Louisa County Public Well being is transferring to a brand new location within the County Complicated

WAPELLO – Louisa County’s public health service is finally on the move this week, LCPHS Administrator Roxanne Smith told the county’s health committee during its regular meeting Tuesday.

District officials have worked for over seven years to complete the move of the LCPHS from its Wapello office to its new headquarters in the Louisa County Complex.

A 2015 feasibility study by the Regional Planning Commission for Southeast Iowa found that the LCPHS move could be completed, eventually prompting the board of directors to begin planning the renovation of the building in preparation for the move.

The board of directors also moved forward with the renovation of the former Louisa County Sheriff’s office in Wapello to a county annex around the same time. This enabled the county veterans affairs and emergency management to move from the county complex to the renovated county annex in November 2016.

However, delays in completing renovations at the complex, COVID-19 and other issues delayed the LCPHS moving into the complex until this week when it finally began.

More:The surge in COVID-19 cases in Louisa County could delay the public health care move to a new building

“We are in full swing with our move,” Smith told BOH on Tuesday.

She said IT and phone services were complete and the move would likely be completed by Friday, provided there are no unforeseen delays. Smith warned, however, that the office won’t necessarily be fully operational that day.

“We should operate by Monday,” she said.

Smith said she hadn’t published a public notice of the move, but would publish something in the local newspapers next week. In the meantime, she said the LCPHS would post a notice on the LCPHS website, as well as post notices on social media sites.

“Put a sign on the door,” suggested BOH member Lynn Mincer. Smith said she will.

BOH Chairman Randy Griffin, who also sits on the district board of directors, said he saw new signage for US-61 vehicular traffic going to the new office location on Tuesday.

More:Separating the signs could solve the Louisa County Complex’s road sign problem

Water tests covered for property owners, new DNR agreement on wells

In another action during the meeting, the BOH checked the environmental health activities with the district medic Brian Thye.

Thye said he is still struggling to get rural landowners in the county to use a new state law on water testing. According to Thye, the state will allocate up to $ 300 for each well that needs to be shock chlorinated.

He said only five of the tests were completed in August.

Smith said she would develop a notice for publication in local newspapers to increase interest in the program.

Thye also reported on a revised 28E agreement with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. He said the new agreement adds some additional procedures Thye must begin with before issuing water well permits.

Smith also provided the BOH with a financial update.

More:Mask requirement returning to schools in West Burlington amid COVID-19 concerns

Changes to the COVID website, update

As a final measure, Smith said the COVID-19 website, which she and other county health officials now only use weekly, and new numbers are not yet available. She said the latest numbers were last updated on September 7th.

According to an email Smith sent to district managers Tuesday, the last available COVID-19 positivity rate was 11.4% after she was unable to attend the manager’s meeting in person to present her monthly department update. In the past seven days, 36 new cases had occurred and 4,795 residents of the district had been fully vaccinated.