Commissioners discuss fate of airport hangars

The Hot Springs County Museum is one step closer to having a new roof over their heads.

The Hot Springs County Commissioners accepted a bid from Red Roofing, Co. of Powell to fix the museum roof, which has been leaking periodically over the past year or so.

Masonry work will have to be completed before the work on the actual roof can begin, but the company feels it can get the job finished late this summer or early fall.

The commissioners also approved seeking an estimate through High Plains Power for running utilities along the apron area at the new county airport.

The lines will be both above ground in some areas and below ground in others, making their way to where the SRE building and hangars will eventually be built.

By bringing the lines this far, the hangar owners will then have the option of hooking into the electricity or going without.

There has been lengthy discussion regarding hangars at the new airport.

Some would like to purchase the hangars they already use at the current airport and move them to the new location, while others want to build new per the specifications created by the commissioners.

Still others are interested in purchasing several of the hangars and moving them to the new airport, creating a rental situation for those who do not want to purchase or build their own.

The commissioners are not certain what the ramifications are regarding selling the hangars, if they may be sold outright or must go to bid, so they must wait for input from county attorney Jerry Williams before making any kind of decision.

A few months ago the commissioners started looking into a company that would allow the public to view things like the budget or expenditures online, making our county government more transparent.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the commissioners discussed the ins and outs of the project with the company that would put everything online in order to get an idea of costs and contract length.

The fees are based on the county’s income with a tiered structure in place. While the contract would be good for three years, if, at any time during that three years the county’s coffers were to decrease, there would be a discount on the fees until such time as the income rose again.

No action was taken regarding signing the county on with the company, but they are going to discuss it further during their budget meetings in May.