Buildings, Grounds & Parks

BUILDINGS, GROUNDS & PARKS COMMITTEE November 14, 2025 3rd Floor Meeting Room Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Members Present: Jim Gebauer, Diane Albrecht, Rod Adams, Lisa Carbaugh. Members Absent: None Members via Zoom: Lorie Floyd Other Attendees: Joe Svejda, Nicole Hager, Grant Bub. Approve the Agenda: Motion by Carbaugh, seconded by Adams, to approve the agenda with 11 items. Motion carried. Approve the Minutes of the August 25, 2025, Buildings, Grounds and Parks Committee Meeting: Motion by Carbaugh, seconded by Adams, to approve the minutes. Motion carried. Tower update: Bub provided an update on the towers on College Street, stating that AT&T has upgraded their equipment, providing a better signal. T-Mobile is also planning to upgrade their equipment which will put the tower at maximum capacity. Country Wireless has also approached Bub, wanting to put their equipment on the tower, but with the T -Mobile upgrade there will not be any room. Motion by Gebauer, seconded by Adams, to increase the monthly lease fee for T-Mobile from $2800.00 to $3271.00 or at least $3000.00. Motion carried. Bub also stated that of the Broadband towers , 5 will no longer be constructed and 4 that are up will not be live, due to the fact that the west side of the county will be offered fiber to the home as a result of the BEAD grant award. Approval to move forward on Education Center cooling unit: Svejda stated that there is a 35-year-old air conditioning unit that cools the entire building. It has 2 compressors and one of them went down. Svejda would like to put it out to bid to replace the entire unit. Motion by Adams, seconded by Gebauer, to approve Svejda going out for bid. Motion carried. Hunting in County Parks: Svejda has been asked if people can hunt in the county parks. Svejda would like to put out a uniform message, and that is no hunting in the parks. The ones surrounded by forest will be a bit more challenging and will require some mapping and signage. Motion by Floyd, seconded by Adams, to approve Svejda setting up perimeters and new signage. Motion carried. County Parks to have an official seasonal schedule: Svejda asked if there could be an official seasonal schedule for the parks, now it is basically Memorial Day to Labor Day, but nothing official. They seem to be maintaining it later each year. All agreed, so Svejda will create a plan and bring it back to the committee. Maintenance update: Svejda stated the ADRC construction project is going well. He also stated there is a soft opening planned for the secured front entrance for January. Other items from the committee: None Next Meeting date: The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 4, 2026. Adjournment: Motion by Adams, seconded by Carbaugh to adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:55 a.m. Andria Farrand Taylor County Clerk BUILDINGS, GROUNDS & PARKS COMMITTEE August 25, 2025 3rd Floor Meeting Room Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 9:03 a.m. Members Present: Jim Gebauer, Diane Albrecht, Rod Adams, Lorie Floyd, Lisa Carbaugh Members Absent: None Other Attendees: Joe Svejda, Nicole Hager, Tracy Hartwig (Finance), Catherine Lemke, Mark Wesle, and Brian Wilson (Star News). Approve the Agenda: Motion by Floyd to approve the agenda with 10 items; S econded by Gebauer. Motion carried. Approve the Minutes of the June 4 , 202 5 Buildings, Grounds and Parks Committee Meeting: Motion by Carbaugh to approve the minutes; Seconded by Adams. Motion carried. Taylor County Fair Updates: Joe Svejda thanked the volunteers who work at the fair each year, the help they provide makes the fair successful. Svejda introduced Mark Wesle, an active member of the community who helps at the fairgrounds , who presented an option of adding campsites to the fairgrounds behind the DNR building (Bauer property). Approximately 18 sites could be added to this area. Svejda suggested the county develop a plan for the land and structures on the Bauer property. The plan would include the use of current structures and how maintenance is handled to the structures. Wesle also shared that the ADA accessibility to the grandstands needs to be addressed. The committee would like to have prices on updating the ramp and accessibility to the grandstand area. Additionally, the committee would like to see the financials of the fair to help make future decisions on upgrades. Recommended vehicles for GPS units: Each year departments need to discuss with the oversight committee whether to have GPS units on vehicles for the following year. Motion by Floyd to keep current GPS units on Buildings, Grounds and Parks vehicles; Seconded by Carbaugh. Adams voting no. Motion carried. *Gebauer left the meeting at 9:35 a.m. Budget approval: Svejda reviewed the budget of Buildings, Grounds and Parks and discussed areas with an increase. The budget is 2.5% more than last year, however it includes expenses for the ADRC building remodel, which is being funded from the Land Acquisition Account. Svejda addressed the carryover accounts assigned to his department and how he has used them previously. Motion by Floyd to approve the presented Buildings, Grounds and Parks budget; Seconded by Carbaugh. Motion carried. Maintenance update: Svejda presented a status update on the ADRC building remodel. The exterior of the west -side of the building has evidence of deteriorating siding and crumbling brick. While the contractor is constructing the add-on it would be advantageous to update these materials as well. Motion by Floyd to use carryover funds to fix the brick and siding of the ADRC building in conjunction with the area being constructed; Seconded by Adams. Motion carried. Svejda also gave preliminary information on a condenser/air condition ing unit that will need to be addressed at the Education Center. Other items from the committee: Hager brought forth a request that The Community Blood Center, who holds a blood drive at the Fire Station on the first Wednesday of each month recently held one for Taylor County employees at the Community Center. They’ve asked if they could use the Community Center for their monthly blood drive. The committee had no concerns. Floyd asked about follow-up to rental of the Winter Sports Area. Some data has been gathered; it can be shared at a future meeting. Adjournment: Motion by Carbaugh to adjourn; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 10:35 a.m. Nicole Hager Administrative Coordinator/HR Manager Buildings and Grounds Committee Wednesday, June 4, 2025 Third Floor Jury Room, Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. Members Present: Diane Albrecht, Lisa Carbaugh, Rod Adams and Jim Gebauer. Members Absent: Lorie Floyd Other Attendees: Joe Svejda, Nicole Hager, Brian Wilson-Star News and Andria Farrand. Approve the Agenda: Motion by Carbaugh, seconded by Adams, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the minutes of the April 2, 2025 meeting: Motion by Gebauer, seconded by Adams, to approve the minutes of the April 2, 2025 meeting. Motion carried. Campus Woods Timber sale : Luke Williams, Forest Administrator, was present to address the emerald ash borer issue at the Taylor County Campus Woods and options for resolving it. If the trees are removed this winter, we would still get some revenue for them. Waiting any longer and we will not. There are about 30% ash trees and about 10% of them are black ash and they are already standing dead. Williams stated that eventually 100% of the ash trees in the state will be gone. Motion by Adams, seconded by Gebauer, to approve option 2 as presented. This includes a selection harvest (thinning) in hardwoods, focusing on removing high -risk, low-vigor trees. A coppice harvest to regenerate the aspen. Motion carried. Approval of replacement mower: Svejda stated that the 1998 lawn mower is in need of replacement. He is proposing a 60” Graveley zero turn that he will buy locally for $11,277.00. This has been budgeted in this year’s budget. Motion by Adams, seconded by Carbaugh, to approve the purchase of the Graveley zero turn. Motion carried. ADRC building plans: Svejda has requested bids for the state approved plans to add onto the ADRC building, and they are due on June 18th at 1:00 PM. Bid opening will take place that day in the County Board Room and will be approved by the County Board at their meeting on June 24th. No other action was taken. Approval of Perkinstown Winter Sports Area summer rental: Svejda added the rental of the Winter Sports Area to the rental agreement with the fairground rentals. He was asked to bring back a rental price. Motion by Adams, seconded by Carbaugh, to table. Motion carried. Approval of firewood permit: Svejda presented the form he created for anyone wanting to cut up a tree on county property for personal use. Since this benefits the county by getting the downed trees cleaned up, a nominal charge of $10.00 for this permit is suggested. Motion by Gebauer, seconded by Adams, to approve the form and fee. Motion carried. Maintenance updates: • Rice Rodeo will be walking the fairgrounds in the next few weeks and will get back to Svejda about their event. • Secured entrance -carpeting was just installed in the old supply room and painting will be done soon. • The Fairgrounds lighting project is progressing. The pre -cast are ordered and should be delivered soon, they should be installed and poles set mid-June. • The Fire alarm project should be completed this week, all construction is done and they are finalizing things. • A tree fell on the roof of the Human Services building and did some damage to the roof, fascia and gutter. The repairs were done by Maintenance, which kept the cost to approximately $1000.00. Set next meeting date: The next meeting will be August 6th at 9:00 a.m. Adjourn the meeting: Motion by Gebauer , seconded by Adams, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 a.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk Buildings and Grounds Committee Wednesday, April 2, 2025 Third Floor Meeting Room, Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. Members Present: Diane Albrecht, Lorie Floyd, Rod Adams and Jim Gebauer. Members Absent: Lisa Carbaugh. Other Attendees: Jim Metz, Joe Svejda, Grant Bub, Nicole Hager, Brian Wilson -Star News and Andria Farrand. Approve the Agenda: Motion by Floyd, seconded by Adams, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the minutes of the February 5, 2025 meeting : Motion by Floyd, seconded by Albrecht, to approve the minutes of the February 5, 2025 meeting. Motion carried. Rodeo event at the Fairgrounds: The previous owner of the rodeo grounds, Dave Rice, reached out to Svejda to ask if they can hold a rodeo event at the fairgrounds in August. Joe suggested involving the fair board and we will need to know where they want to have it, among other things. It was suggested that Joe invite Dave Rice and fair board representatives to the next meeting on June 4th. Motion by Gebauer, seconded by Adams, to table. Motion carried. Carryover accounts: Joe presented a list of his carryover accounts to the committee along with the detailed usage for each one. Authorization to remove firewood from grounds: Svejda said he is asked from time to time by the public, if they can have authorization to remove firewood from county grounds when a tree has fallen. He stated that Forestry has a form for this type of thing and is asking if he should have a similar form/liability waiver for Buildings and Grounds. He would want the following things covered; the amount of wood taken, liability and the location. Motion by Floyd, seconded by Gebauer, to create a form. Motion carried. Tower update: Grant Bub, provided an update and handout to the committee on the towers in Taylor County. He stated he will be doing further research on the 3 county owned towers and the equipment on them. The county contract with Begley Wireless ended at the end of 2024 and he has received offers from AT&T and Verizon to maintain our towers. County policy for disposal or sale of county property: Hager and Svejda worked on a policy regarding the sale/disposal of surplus county property. A few revisions were made by the committee, so Svejda will revise and bring it back to the next meeting. Maintenance updates: • The mechanical room project to replace the water heaters, among other things, is complete. Svejda shared pictures of the finished product. • Fire alarm installation is still in progress. Complete Control will be on site for several more months. • The third-floor men’s and women’s restrooms issues have been fixed by Jakel plumbing. • ADRC addition is still waiting for the architect. Svejda to reach out or move on to someone else. Set next meeting date: The next meeting will be June 4th at 9:00 a.m. Adjourn the meeting: Motion by Gebauer, seconded by Floyd, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 12:07 p.m. Andria Farrand-County Clerk Buildings and Grounds Committee Wednesday, February 5, 2025 Third Floor Meeting Room, Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Diane Albrecht called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Members Present: Diane Albrecht, Lisa Carbaugh, Rod Adams and Jim Gebauer. Members Absent: Lorie Floyd. Other Attendees: Joe Svejda, Mandee Ellis-Star News and Andria Farrand. Approve the Agenda: Motion by Adams, seconded by Carbaugh, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the minutes of the December 12, 2024 meeting: Motion by Carbaugh, seconded by Gebauer, to approve the minutes of the December 12, 2024 meeting. Motion carried. Approval of the Winter Sports Area job descriptions: Svejda presented the three different job descriptions for the Winter Sports Area. He stated that Sara Matyka, WSA Manager, worked on revising them with Human Resources. Motion by Carbaugh, seconded by Adams, to approve the job descriptions as submitted. Motion carried. Verbal agreement for school district to utilize USDA Center as secondary evacuation location: Svejda was approached by the school district to be able to use the USDA Center as their secondary evacuation location. They currently have Forward Bank as their primary location but need to list a secondary location. Motion by Carbaugh, seconded by Adams, to approve. Motion carried. Maintenance updates: • The mechanical room project to replace water heaters, is underway, the old units will be taken in for scrap. • Fire alarm installation is underway. Complete Control will be on site for several more months. • Perkinstown Winter Sports Area will finally open for the season, this weekend, February 7th. Gebauer asked for an update on the towers, Svejda stated that the towers are now being managed by Grant Bub, Broadband Project Manager. Gebauer next asked for an update on the third-floor men’s restroom that had been leaking. Svejda is working with Jakel Plumbing to do the work. Next there was a discussion about parking lot cameras. Gebauer recently had his truck hit while at a meeting, and over the years, several employees have had their vehicles hit. There was discussion about adding more cameras or extending the coverage. Svejda will talk to Complete Control to see what they can offer. Set next meeting date: The next meeting will be April 2nd at 9:00 a.m. Adjourn the meeting: Motion by Adams , seconded by Carbaugh, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:27 a.m. Andria Farrand-County Clerk