The Dallas County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Tuesday.

During open forum, Engineer Al Miller told the Board he received a call from the DOT Monday stating they plan to start a bridge project on Highway 169 near Bouton ahead of schedule. It is expected to be a three week project which will begin Thursday.

At the meeting, the Board approved payroll change notices for the case management department and sheriff’s office were approved as presented.

Resolutions in regards to drainage district assessments were then discussed.  The assessments total $12,062 and involve levying to pay for the deficiency and set up a working balance in the fund to pay for spring cleaning, maintenance and repairs to the districts.  The Board approved all three resolutions as presented.

The Board then set a public hearing in regards to the secondary roads department’s five year construction plan.  It will take place at 10am Tuesday, March 29th.  Board Chairman Mark Hanson asked Engineer Miller how he approached the program he inherited when he took over the position last year.  Miller says he is still learning about each project on the plan and this coming year will be very similar to last year’s work.  He added that the 10 cent gas tax, that was implemented last year, is adding additional funds to their balances and will likely be spent improving granular surfaces in the County.

An excavator purchase was then approved.  The County will be purchasing the equipment from Murphy Tractor and Equipment out of Des Moines at a cost of $185,316.  An additional dust control vendor permit was also approved for Felters Services.

An update on the fence installation project in Adams Township was then shared.  Mike Finestead said the project is taking longer than he expected and there was misinformation in the documents he was given last fall.  He stated that the contractor he’s working with says they plan to install the fence the first week in April.  Neighbors near the property in question expressed frustration with how long it has taken to get the project completed.  Finestead plans to go through they Stanley property to complete the project.

Architect Jerry Purdy with Design Alliance then shared an update on the human services campus renovation project.  He says a dozen contractors have picked up plans for the emergency management portion of the project, which shows good interest and hopefully will result in competitive bids.  A bid will be awarded after a public hearing on the 29th and work should begin shortly after that.  It’s expected to take around three months to complete.  The Board and department heads also talked about space needs moving forward, though no formal action was taken.

The second pay application for the parking lot project at the human services project was also approved as presented.

The Board then went into a closed session to discuss a personnel matter.