By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A new heated dock for the county lake appears finally to be in sight after commissioners approved a contract Monday with Nelson Fowles Construction.

The contract will be to be reviewed by legal counsel and county clerk Tina Spencer and signed by commission chairman Randy Dallke if no changes are needed.

The sheltered portion of the dock would be 52 feet by 24 feet, compared with the old 35 feet by 70 feet for the old dock, which was damaged by a storm July 4, 2019.

“One of the big changes is that we talked about getting rid of the storage room,” lake superintendent Isaac Hett said. “I do think that would be a good place to start saving some money. It’s not do or die.”

Hett said the construction company could get started as soon as the contract is signed.

Deck portions retrieved earlier from Ben’s Boat Docks, which failed to complete building the dock, will not be used. Instead, Hett and commissioners talked about listing the pieces on an online auction site or possibly selling them directly to an interested party.

Commissioners also talked Monday about budgeting for next year.

Road work planned for 2021 through 2024 needs to be clearly defined so the county can budget accordingly, accountant Scot Loyd told commissioners.

Other budget issues included whether the budget reflected a pay plan earlier adopted by commissioners and whether estimates for cost of employee benefits were available.

Commissioners also told Loyd about recent flood damage to the dam at the county lake but said no cost estimates for repair were available.

Engineer Brice Goebel told commissioners lake residents had expressed concern about drivers’ speeds. The county’s 55 mph speed zone changes to 35 mph at the lake.

Goebel said one solution would be to reduce speed further north on Upland Rd. Another would be to build rumble strips where the speed limit changes.