Commissioners approve two contracts for fire station

County commissioners on Monday approved two contracts for improvements to the Broadway Fire Station. Badillo Construction was awarded a contract in the amount of$26,000 for strengthening the ceiling to accommodate a storage area and for a heating and air conditioning unit. McCoy Construction was awarded a contract in the amount of $49,254 for paving of the parking area.

Commissioners also voted to accept a letter of credit (otherwise known as a “payment bond”)  in lieu of a bond for Badillo Construction. Mr. Badillo, present at the meeting, said that he could provide a bond as he has in previous construction jobs.

Becky Brewster, the grant administrator, said that the project must be completed by Nov. 15, and that any change orders would require approval by the state and the engineer in charge.

Commissioners also discussed an airport inspection report that said that brush must be immediately cleared at the end of the runways. Aside from the relatively easy task of having county crews remove the brush, the topic again was raised about the lack of a Pulse Light Approach Slope Indicator System (PLASI) and an Automatic Weather Observation System (AWOS).

According to Larry Simpson, airport manager, the airport has had no major renovations in at least 10 years. He told commissioners that aside from Presidio County Airport, Culberson County Airport was the only airport without these two vital navigational tools that pilots are demanding, primarily for safety reasons.

Mr. Simpson added that larger airplanes are landing at the airport, but that he regularly receives complaints about the lack of a PLASI or AWOS system. In fact, he said, some operators have threatened to avoid Culberson County Airport altogether if the situation is not remediated, they will elect to land their planes at another airport.

Mr. Simpson provided commissioners recommendations for renovations that would vastly improve the quality and the safety of the airport. These include:

•Acquire and install a PLASI and AWOS

•Kill grass and weeds on runways and taxiways before they are too difficult to handle and can cause cracks to the pavement

•Certify the load bearing capacity of runways. Jet operators want to know that the airport’s runways can handle the weight of their jets.

•Lengthen Runway 3-21 by 2,000 feet to accommodate larger jets.  We asked Mr. Simpson if a Boeing 737 could land here, and he said that it would require a minimum of 8,000 feet for take-off and for landing.  The current length of the longest runway is 6,000 feet.

•Moving the firing range at the departure end of Runway 3-21. The range is a potential liability to the county in the event a plane receives a bullet upon takeoff or landing.

`In other action, commissioners

•Approved a burn ban effective immediately

•Voted in favor of providing all county offices with Caller ID

•Approved leasing a vehicle for the Nutrition Center

•Tabled transferring a Ford F-150 from Sheriff’s Office to the Road and Bridge Department

•Tabled an item approving utility permit request by Alpha Crude Connector LLC to cross County Road  454

•Approved usage of the County Park for the June Jubilee to be held June 19 and June 20

•Approved County and District Clerk’s requests for approval of Spectrum Agreement; Approval of iDocket contract and approval to find a suitable credit card system

•Listened to a presentation from Daniel Cedillos on establishing a volunteer rescue squad for Culberson County

•Approved contracting with nCourt LLC to provide JP 3 with an online payment system.