Puetz staffers bring building plans to county panel

• Central Electric building

The Davison County Commissioners plan to renovate the Central Electric building, pictured here on North Main Street in Mitchell. (Chris Huber/Republic)

Talk about it

On Tuesday, Puetz Corporation officials presented the Davison County Commission interior layout plans for the Central Electric Cooperative building at 1420 N. Main St.

The commissioners have agreed to purchase the building for $575,000, and will close on the building Aug. 1. Hail damage to the roof — which will be covered by insurance — will have to be repaired as part of the deal, said Commission Chairman John Claggett.

Mark Puetz, architect Herm Harms and project manager Paul Williams presented the commissioners and Community Health Nurse Natalie Van Drongelen with plan options that will consolidate the nursing offices to the north end of the building. The southern wing will be used by the commissioners.

The new plan places the entrance for nursing services on the east side of the building near the parking lot, and the commissioners’ entrance will be to the west side, off Main Street.

“What I like about this plan is that it has separate entry for the nurses, which will insure the privacy of their patients,” Commissioner Gerald Weiss said.

“I’m optimistic,” Van Drongelen said later, “but I’m not sure how the costs are going to come together.”

Neither are the commissioners.

The changes offered Tuesday didn’t come with a price tag, but the commissioners learned last week that the cost will likely double the $100,000 set aside for renovations.

The new plans also will require a new sewer line to service the north end of the building. That will cost between $5,000 and $10,000, Williams estimated. Other interior plumbing changes will be in the same ballpark.

The Puetz team will provide some hard numbers when they meet with the commissioners at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 10.

Weiss said that if money becomes an issue that the focus of the renovation plan should be to get the nurses into the building first; and the commissioners last. The commissioners do not have a pressing need to be relocated, he said.

“We need to do what we have to do, and we have to remember we’re using taxpayer money here,” Weiss said.

In other business:

* The commissioners were introduced to full-time community health nurse Jenna Auch and part-time nurse Becky Erdahl. They also approved the hire of administrative assistant Kaela McCloud for $10.50 an hour, effective immediately.

* County resident Clark Edwards presented the commissioners with photos of weed-filled ditches near his home. Weed Superintendent John Geidel later identified the weed of complaint as milkweed, which, while stubborn and tough to eradicate, is not classified as noxious by the state.

“They’re hard to kill, but they don’t cause any harm,” Geidel said.

* In a related action, the commissioners approved the Weed Department’s purchase of a 1999, 4700 International truck for $16,500. The truck will be able to carry a 1,000-gallon spray tank and it has sufficient power to pull a 1,000-gallon spray tank trailer, said Highway Superintendent Rusty Weinberg.

The current truck, which the commissioners ordered listed as surplus so that it may be sold, is only able to carry 250 gallons of spray mix. That has meant many “dead-head” runs to the county shop to refill the small spray tank, he said. The larger tank capacity will make for more efficient operation, he said.

* They also approved two raffle requests: One for the Davison County Democrats for an Oct. 16 fundraiser, and a second raffle — date to be announced — from the Mitchell Quarterback Club, to benefit the Mitchell Kernels basketball team.

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