The Polk County Commissioners met on Tuesday at the Polk County Transfer Station and heard from Mark Dietz, Polk County Facilities Director.
The Polk County Juvenile Center is having the roof redone, and on Friday, the rain came into town with little warning, the roofing company was caught off guard. The roofing company wasn’t able to cover the holes in the roof fast enough, and rain poured into the building. Dietz estimates that two-thirds of the building was affected by some water damage, including the electrical room, the data system, carpet, walls, and more. “I think everybody got used to not having rain in Crookston, and unfortunately, our roofing company did too. They uncovered a large number of square footage on the roof, and once the rains came, they couldn’t get it covered in time, so the interior of the building got inundated with water,” said Dietz. “I am shooting from the hips because insurance professionals are coming, but a large piece of the building has experienced significant damage.”
The insurance company and engineering firm will be inspecting the building. The structure of the building is safe and sturdy.
The commissioners approved four projects proposed by Dietz. The first project was fire code compliance at the Tri-County Juvenile Center at the cost of $71,460. “We have an old system that controls the heating ventilation and air conditioning system, and in turn, that also controls our fire dampers,” said Dietz. “The existing system isn’t considered up to code to guarantee the safety of the people in the building, so we are getting it upgraded.”
The commissioners approved replacing cameras and adding new cameras at the Government Center at the cost of $35,897. “The government Center is one of the few buildings in the county that isn’t covered like it should be with cameras,” said Dietz. “We are taking this opportunity to get the building up to code and up to speed as far as getting it covered.” Some of the new cameras that will be installed will now cover the parking lot.
The third facilities project the commissioners approved was a new door access control system for the Government Center at the cost of $24,056. “Our door access system has served us well, but it has lived its life, so now we will replace it,” said Dietz.
The fourth and final project approved by the commissioners was pump seal replacement at the Justice Center at a cost of $21,600. “That’s the pumps that run the heating and air conditioning for the building,” said Dietz. “The pumps have served us well for many years, and it’s time to get them up to speed and get the seals replaced.”
