The Barry County Board of Commissioners held its committee of the whole meeting in the completely renovated and newly named Cabinet Building Tuesday and invited the crowd to take tours and enjoy light refreshments directly after the meeting.
Actions taken in the meeting included asking for more information on a request for replacement and upgrading of the 10-year-old emergency “panic button” system for the County Courthouse, Courts & Law Building, Friend of the Court and Cabinet Building as well at work stations of most employees and in vaults, at a cost of $37,750.
Commissioners said it was a good idea to move ahead with improved technology with the Wave Plus System from SecureTech Systems, Inc., but wanted more information on what security measures the system has, which county fund the payment would come from, if discounts were available, where the new 200 buttons would be located, and any possible problems with sharing the 900 MH system with others.
The request will be brought back up as an agenda item after more information is provided by IT Director David Shinavier. Shinavier did not object to the delay, saying it was needed and he wanted to get the process started.
The committee also recommended approval of:
* appointment of Jan Otto as attorney magistrate, to allow her to register for Magistrate Training with the State Court Administrative Office and comply with the currant job description and requirements of the state.
* spending up to $10,000 to repair all areas of missing, chipped or loose ornamental decorative plaster in the Barry County Courthouse, requested by Tim Neeb, director of building and grounds department. Neeb said he got just one bid from Artistic Plastering for $9,552.
* an updated agreement with the Barry Economic Development Alliance (and its parent company the Barry County Chamber of Commerce). The agreement calls for the BEDA to provide economic development services for Barry County for 2017 for $107,395 which is already included in the general fund budget. The agreement goes from multi-year agreements to yearly for more flexibility and transparency, BEDA Director Travis Alden said.
