Commissioners get project updates

Things are starting to slow down for the season out at the Hot Springs County Airport according to FBO Nate Messenger.

Now that spraying is over and most of the fishing season is at an end, Messenger said their fuel sales have dropped a bit, but they still had 116 total operations at the airport during the month of October.

Those operations included turbo prop aircraft, twin engine piston aircraft, three helicopters and even four jets along with 40 single engine aircraft.

Messenger said they are having a little problem with the wind sensor out at the airport. Apparently it is only running intermittently and he called the manufacturer, only to find that it is no longer supported and will need to be upgraded. The commissioners agreed that he should just monitor the system as long as possible before having to make the $5,000 upgrade.

County Road and Bridge supervisor Dave Schlager told the commissioners they’ve finally got the tractor back so most of the mowing that needed done has been taken care of.

His crews are also working on culvert extensions in the Sand Draw area, cleaning cattle guards and doing some sanding in various areas.

Schlager and the commissioners discussed gravel crushing that will need to be taken care of before too long. The last prices they had were about $4 per ton of crashed gravel, but right now that price is double at $8.

Schlager proposed waiting a bit and putting the job, about 25,000 tons of gravel, out to bid. He added that most companies are looking for work in winter, so we may be able to get a much better price if we hold off a little longer.

There are some serious issues with the roof at the Hot Springs County Museum that are going to have to be taken care of as soon as possible.

Maintenance supervisor Anthony Fruciano said there are 10-11 spots that are leaking right now and wanted the commissioners to consider an emergency overlay as a temporary fix.

Fruciano had the consultant and engineer that worked on the Senior Center’s roof come take a look and they discovered the issue is not just the cracks created by the summer hailstorms, but holes where screws were put in and then pulled back out.

The thought is to fill the holes and seal them temporarily and then have the consultant and engineer determine what the best solution is going to be.

Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Gordon told the commissioners he has found a solution that will put an emergency alarm in the hands of everyone within the courthouse building.

The program will put an individual alarm on each computer that will allow whomever is using it to trigger the alarm in the case of an intruder, fire or threat. If the silent alarm is activated, a message screen will pop up on every other computer screen in the building with a warning so they may take the proper precautions.

Gordon said this is a great security fix and is just the beginning of a system they can add on to as funding permits. This program will be funded through the courthouse security grant.