Mental Health Awareness Month addressed at Waushara County Board

Clara Voightlander, Department of Human Services Director, addressed the Waushara County Board on May 16th to give them an update on Mental Health Awareness Month and activities that are planned to promote awareness. Voightlander said that the month kicked off with county employees wearing green to bring awareness to mental health. She said that a committee has been formed and is working on supporting the staff with a better understanding of mental health and well being. Voightlander said departments within the county have discussed issues and that is one thing that may be lacking to recruit and retain employees. Presently they are working mindfulness, meditation, and gratitude. A walk and lunch on the courthouse lawn is planned for the week of May 22nd. “A happy staff is a productive staff and that is what we are working on,” said Voightlander. The annual report for the Department of Aging Services was presented by Debbie Paavola, Director. Paavola’s most exciting news is that the Poy Sippi EMS/Senior Dining Center is near completion and she expects the first meals to be served out of there in early June with a grand opening mid-June. The department continues to face challenges with the cost of raw food increasing 13.63%, equaling out to $15,000. In 2022 the central kitchen prepared 41,708 meals. Presently they are nearly fully staffed except for a person at the kitchen center and one at the dining center person in Wild Rose. Another challenge the Dept. of Aging faced was taking over the transportation services from Waushara Industries. “We believe we increased fees and that will be enough to offset an increase in the budget for 2024,” Paavola said. Social isolation is a concern and the department continues to address it and they presently have a task force working together to see how the county can improve. A Senior Connections booklet is being developed and the friendly caller program updated. In 2022 there were 163 volunteers that provided over 4,000 hours of service. Paavola stressed the importance of these volunteers. They are re-evaluating the dining centers to see if they will be serving meals onsite additional days, reassessing everyone getting home delivered meals to see if some are able to get to the dining centers rather than having meals delivered. Sarah Luchini, Finance Director, gave a report on the Finance Department and said they are prepping for the 2024 budget. She said that worksheets would be going out to the department heads in July. This past month Melissa Pingel, Administrator, Barry West, IT, Jessica Jaeger, treasurer, and Luchini attended very informative sessions recently on the Tyler system, an IT system that will serve all the departments in the county government. She also addressed the importance of cross training. Ruth Zouski, Corporation Counsel, addressed the board on several items including a request to use not more than $498,000 of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act)Funds for the plumbing upgrades including controls and valves through I-Con at the Waushara County Jail. Zouski stressed that it is important to do these upgrades as it has been 20 years. The board approved the request. She said presently there are $642,000 of ARPA funds that are not allocated. An issue of an insurance claim that has not yet been paid for damage to the Barbola Funeral Home in Poy Sippi due to an ambulance that rolled into the building, was explained and addressed. Zouski said the insurance company and manufacturer of the ambulance has not paid any of the claim after 11 months, therefore she asked the board for approval to have the county pay it while they await the insurance settlement. The board unanimously approved the payment. The board appointed Sara Stelter, FSA Rep., Wautoma, and Chris Riley, Alternate FSA Rep., Wautoma to a Term through April of 2026 to the Land, Water and Education Committee. They also appointed Jewel Mucklin, Wautoma, to the Library Services Committee through May of 2026.