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

At the meeting, the Board approved payroll change notices as presented, along with fiscal year 2017 appropriations. Rob Tietz says most departments are receiving 25 percent of their allocation at this time, with some exceptions.

Ditch bank mower purchase requests for the secondary roads department were then approved.  The County is purchasing two mowers, one from Vetter Equipment in Indianola at a cost of around $7,500, after trading in two mowers the County currently owns, and another from Moss Brothers Inc. in Dallas Center for $8,900.  County Engineer Al Miller says he was working with Vetter Equipment when this process first started and Moss Brothers recently opened locally so he wanted to do business with both companies.

An equipment service contract with UnityPoint Health for the Emergency Medical Services department was then discussed.  EMS Director Mike Thomason says this contract has been in existence for as long as he can remember and he did not know of any equipment that was currently in need of repair or replacement. County Attorney Wayne Reisetter encouraged Thomason to see if some minor changes could be made to the agreement. The Board will further discuss the topic at next week’s meting.

Landscape plans for the courthouse lawn and north campus were then discussed.  The proposed plan for the courthouse includes more trees and ornamental grasses, along with additional pedestrian access.  In terms of the Emerald Ash Borer,  and the fear that those plants could be wiped out due to the invasive species, there are a few ash trees in both areas.  The County plans to treat the mature trees and hope that will protect them as it is a cheaper, and likely easier, process than removing and replacing them. The first phases of both projects are expected to cost around $68,000 total.  The Board took no formal action on the topic.

The Board then heard an update on recommendations for heating and cooling for the 902 Court Street building.  Some of the equipment will be removed and relocated to other portions of the building, some will be left alone and some will be replaced.  Estimates for the project total $390,000.  The Board plans to award a bid for the project at the first meeting in August.  Tietz says the capital fund currently has a balance of around $5.1 million, so there is money there to do these types of projects.  Board Chairman Mark Hanson says by making these improvements and investment into the project, they are committing to keeping offices in the building, rather than putting it on the market anytime soon.

Finally, the Board approved the third pay application for the north campus parking lot project.  There is a current outstanding balance of around $12,000 for the project.