County to add onto aging office

Space will be used for

Aging and Disability

Resource Center staff

Taylor County is moving ahead with plans to add onto the multipurpose building located at the corner of Hwy 13 and 64 in the city of Medford.

At the September 20 county board meeting, board members approved continuing the process to get bids on adding onto the the building to accommodate the move of the aging and disabilities resource center into the commission on aging.

Taylor County has been part of a multi-county consortium of the ADRC of the Northwoods. That consortium is set to be dissolved by the end of 2024 and the county will go on its own offering ADRC services.

What this means is that there will be additional staff in the county full-time who will need office space in which to speak to clients confidentially.

This has created a dilemma for the county. “We are putting people into conference rooms and closets,” said Joe Svedja, buildings and grounds supervisor for the county , about demands for office space. “At some point we will be bursting at the seams,” he said.

In the case of accommodating the office space needs for the ADRC staff, options included a build-out on the current space used for events and senior-related exercise programs, taking away space from the historical society museum or expanding the building itself.

The estimated cost of building out into the exercise space was estimated to be about $75,000, but with this or other options it would be taking space away from other things. Svedja projected the cost of adding onto the building to be be-

See COURTHOUSE on page 3 tween $225,00 and $250,000.

He said he favored the addition because it would allow them to meet current needs while looking ahead. The plan would be to include a 600 square foot addition with space for four office areas. Three would be immediately used, while the fourth space will be put to use as break room area for staff in that building. COA director Jenn Viergutz noted that currently they do not have a space and must unplug the office refrigerator in order to use the microwave without tripping circuits.

While supportive of the overall project and recognizing its need, there was some discussion regarding how it was to be paid for. Initially the ADRC ad hoc committee had requested funding from the county’s powerline impact fee grants. However, this was rejected by the finance committee, instead favoring options such as taking it out of money set aside in the county forest for land acquisition or combining it with other short term borrowing for road projects.

“I think we should do it and do it right,” said county board member Mike Bub. He noted that bringing it all into the county will benefit county residents in the long run. “The county will come out financially,” he said.

He supported taking the needed funds out of the land acquisition account. This fund replenishes itself with money from timber sales.

County administrative coordinator Nicole Hager relayed comments from board member Chuck Zenner, who was among six county board members absent from the meeting, that regardless of where the money is coming from in the county budget, they needed to move forward with bids. She said he felt they could look at options after the budget review process was completed.

Board member Rollie Thums agreed, noting the important thing is to get the project going.

“We can always stop it,” Thums said. “We need to start the process and its needs to start with construction bids.”

Board members approved going ahead with the project. In other business, board members:

• Approved increasing the departmental authorization for the human services department to a full time children’s longterm support/comprehensive community services position. This is a wholly funded position and is being added to reduce the waitlist of those who qualify for services in the county. There will be no cost to the county for the position. However, as Thums noted, the state will be changing its funding method and punishing counties who have too long waitlists by taking away funding.

• Briefly discussed but held off on taking action on a proposal to add an armed guard and metal detector for the entrance to the courthouse. With a number of county board members absent and Judge Ann Knox-Bauer unable to attend the meeting, board chairman Jim Metz called for action to be delayed until the October 30 meeting. In the meantime, it was suggested to get the input of building staff and those who use the building.