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Webster County Supervisors approved agreements Tuesday to finalize the county's move to another mental health and disability services region and grant more time and funding to complete the County Courthouse's clock tower and roof restoration project.
Central Iowa Community Services starts next summer
A 28E agreement with Central Iowa Community Services approved by Supervisors will take effect at the start of the next fiscal year on July 1, cementing the county's departure from Waterloo-based County Social Services.
Webster County will join the region's other county members: Boone, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Hardin, Jasper, Madison, Marshall, Poweshiek, Story and Warren. Effective July 1, CICS will also add Cerro Gordo County and Wright County.
Thanks to legislation passed earlier this year, Webster County was able to gain admittance to the new region in October. The new legislation also allowed the county to take $1.6 million in reserve funds with the move.
The new region already has a few mental health services that Webster County has not had access to through CSS, in addition to more established services like a mental health mobile crisis response unit to help lead the way for similar fledgling services started recently in the county.
Clock tower and roof restoration project extended
Supervisors approved a supplemental agreement granting Des Moines-based contractor Shuck-Britson Inc. an additional $150,000 for services to complete the County Courthouse's clock tower and roof restoration project.
Initially slated for completion this month, the agreement will extend construction to July 30, with continuous work, or Aug. 27 with a two-month winter shutdown in work.
The new funding for the project, initially contracted at a cost of $6.16 million with Des Moines contractor Neumann Brothers Inc., will help cover construction administration services and unanticipated costs from delays like poor weather, said Supervisor Nick Carlson.
Carlson said the scope of the project turned out to be larger than anticipated when it started in March.
When finished, the project will have fixed extensive damage and century-old aging around the clocktower with a partial replacement of its iconic green patina sheathing, as well as a fiberglass skylight that left the building's interior lit with a yellow tint.