08-06-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commission Minutes--August 6, 2001 2323 - MOTION, passed Mr. Wieland moved and Mrs. Schneider seconded to approve a leave of absence without pay for Adam Sherbrooke as outlined in Personnel Policy Section 7.70. On roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously. MOTION, passed Mrs. Schneider moved and Mr. Wieland seconded to allow the Information Services Departmentto hire a temporary employee for the duration of Adam Sherbrooke's leave of absence, using either of the processes outlined in the Cass County Personnel Policy Manual. On roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously. 18. JAIL CONSTRUCTION, Chanae orders approved As a part of the jail construction change order process, Bonnie Johnson said the Change Order Committee approved a number of requests, and four change orders require Commission approval since they total more than $5,000. Captain Walt Willis, Sheriffs Department, said the Transition Team requested modifications to the security hardware in several inmate conference rooms at the pods. MOTION, passed Mrs. Schneider moved and Mr. Wagner seconded to approve the following change orders over $5,000 for the jail construction project: G-17; G-20; E-9 and E-15. On roll call vote, the motion carried unanimously. - 19. EMERGENCY DECLARED, Road repair on Hiahwav 11 north of Mapleton Tom Soucy, from the Cass County Highway Department, was present representing County Engineer Keith Berndt to request consideration of awarding a contract for emergency repairs to correct an embankment failure on County Highway 11 north of Mapleton. One lane of the highway dropped about two feet recently, and Mr. Soucy said a soils expert was hired to analyze the situation and recommend solutions. The Highway Department is monitoring the situation daily and adding gravel as needed. Mr. Soucy said the situation could accelerate at any time. Of the three recommendations made by the soils expert, Mr. Berndt favors hiring a contractor to drive sheet piling along the entire length of the embankment failure. The anticipated cost of the repair work is in excess of $100,000.00, and any road repair project estimated to cost in excess of $50,000 requires the county to follow a formal bidding process. However, Mr. Berndt indicated via E-mail last Friday that he would like to solicit informal quotes from several qualified contractors and award a contract on that basis, in the essence of time and public safety. Following the formal bid process will slow the repair work because of the required advertising time frame. Commissioners expressed concern about liability exposure. - Mr. Burdick began researching the matter last Friday and is unaware of any statutes that would allow the county to bypass the formal bidding process for road work. The North Dakota Attorney General's Office is not aware of any provision for getting the road work done without following the formal bidding process either, however, they are still researching the matter. Mr. Burdick also contacted other counties to inquire about their experiences in similar situations and is waiting to hear back from them also.