Cole County explores doing automobile upkeep in-house – Jefferson Metropolis Information Tribune

Cole County Public Works Director Eric Landwehr laid out a unfastened plan at Tuesday’s fee assembly that can set up a brand new central upkeep program for the county.

With the fee’s blessing, the upkeep of county automobiles and tools, excluding these from EMS and the sheriff’s division, will now fall below public work’s obligations.

Landwehr outlined three phases for this system’s growth.

Section one is the place this system will start this 12 months, with public works taking up automobile and tools upkeep for the county. Landwehr stated section one will not require any adjustments to public work’s amenities or new staff.

“I believe we would be silly to not begin out with section one,” Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman stated.

Section two would doubtless begin a number of years down the road. On this section of this system, public works would tackle the upkeep of EMS and sheriff’s division automobiles as nicely. With round 20 EMS automobiles and greater than 50 sheriff’s division automobiles, this could be no small endeavor.

Due to this dramatic enhance in workload, Landwehr stated this section would require two to 3 new staff and additions to the Monticello amenities. Particularly, Landwehr stated, they would wish a constructing with a excessive ceiling the place massive automobiles might be lifted, in addition to a wash bay.

EMS Chief Eric Hoy stated this system will probably be useful in the long term. He famous the plan would not mirror on EMS’s relationship with its present upkeep suppliers, corresponding to Donnie Braun & Sons Auto Repair.

Hoy additionally emphasised the necessity for a chosen, licensed technician for EMS automobiles. He stated EMS’s automobiles are in fixed want of upkeep, so it is not a job that may very well be dealt with together with different duties.

As a result of workload and want for an authorized technician, Hoy stated, the county additionally must be keen to pretty compensate the staff taking over these duties.

Sheriff John Wheeler was additionally in help of this system. A consultant from his division shared related sentiments to Hoy, saying there was no concern with the present upkeep suppliers.

Along with expansions on the present amenities and the brand new staff that may include them, Landwehr stated, ultimately public works would wish a wholly new facility. The brand new facility would change into the principle public works website and would convey much more new staff with it.

Section three would see much less new growth. Landwehr stated this section would include including a tire and alignment store in addition to a pair extra staff.

Total, Landwehr stated, the plan might take 5 to 10 years to totally implement. By the top of it, public works would have a brand new facility, new expansions on the prevailing websites and several other new staff.

Jap District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher stated he this system will probably be useful for the county. He stated it should lower your expenses and add comfort.

“We have been speaking about this for years, and if we have now a long-term plan right here, 4 to 5 years feels like a good distance out, but it surely’s actually not. So I believe we have to maintain speaking about it,” Hoelscher stated. “I believe it is a good plan. Hold engaged on it.”

Western District Commissioner Harry Otto additionally stated he thought it was a very good plan. He requested Landwehr to give you some section one targets to achieve by Dec. 31 as this system begins.

In different motion on the assembly, the fee adopted revisions to the county worker handbook for 2023. The largest change is to the county’s alcohol and drug insurance policies, which had been modified as a result of legalization of leisure marijuana in Missouri.

Whereas marijuana is now legalized within the state’s structure, it’s nonetheless unlawful federally. As a federal grantee, the county nonetheless has to comply with federal stances on points or it dangers shedding funding.

That is why within the 2023 handbook, staff will see that these in “safety-sensitive” positions should undergo pre-employment and random drug assessments and as such, are prohibited from utilizing marijuana.

That rule solely applies to these in safety-sensitive positions. For the remainder of the county’s staff, drug assessments will solely be administered after accidents.

In different motion, the fee:

• Signed an settlement with Nice River Engineering for $54,850 to supply plans for enhancements to the Friendship Highway field culvert.

• Renewed a contract with Mike’s Pest Management for pest administration companies.

• Signed a contract with C&C Group for service and upkeep of sheriff’s division HVAC controls.

• Signed a contract with Henry M. Adkins and Sons Printing for the programming and printing of ballots for the county clerk’s workplace.

• Signed a contract with Correct Controls for safety provides for the sheriff’s division.

• Signed a contract with Teleflex for needles and energy driver technological elements for EMS.

The fee additionally gave CivicPlus permission to publish the county’s app, “GoColeMO,” to the Google Play Retailer.

The total assembly is out there at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu8H1kyylsM.