Published: May 26, 2009 10:56 pm      

Commissioners award job bids

DUNCAN — Local companies were awarded bids Tuesday at the Stephens County commissioner’s meeting, keeping county revenue generating more of the same.

The first bid approved was for the purchase of Roundup Glyfos X-TRA, used to kill vegetation around bridges and on highways. It went to Comanche Seed & Grain for $660 for a 30-gallon drum, with the price good through Aug. 1.

And Dan Barkley Sales in Marlow landed the contract for a water tanker for district 2, at the bid of $19,550. Commissioner Todd Churchman said the bid was not the lowest, and came in about $1,000 higher than another bid submitted from a Missouri-based company, yet there were advantages to approving it. He cited the vendor’s location and no time frame given as to when the tanker would be available, for rejecting the lower bid. He also mentioned that time travel to go pick up the tanker would be costly. The tanker would be available to the county within 30 days, Churchman said.

Also, commissioners heard about EPA emissions changes, and they gave both Mike Milton and Sheriff Wayne McKinney the go-ahead to pursue projects that would improve working conditions at their respective departments. Milton is the administrative director of the Stephens County Health Department.

Milton asked the commissioners for approval to proceed with an upgrade of the heating and air conditioning system at the health department. The current one that runs through the north and east side of the building has its ductwork under the ground. He said that water gets into that ductwork and it creates several issues. Milton was mostly concerned about the growth of mold and mildew.

The original structure of the health department was built in 1960 and the additions in the 1980s. Milton said Cavin Design Group was the original builders and it was estimated that the upgrade of the system could be anywhere from $40,000 to $80,000. He said there is money in the health department’s budget to cover the project.

McKinney also received the OK from the commissioners to begin the relocation of the control room in the county jail up a level. A new stairway will need to be installed and there are two options McKinney is considering. One is a circular stairway and the other is a zig-zag level.

“The room will allow our people to have a better vantage point,” McKinney said.

Commissioner Dee Bowen said that it appears it would also be safer, “more secure.”

“We have to make sure our employees are safe,” McKinney said.

Ken Schmitz, a representative for Bruckner Truck Sales, talked to the commissioners about the major changes regarding EPA emissions and diesel engines.

He said the EPA will not allow any more smoke to expel from diesel engines and that a special ceramic filter must be installed on engines. There were several factors that he spoke of, with the biggest one being that the changes will add about $10,000 to the price tag of any diesel vehicle. He said it would include any county trucks, farm equipment or any vehicle that uses diesel and travels on a public highway.

“They all will have to meet the EPA standards,” he said.

In other business, Churchman was happy to report that work began Tuesday on a third county bridge. The bridge is east of Empire, and is an old narrow one-lane bridge.

“School buses had to take turns crossing it,” he said. “We wanted to wait until school was out. It will take about two weeks to build and another two to cure, so about 30 days.”

This bridge project is figured around $20,000, he said.

“It’s just cost effective for us to do it this way. We get so much more done with the same money.”

Churchman said one recent project was completed for under $40,000, but contracting the job out would have meant a $90,000 price tag. That’s why he said, they choose to build the bridges.

“Our labor force costs us the same, whether we sit at the barn or are out working,” Churchman said.