Some have gotten on board with the idea of repairing the bridge at South Walnut Lake, while others still see it leading nowhere.

At least, that was the case at the Faribault County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday.

County Engineer John McDonald attended the meeting and presented a recommendation from the Department of Natural Resources regarding the bridge project.

“They have received a bid for $405,000 and recommend we accept that bid for the project,”?McDonald says.

The bid came from Structural Specialties, a contractor out of Hutchinson, and the commissioners voted to accept the bid, with one no vote.

“Why can’t the DNR?use the money some other way,”?Commissioner Tom Warmka asks after voting against the bid.

Even though he knew the county was only serving as a fiscal agent for the project, he still questioned the way tax dollars were being spent.

“I feel they could focus on trying to prevent invasive species and things like that, instead,”?he adds.

But, the DNR secured the necessary permits, found grants and programs and received bids to make this project happen.

Weather permitting, the bridge project is to be completed by July 31 of next year.

The commissioners also discussed other projects, except these are going to take place right in the courthouse.

One project, which was brought up at a June meeting during a discussion about the security at the courthouse, was revisited on Tuesday.

When the idea first came up, they talked about hiring out a firm to do a security assessment.

“If Scott (Adams) and I?do a walk through, there wouldn’t be a cost,”?Sheriff Mike Gormley says.

The two would assess the security at the courthouse and report back to the commissioners.

The other project that came up at the meeting was replacing the carpet and repainting in some offices in the courthouse.

The lowest bid for carpet came from Dikken’s at $13,790.16. The lowest bid for painting was from Tammy Zabel at $3,000. The board accepted the lowest bids.

In other business;

Mary Schimek and other members of the Faribault County Historical Society reported to the commissioners.

They shared some of the projects they work on each year and thanked the county for their contributions.

“We’d like to thank you and hope to continue to get support from you,”?Schimek says.

Daryl Murray, Faribault County Fair board president, also attended the meeting to present the financial standing of the Faribault County Fair Board and where their money is applied each year.

He told the commissioners that a lot went toward the free entertainment at the fairgrounds, which is a big draw.

The board approved the hire of part-time help in the Veterans Service Office.

Donna Steele and Angela Murphy will be working about 10 hours a week in October to scan in old military records.