Walls to go up soon on Floyd County law enforcement center; VA director resigns

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Exterior wall panels should begin being installed next week on the new Floyd County law enforcement center.

The walls, made of precast concrete by MPC Enterprises of Mount Pleasant, should go up quickly once the process starts, according to representatives of the Samuels Group, Floyd County’s construction manager on the project.

The crane to lift the wall panels into place has already arrived at the construction site, and the anchors for the panels should be installed soon.

County supervisors got an update on the law enforcement center and courthouse update project Monday morning during a workshop meeting.

Among the decisions still to be made is whether all or part of the courthouse offices will relocate to the 500 North Grand Building when the project begins work replacing all the windows in the courthouse and installing a new heating and cooling system and fire suppression sprinklers.

Of particular concern is the court system, especially during jury trials when judges may demand that work stop if it is interfering with jurors’ ability to pay attention.

Supervisor Linda Tjaden, a member of a “core team” that has been shepherding the project for the county, said there are three possibilities.

One is that only the court system is relocated to the former middle school building.

Another is that all the courthouse offices be temporarily relocated, except for the Sheriff’s Office and jail, which will be moved into the new law enforcement center before major work begins on the courthouse.

The third option, Tjaden said, is that no departments relocate and work is done while the building is occupied.

It was hoped that subcontractors would be willing to reduce their charges in order to be able to work in the building without it being occupied, and that, plus reductions in the time required for the work, would pay much of the cost of relocating.

The potential savings from the subcontractors have been less than hoped, Tjaden said.

“They’re really going to have to sharpen their pencils” and come up with more savings, Tjaden said, “or they’re going to have to work around us.”

“We need to make a decision soon,” she said, because of the work that will need to be done if offices are relocated, potentially later this summer or fall, including installing lines for the courthouse’s computer and phone systems.

Another potential concern was the discovery that there is asbestos in the current window frames, that will have to be dealt with when the windows are replaced.

One of the existing courthouse windows was recently removed so contractors could get an idea of what would be involved in replacing them, and the asbestos was discovered.

Also at the workshop meeting Monday, supervisors:

• Discussed when the courthouse will begin reopening for regular business as concerns over the coronavirus are reduced. Supervisor Chairman Roy Schwickerath said a lot of decisions need to be made, such as whether employees or the public will be required to wear masks.

Tjaden said unless it can be shown that needed services are not being made available to the public, she is comfortable leaving the situation as is for now.

No decision was made at the workshop meeting Monday.

• Received a letter of resignation from Maria Deike as Floyd County Veterans Affairs director, so she can accept a similar position with Cerro Gordo County. In her letter to the supervisors, Deike said the office has grown beyond the point where the job can be done by one person.

“You need to allow this office to grow. It has grown and is not a one-person office anymore, especially if you decide this office should pick up the slack of other county hardships,” she wrote. “You are doing wrong for the new director. It is not fair to be hired for one county, and expected to represent two with no pay accommodations, overtime, comp time or incentives to do so.”

The office “needs not only a director willing to put the time in, but the backing of the chain of command to protect the representative when you clearly see a gradual and steady distress,” she wrote.

The county Veterans Affairs Commission has begun to advertise for Deike’s replacement.

Schwickerath said he was sad to hear of Deike’s resignation, and she had done a good job for the county.