During the Monday Board of Supervisors meeting, Public Health Administrator Sandy McGrath said the case count stood at 1,671 on Monday (since March). Cases are still going up and mitigation efforts like masks and hand-washing are still crucial.
McGrath noted that last week was a big one concerning vaccine news. The state will be moving to vaccination group 1B on February 1. In a significant development, the state announced last week that this group will now include people 65 years and older (previously it was 75 and older). McGrath said they are readying vaccination clinics around the county that will cover the eligible groups. These clinics will be planning for initial doses and eventually the booster doses (See the press release on page # for more complete information).
The Wright County Charitable Foundation updated the board on their activities. Development Director Duane Asbe and board president Lennea Groom spoke about both grants and endowments that are handled through the foundation. They noted that in 2020, the organization granted over $418,000 to projects throughout the county. These funds come through the county’s allotment of state gaming tax revenue and contributions from endowments. Asbe explained that they are also focused on building up the endowment side of the foundation. In 2020, they took in over $600,000 in contributions, between endowments and the tax revenues. Asbe reiterated their goal is to preserve the transfer of wealth so local dollars can go back into worthy projects in the county. As they have in past years, the foundation asked the supervisors for $9,000 for the next fiscal year.
The board received the engineer’s report for planned work on drainage district 194, which is located in the northwest portion of the county, in Boone Township. Engineer, Daniel Wiedmeier, noted that it was discovered that the tile in that area needed more extensive repairs than originally anticipated. Four different options were proposed, including an open ditch option that the engineer said would likely be the least expensive. A public hearing on the matter will be held during the March 8 meeting to decide on the best option.
