The Morgan County Commissioners paid several invoices this morning for nearly completed and ongoing maintenance projects.
The commissioners authorized more than $127,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds this morning to pay for HVAC updates to Henson Robinson and for a small project at the Morgan County Detention Facility.
Morgan County Commissioner Chair Mike Wankel says that the jail needed Doyle Plumbing & Heating to do some updates on the bathrooms: “It was more of a repair/remodel kind of project. Luckily, we had a local contractor that was able to get on that project right away. The Sheriff had informed our office that the project was complete and that we needed to pay the contractor, so it was part of our monthly bills.”
Wankel says that the bathroom remodel had been put further down on the “to do” list of things at the jail as the Sheriff’s Office recently oversaw completion of work on the jail’s HVAC system as well as an overhaul of the jail’s door security system, which was original to the building.
The jail also recently saw a delivery of a new generator that was installed within the last few weeks. Wankel says that the generator’s purchase was made possible by a grant and didn’t come from any of the county’s funds: “We thank Morgan County ESDA Coordinator Phil McCarty for going through that grant process and being able to obtain a generator. Part of the generator’s protection will go towards the county’s E-911 Telecommunication services as well as the operations of the Morgan County Jail.”
The generator was original to the building’s 1984 construction. Sheriff Mike Carmody had requested ARPA funds be used to update the generator back in March, prior to McCarty securing the grant money to pay for the generator from Althoffer Catapillar in Springfield.
The commissioners and county officers in attendance also bid a fond farewell to outgoing commissioner Ginny Fanning, thanking her for her 10 years of service on the board. Fanning made her final motion to adjourn the meeting. Newly elected county officers will be sworn in on December 2nd.