County OKs bids for pavilion
The kitchen in the Phillips County Pavilion is getting closer to completion, with contractors selected for two major projects, Phillips County Board of Commissioners announced at its Friday, Sept. 29, meeting.
The board approved bids for the installation of a commercial restaurant exhaust hood and a wet chemical kitchen hood fire extinguisher system in the kitchen.
Spotts Brothers of Fort Morgan will install the exhaust hood for $16,344, which includes the price of purchase. Nebraska Safety and Fire Equipment will install the extinguisher system for $4,697.
Commissioners also heard a report from project manager Matt Brasby on areas of the pavilion that are still under development. Ongoing projects include the HVAC system, electrical wiring, bathrooms and carpentry.
2019 budget meetings continue
Commissioners reported at the Sept. 29 meeting that they met with the heads of various groups in September to discuss requests for the 2019 budget.
Board members attended a regional budget meeting and CC Eastern District meeting in Akron on Sept. 14. There, regional organizations presented budget requests to a number of counties.
The board also met with county department heads Sept. 18 to hear their requests for the 2019 budget. Meetings with other department heads are planned for the near future.
County discusses tractor, grader issues
The fate of equipment belonging to the Phillips County Maintenance and Road and Bridge departments was also discussed by commissioners at last week’s meeting.
A tractor belonging to the Maintenance Department is currently down for major repairs. The board reviewed quotations from Central Plains Equipment, 21st Century Equipment and Wickham Tractor for a replacement.
Leases on three John Deere graders being used by the Road and Bridge Department are set to expire in March 2019. The board, along with Road and Bridge Department manager Mike Salyards and assistant manager Kevin Scott, met with Carlos Koons of 4Rivers Equipment, which is leasing the machines to the county.
Koons gave a presentation to the County representatives about options for re-leasing or purchasing the machines.
The County has yet to make final decisions on either the tractor or the graders.
Other business
In other September business, the board:
— Noted it will be hiring a full- or part-time worker to serve as landfill manager, following the departure of Troy Brown on Sept. 14.
— Announced the hiring of Kathleen Fowler as the new accountant for the Human Services department. Fowler will replace Sharon Michael, who was elected county treasurer and will start her new position in January.
— Approved the $2,000 purchase of additional disc storage for backup in the county network at the recommendation of County IT provider Platinum Technology.