In the COVID update during Monday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Sandy McGrath said the county is at 1,773 positive cases since last March. She said that she has seen county numbers tick up in the last couple of weeks with some new hospitalizations. She cautions people to keep up safe practices. For vaccines, the county has distributed 7,249 doses in all with 2,163 completed series. As of this week, McGrath said that anyone 18 and older is eligible to receive the vaccine. She added that public health is working on retooling their vaccine clinics to make it more convenient for working adults to get vaccinated. People can call public health with questions.
County Assessor Shari Plagge told the board during open forum that she is getting a lot of calls following last week’s mailing of assessment rolls. She noted that there was a 5.33% increase in assessments overall in the county with the largest increase in rural residential parcels.
Sara Holmes of Economic Development asked the board to sign a letter of support on behalf of the City of Belmond for their Business Incubator Project. The letter is addressed to U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra as there are now federal funds that can be allocated to such programs. Belmond plans to use a vacant downtown building to give up and coming, new, or home-based businesses a low-cost brick-and-mortar space to operate as they build up their businesses. The board signed the letter.
Andy Yackle, Maintenance Director, presented an architect design proposal and exploratory cost estimate for work at the Professional Building that would involve installing an elevator, using the basement, and getting the building up to ADA standards. Though the county is not necessarily planning on doing the work right now, they would need the architect’s exploratory work done before they could do it in the future. The work would include doing drawings of the building, looking at electrical and mechanical capabilities and completing designs. The exploratory work would cost $22,500-25,000. The item was tabled so the board could consider the decision.
Adam Clemons, Wright County Engineer brought a resolution to the board for bridge weight limit postings on several bridges throughout the county. These include bridge #138 in Lake Township, 52 in Blaine, 155A in Pleasant, 157A on Luicks Lane south of Belmond, 185 in Norway Township, and 116 north of Rowan.
In other board business, Peggy Schluttenhofer, Wright County Treasurer, presented an assignment of a county held tax sale certificate. A county held property in Eagle Grove is being purchased by a private investor. The board signed off on it. They also approved a fireworks permit for 4G’s Pyrotechnics for a show in Belmond on April 10.
