MITCHELL COUNTY COMMISSIONERS - Monday, January 22, 2024

By Terry Bailey

The Mitchell County Commissioners conducted their regular business at the Courthouse Monday morning, January 22. All Commissioners and the County Clerk were present.
The first order of business was the status of the installation of a transformer at the million-dollar County Shop building. John Senger, Kyle Heineken, and Steve Krier were present to discuss a necessary piece of equipment needed to complete the shop building but was not included in the original working plans. It appears as if the Agora Architect neglected to include this electrical device in any of the bids, the plans and any of the work orders that they issued as the architects of the project. It seems as if the situation was "Oh, by the way, you need a transformer to complete the project." This is one more of those situations in which the architects dropped the ball on designing the building. Not long ago it was decided that the soil contained high moisture and water was seeping onto the floor. The Commissioner believed this should have been anticipated by a professional firm supposedly well-versed in this kind of work.'
This omission generated considerable discussion, with attention given to who was to blame for this mistake. It was decided the Agora Architectural firm was responsible for the omission.
When this situation came to light, Heineken's proceeded with the understanding that the transformer would cost in the neighborhood of $25,000. This amount was factored into the final cost. However, when all the work was done and the transformer was installed, the bill came to $39,000. The big question was "Who was responsible for the additional $14,000?"
After considerable consideration of all the issues, the Commissioners voted to include this additional cost in their payments for the completed work.
There was some anxiety because the Agora Architects are responsible for designing the new Senior Center to be built on the North Campus.
Davd Dohe gave the Commissioners an update on the many projects he is overseeing.
An open hearing was called to consider the renewal of the Neighborhood Revitalization Project. This time was open for any citizen to speak for or against the program. After ten minutes, no one appeared to discuss the program. The meeting was adjourned.
The Commissioners voted unanimously to renew the program with the change to a five year tax exemption rather than a ten-year tax exemption.
Two representatives from Liberty National Insurance were in attendance to present their benefit program. The Commissioners complimented them on their presentation but told them that just last week they accepted an offer from another firm to offer the same services to Mitchell County employees.

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