Cape Girardeau County stocking up on PPE

The Cape Girardeau County Commission on Monday authorized the emergency purchase of up to $100,000 worth of personal protective equipment for use during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic for use by various entities within the county.

Mark Winkler, the county’s emergency management director, told the commissioners he has received requests for masks, goggles, gloves and other PPE from county agencies, rural fire protection districts and several public and parochial school districts.

As a result of those requests, Winkler said his office is “putting together some numbers” on the types and costs of the PPE “in case there is a resurgence” of the coronavirus.

Winkler said PPE purchases can be paid for out of the county’s $9.2 million share of federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding.

“My recommendation would be to go ahead and order now,” Winkler said. “We can make subsequent orders before the end of the year if there is a spike or an additional need.”

Winkler told the commissioners he is in touch with multiple PPE suppliers and will obtain multiple quotes on PPE he orders.

“We’re trying to get the most for the least amount of money, of course, ensuring quality all the way,” he said.

In other business Monday, the commissioners authorized Cape Girardeau County Recorder of Deeds Drew Blattner to seek bids for the county’s ongoing process of digitizing and microfilming the county’s marriage license records.

The county began a multiyear process of digitizing marriage records last year and, according to Blattner, most of the work is complete. The additional work, he said, will be to digitize “loose leaf” records from 1942 through the spring of 1968.

Blattner said up to half of the estimated $50,000 project cost would be paid by a state grant with the other half paid through the county’s records preservation fund.

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