At their meeting Tuesday, Nov. 8, commissioners approved advertising for bids for the project that will transform the vacant third floor into offices for the Pennington County Human Services Department.
As part of a project estimated to cost more than $1 million, the third floor will be gutted and remodeled. The remodeled third floor will feature a large space for cubicles as well as space for six offices, two meeting rooms, three interview rooms, a waiting room, a work room, a nursing room for staff, and storage areas. Bathrooms will also be renovated as part of the project. The project takes into account future space needs for PCHS.
Starting Wednesday, Nov. 16, the county was expected to advertise for the bids for the remodeling project. Bids will be opened Monday, Dec. 12 at 9 a.m. at the Justice Center.
County leaders plan to utilize a Sentence to Serve crew for some, if not all, of the demolition work. At the very least, it was expected that STS would remove audience chairs and the judge’s bench from the area formerly known as Courtroom A. County officials plan to utilize a public surplus website to sell excess items from the third floor as well as from other county-owned buildings.It is also anticipated that some asbestos will need to be removed as part of the project. County Coordinator Kevin Erickson planned to contact vendors to obtain quotes related to that work.
The county will use its American Rescue Plan Act funding to cover the cost of the project.
A historical mural, which is located on the third floor, will also be removed. Depicting scenes of American Indian life, the mural was created by the late artist Charles Beck.
Erickson said Beck considered the mural to be one of the best murals he had created for courthouses in the 1950s. The canvas mural is glued onto a wall in the third-floor hallway. It is peeling in some areas and has sustained some water damage from a leaky roof.
A group of preservationists recently visited the Government Center to see the mural. They want to move the mural to a museum honoring Beck in his hometown of Fergus Falls. Provided that group removes the mural and pays for its removal, commissioners approved donating the mural to the group.
The third floor of the Government Center has been vacant for the most part since court administration moved to the Justice Center. (Some first floor offices recently moved temporarily to the third floor while remodeling was occurring on the first floor.) Currently, the Child Support Division works on the second floor of the Government Center and other PCHS employees work at the PCHS building along Knight Avenue.
In the past, commissioners have briefly discussed selling the Knight Avenue building once PCHS’ operations were consolidated at the Government Center.
Commissioners had previously contemplated remodeling the Knight Avenue building instead of the Government Center. The former project would have cost about $1.2 million and would have included some structural work as well as work on the building’s HVAC and plumbing systems.
As part of an agreement with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49, County Board approved posting internally for an overnight shift for a Highway Department maintenance worker.
The employee will work 3 to 11:30 a.m. from Dec. 1 to April 1 to ensure certain high-traffic roadways are appropriately plowed in the county. Assistant County Engineer Alex Bladow said the employee would be responsible for plowing the county roundabouts; County State Aid Highway 8 to Pennington Avenue (commonly known as the airport road), and part of CSAH 3 (commonly referred to as the cut-across).
Bladow said the individual will receive an additional $2 per hour in pay. Only internal candidates will be considered for the position.
Commissioners approved purchasing two 2023 Case IH Puma tractors from Titan Machinery in Crookston. The business provided an initial quote of $384,662.40 for both tractors. With trade-in allowances for the two current tractors, that amount was reduced by $144,000 for a total quote of $240,662.40.
The purchases are in the Highway Department’s 2023 budget, and County Board authorized the purchases now since there were concerns about obtaining the tractors in a timely fashion.
True North Equipment of Thief River Falls provided the other quote, which was for two John Deere 6R 175 tractors. With trade-in allowances included, the entire quote was $322,500.
Contingent on a successful background check, County Board approved hiring Trevor Berg for the mechanic position in the Highway Department. Berg will start the position Monday, Dec. 19. The position had been vacant for most of the past year.
County Board accepted the resignation of Denise McCarthy as a social worker, effective Thursday, Dec. 1. Commissioners approved sending McCarthy a letter of thanks for her service.
In a separate, related motion, commissioners approved posting the social worker/certified assessor position internally for five days and then advertising externally if an internal candidate doesn’t apply.
Commissioners approved hiring Waylon I.R. Olson for a custodian I position, effective Monday, Nov. 14.