During the Murray County Board of Commissioners August 19th session, two final payments were made for the construction of the new Murray County Cattleman’s Association building on the fairgrounds. Ankrum Construction submitted for final payment in the amount of $14,300 of the total cost of $141,300. Huset Construction asked for $24,174 the final payment of their contract for concrete work of $44,174.
There were two present from Southwest Health and Human Services for the Public Hearing on the Murray County Tobacco Ordinance. Numerous changes were proposed to make the ordinances more effective, especially the addition of certain products of which the Commissioners were unaware. A change of the minimum age of the store clerk to 21 instead of 18 was not acceptable to the board citing the difficulty in hiring staff as the reason.
A Murray County Home Initiative Tax Abatement was granted to Don and Theresa DeJager. They will be constructing a new home at 1425 N. Oakavenue valued at $750,000 in the coming months.The abatement will reduce the County real estate tax to the current value of the property.
The final payment was approved to Rupp Construction for the completion of the Lake Sarah Dam project. $10,283.75 remained of the $205,675 contract. Funding of the project was made through the Conservation Partners Legacy Grant.
Highway Engineer Randy Groves received the go ahead to place a 2012 Tandem Snow Plow Truck on the surplus equipment list. It will be available on an online bidding site along with a 2003 Tahoe and a 2013 Ford Expedition.
The annual payment of $3,250 was approved to the Plum Creek Library System. The monies are earmarked for digital resources and scholastic materials for education.
Human Resources Director Sharon Giese had three items for the board’s attention. With the change to recyclables being handled by Schaap Sanitation, Leslie Morin’s part time employment will be terminated. Tessa Risacher’s request for part time status in the License Center was approved. Changes made in driving tests have reduced the time required to process paperwork. Salary costs will be reduced by $20,275.84 with the change. The staffing will be reviewed in 90 days.
Giese also discussed the changes to the Leave of Absence Policy clarifying when a leave is granted when a employee has no more Earned Time Off leave. Qualifying emergencies include serious illness, family emergencies or other unforseen emergencies.
