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County board approves engineering/architectural survey for nursing home

The Knox County Board approved an Engineering, Architectural, and Surveying agreement with Klingner and Associates for an inspection of the county’s nursing home.

The cost to the county will be $9,500 and cover the nursing home’s structure, roof, as well as HVAC system, plumbing, boiler, and piping.

There was extensive discussion regarding the need for the survey.

Board President Pam Davidson said that the maintenance staff at the nursing home thought the assessment was a waste money.

Board member John Hunigan asked if the scope of the survey is beyond the skill level of the maintenance staff, specifically if they had the engineering expertise to know what to look for if there is an issue.

Jared Hawkinson agreed with the maintenance staff’s concern, and also said that he is one that hates to spend money, but said that this agreement isn’t an agreement to for work to be completed. Instead, it is an agreement for a certified engineering firm to inspect the building for structural and engineering issues. Citing some major expenses from the last year, he indicated his support in this to help find problems before they become major expenses.

Hunigan asked for specifics on what Klingner and Associates would offer in the inspection.

Cody Basham said that his firm would be onsite for at least two days, then formalize a report that could take in total 2-3 weeks.

Basham added that his firm would do further investigation into issues to find root causes for problems, adding that the roof would be inspected since it was original to the building. He said that a licensed architect and mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineer would be on site for the inspection.

The board voted in favor with 8 approving, 3 voting against, and 1 abstention. Davidson, Hunigan, and Cheryl Nache were the dissenting votes while David Erickson was the lone abstention.

The board also approved some fee increases for various county services.

The Courthouse Security fee was doubling from $25 to $50. That would affect defendants who are convicted and sentenced and not people paying traffic fines.

Board members David Amor and Kyle Rohweder were the dissenting votes on this fee increase.

Also approved was a $3 increase to several services provided by the county’s recorder office.

County recorder Carol Hallam said that the state mandates the county recorder’s office fees.

One aspect of the recorder’s office fees are being eliminated by the state, which results in a 5-page document costing the same as a 100-page document.

Before it would cost $70 for a standard 4-page document, with an additional dollar per page after that. The fee increases would impact Standard Document, Articles of Incorporation, Survey Plots, and Subdivision Plats.

The fee could also apply to some items that are considered non-standard documents.

Board President Davidson and Nache were the dissenting votes on this fee increase.

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