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Proposed LCHD Building Progressing

Plans to relocate the Lee County Health Department to a new building are moving forward.

The idea of a stand-alone building gained traction after the department's plan to share a facility with the Lee County Conservation Department came to an end.

The Health Department's current home in Fort Madison has multiple structural and accessibility issues.

County Supervisor Matt Pflug says the rough design of an 8,500 square foot facility near the Lee County Jail could be completed within the next two months.

He says the contractor who is helping out with the project has not been hired to do so by the county.

Pflug told the full Board of Supervisors, this week, that it will have an opportunity to review the design before the design is sent to an architect.

He says once the architectural work is finished, the project can go out for bid.

"If we can get everything together," says Pflug, "we can start looking at construction maybe next year."

The supervisors are expected to take a closer look at the proposed site for the building early next month.

It's unclear, at this time, how much the building will cost and from where the money will come from to pay for it.

TEMPORARY WORKER WAGE HIKE

Lee County's temporary, part-time employees are now being paid the same as their counterparts.

The Board of Supervisors previously agreed to amend the county's personnel policy.

The affected employees now make the same amount as a full-time employee with the same job description.

They were previously paid 90% of the full-time employee's pay.

This does not entitle the temporary workers to health insurance or benefits.

ROAD GRANT

It could be several months before Lee County finds out whether its Secondary Roads department has received a state grant to improve County Road J-40.

The $500,000 grant would be used to widen the road's shoulders and add rumple strips between West Point and Fort Madison.

The supervisors agreed to cover any costs not covered by the grant funding.

Jason Parrott is a former reporter at Tri States Public Radio.