Washington courthouse reopening going smoothly, report says

The Washington County Courthouse opened Tuesday, July 21, and so far things are going smoothly, according to County Supervisor Jack Seward Jr.

A monitor is posted at the door to make sure there are not too many people in any one office at any given time. Seward said people with business at the courthouse would be advised to call ahead to make an appointment to avoid having to wait outside the building if there are too many people in the department they wish to visit when they arrive.

At its regular meeting Tuesday, the Washington County Board of Supervisors heard a report from Public Health Administrator Danielle Pettit-Majewski who said that the number of COVID-19 cases in the county is trending up and that there have been 11 deaths in the county to date.

She said neither the state nor the county breaks out the ages of the people who have died on the county level but those statistics are available on the state level.

Seward said the Iowa Department of Public Health website reports that there have been no deaths in the 0 to 17 age group in Iowa and only 2 percent of the deaths in the state have been in the 18 to 40 age group.

'This should make people feel more comfortable about opening up the schools,” he said.

Workforce

The supervisors approved a shared liability agreement with Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Johnson, Jones and Linn Counties to form an organization to work together to ensure workforce activities are meeting the needs of job seekers and businesses throughout the local area.

Personnel Changes

The supervisors approved 10 personnel changes including:

' Moving Brandon Banks, Jamie Deizell, Jese Hammes, Zachary Morison, Bruce Murphy, Dan Stigers and Randall Tisor to inactive status on the Washington County rescue squad with thanks for their service.

' Hiring new on-call employee Darren Dennnier as a transportation employee at the county jail at $14.27 an hour and as a temporary door monitor at the courthouse at $17.47 an hour during the COVID-19 pandemic.

' Changing the start date of new full-time employee Sandre Jara at the county attorney's office from Aug. 3 to July 28.

Other Business

In other business, the supervisors:

' Learned that Wellman plans to move ahead with a request for annexing property owned by Dollar General.

' Heard a recycling update from Lynn Whaley of We Make It Go Away (WEMIGA).

' Heard a COVID-19 update report

' Approved an integrated roadside vegetation management general plan developed by County Engineer Jacob Thorius as part of a grant proposal.