FAIRMONT — The Martin County Commissioners on Tuesday heard from Chuck Mixson, a volunteer with the Martin County Veterans Memorial Committee, regarding some additional construction requirements and costs for the Martin County Veterans Memorial site.

Mixson said he got the engineering plans for the memorial retaining wall from Bolton and Menk. He took the plans, along with the plans for the sidewalks, down to the building inspector and said they’re signed and approved.

“Then I found out we need to have a land disturbance permit, so we have to put in a gravel drive behind the wall so if any cement trucks or equipment come in they’re not tracking stuff out there,” Mixson said.

He said some extra things need to be done in order for them to proceed with the project. These include additional rebar, bending of the rebar, cement, wattling, excavations needed to widen the footing on the retaining wall, permit fees and engineering costs.

The estimated additional cost is $10,636, which will be expended from the State Bond Funds for the project.

Mixson brought pictures of what the life-size bronze statues of military soldiers representing past and current wars will look like. He said the Afghanistan/Iraq statue will be a female statue, which will be about 5-foot-8 once all the gear is on, just the facial features will look different. After that, Mixson said they’ll do the Navy statue. The male statues measure 6-foot tall.

Commission Elliot Belgard shared, “A Navy bell has been donated. It will be nice to ring if someone is having a funeral there, or for any reason. It’s a very nice bell that a private citizen donated. He was a Navy veteran.”

Mixson said he found someone who will engrave the black granite with names. He said the lettering matches what’s already been done.

“Right now we’re paying about $115 to $118 a name. I have his bid right here and he’ll do it for $55 plus set up,” Mixson said.

Mixson added that the individual is comfortable adding anywhere from seven to 15 names at a time and that he will be in the area often.

“I’m going to try to get it all done this year, but these guys are busy we’re at the end of the construction season. Trying to pull three contractors together to get this done could be difficult at this point in time. All of the permits are done, I just need permission to buy this stuff,” Mixson said.

The board approved of the additional costs needed to move forward with the project.

Moving to other matters, the commissioners head from Cassie Nordquist, of USI Insurance Services, regarding a Wellness Incentive Program.

“We’re looking to create a wellness program that’s all around incentivizing employees to engage with a primary health provider and make sure that they’re doing annual check-ups each year. That’s the basis of the program and where we want to start,” said Nordquist.

She said it’s surprising how many people don’t have a primary care provider and it’s important in terms of early detection and prevention. She said from a cost perspective of the plan, it’s also less costly at that stage.

Nordquist said she reviewed several programs and is recommending the county go with ZOMO. The price to manage the program through ZOMO is $2.50 per employee per month, which comes out to $3,750 each year, assuming 125 employees enroll.

“There’s a lot of really great tools and resources through them. There’s newsletters, challenges, exercise videos, nutrition trackers, a lot of great resources for a reasonable price,” said Nordquist.

Employees will be asked to get an annual physical, which is 100 percent covered. They’ll complete and submit a form through ZOMO and then Martin County will report back with participation.

“The incentive is $200 a year and if Martin County gets 75 percent participation by December 1, we’ll add an additional $50,” Nordquist said.

Commissioner Belgard asked if they will be able to add to the program down the line in order to keep employees well. Nordquist said that will be possible down the line, she just recommends starting with something basic so as not to overwhelm participants.

Nordquist stressed that the program isn’t required but is structured around incentive.

“There will be some pushback from people that don’t want to do it and they don’t have to do it. What we’re saying is we like our employees and we want to keep them healthy and we’re going to give them something to do that,” said Belgard.

The board approved entering into the wellness incentive program for 2022.

In other news, the board considered revising the COVID Preparedness Plan since as of last week, the county is in high transmission rating per the CDC.

“The CDC is strongly recommending the use of mask indoors or when socially distancing is challenging,” said Leigha Johnson, HR Director.

The board voted to update the plan to include “strongly recommending to mask while inside,” but it will not be required as of now.

In other action, the board:

— Approved to change from current provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield, to Medica through the South Central Co-op as Martin County’s health care provider.

— Approved the employment of Ian Jordan as a Highway Maintenance Specialist.

— Approved the hire/promotion of Christine Hasek as Branch and Outreach Librarian for Martin County Library System.

— Approved adjusting the hourly rate of pay for part-time library page positions from $10.08 per hour to $12.50 per hour.