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CASSOPOLIS — For the first time in more than a year, the public was welcomed into the Cass County Board of Commissioners’ meeting room Thursday evening, as COVID-19 meeting limits have been lifted across the state. A virtual streaming option was also offered to Cass County residents who could not attend the meeting in person.

After commissioners gladly welcomed back the public, they got down to business.

Among a list of items addressed during Thursday meeting was a resolution to approve a county hyperconverged infrastructure project. The project, which was approved unanimously, will replace the county’s current computer infrastructure system and provide the county with maintenance and storage services. The project is being handled by Avalon Technologies and will cost $235,844.

The project is projected to be completed in six to eight weeks.

According to a letter sent by Cass County Administrator Jeff Carmen, the county’s current computer infrastructure system is running at maximum capacity and is at 98 percent capacity for useable storage.

“Currently, we do not have the available resources for the projected growth and needs of our organization,” he wrote. “Because of the age of the data domains used for backups, the maintenance costs continue to rise each year.”

Carmen said he believes the new hyperconverged infrastructure will meet the need of the county for future growth and flexibility.

Also Thursday, the Cass County Board of Commissioners made the following appoints to county boards and commissions:

• Anna Murphy was appointed to the Kinexus board for a term ending June 30, 2024.
• Arlandar Washington was appointed to the Kinexus board for a term ending June 30, 2024.
• Robert Benjamin was appointed to the Woodlands board for a term ending March 31, 2024.