County property committee hears parks and facilities updates; jail chiller out to bid, sinkhole repaired

County parks and facilities staff provided multiple operational updates at the LaSalle County property committee meeting on March 13.

Ken (parks staff) said crews have been clearing fallen trees and leaves left over from heavy early-winter snow and have cut drainage trenches on steep trails to reduce erosion on Brown Creek Trail and Heck Hill. He reported repairs to the parks' Chevy 2500 (new brakes, tie-rod ends and a fixed transmission speed sensor) and said reservations at the Shabana facility are filling, with June largely booked.

Ken also described the planned shift to a sundown-to-sunup rules regime once the county's rules and regulations are adopted. "Once the rules and regs get passed, we're gonna go set up the sundown," he said, adding the schedule aligns with other state parks and gives maintenance crews time to work in the off-season.

Wesley Lynn, the county maintenance lead, said courthouse flooring work is in progress and that an asbestos issue discovered during the project has been abated. He described a sinkhole that appeared in the jail parking area; contractors from Grand Rapids concreted and backfilled the hole and the county put barricades in place until repairs could be completed. "They went down in there, concreted where where it needed to be done ... and they backfilled with gravel," Wesley said.

Wesley presented a quarterly breakdown of overtime and emergency call-ins across county buildings, noting snow removal accounted for about 60 hours and that nursing-home emergency call-ins drive higher hours and costs. Committee members discussed whether call-in expenses justify hiring additional staff or creating a second shift at some facilities.

Architect Kurt Rimley said the jail chiller replacement project went out to bid "yesterday," and a bid opening will be scheduled in a later property meeting; Kurt and Wesley are moving into design work for a 4-pipe conversion and improvements in the assessor's office. Kurt also reported ongoing work with a glass supplier (identified as Wausau Windows) and estimated about 40 linear feet of new windows in the assessor corner will be installed when manufacturing schedules permit.

The committee asked about a foundation issue at the county nursing home and pump house; Wesley said structural inspections indicate the foundation is stable with no recent movement, but that quarry blasting across the river is felt by staff and should be considered in any long-term fix. The committee asked staff to present options and expected an update by the next property meeting.

The meeting concluded after routine motions to pay parks and courthouse bills carried and the coroner's proposal was referred to finance.