The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors met yesterday in the first of their bi-weekly sessions.
After a brief update from Guthrie County Conservation Board Director Joe Hanner, the Supervisors met with Josh Hansen of ThinkSpace IT to go over billings and discuss the county’s server overhaul project.
Installation of the new server at the county courthouse and in all county department offices is now complete, save for Public Health and the Sheriff’s Office. Public Health will be changed over to the new server today.
The Sheriff’s Department will meet with ThinkSpace IT on Friday to discuss when their computers could be switched to the new county server. Sheriff Marty Arganbright voiced his concern to Supervisors that such a switch could cause problems with his current system of operations and his “Tracs” accident report software. Arganbright says making the switch is difficult because of the 24/7 nature of his department.
County Engineer Josh Sebern then met with Supervisors to end the meeting, and he received unanimous approval for an estimated $202,000 county road joint and crack sealing project that will likely start late summer. Sebern says the project will go out for bid letting in early July. Portions of Chestnut Rd, Justice Rd, Whitepole Rd, Wood Rd and 160th Rd will be impacted by the project, but Sebern says the crack seal work is a relatively quick procedure.
Sebern then noted to the Board that his meeting with the Federal Highway Administration went well last week. The Administration was in Iowa meeting with county engineers as part of a national study into how well weight limit postings are enforced on county bridges.
Sebern says productive conversation was exchanged during the meeting and he feels he made an impression. Sebern says the main point he made in the meeting is that “even though rural population is declining, the demand is ‘ever greater’ to improve rural bridges” because of how big agricultural machinery is becoming, and because of how high the yields are currently.
Sebern will again meet with the Supervisors tomorrow to set a public hearing date for the county’s amended TIF agreement. Sheriff Arganbright will also give a monthly update from his department in tomorrow’s meeting.