Commissioners approve courthouse chiller warranty

Howard County Commissioners approved several items during its meeting Monday afternoon.

At the start of the meeting, County Judge Kathryn Wiseman had commissioners sign a document related to tax abatement in the county that was approved at the previous meeting, but needed signatures.

County Treasurer Sharon Adams presented personnel considerations, as well as her Quarterly and Monthly treasurer's reports, all of which were approved unanimously.

County Auditor Jackie Olson presented invoices as well as $19,408 in purchase requests. Commissioners approved both items. Olson also presented her monthly financial report, and an item regarding the warranty on the courthouse HVAC chiller, which will be installed in the near future.

The commissioners approved a warranty which includes two maintenance visits annually from the Baltimore-based company. The cost of the option is a total of $25,971.

In other business, the commissioners heard a roadway maintenance update from Road Engineer Brian Klinksiek.

Klinksiek answered questions related to storms and flooding over the weekend, saying the portion of the county outside Big Spring did not see major damage.

“We did not,” he said. “TXDoT lost part of the South Service Road just west of Moss Lake Road. We had some flooding out in the county, that was about it. We did have parking lot damage at the Library. We had a piece of that washed out this morning. We picked up the debris and patched it, and it's open as we speak.”

Klinksiek also said a large tree limb fell in front of the north Courthouse entrance, and his crew removed it. The storm tracked along Interstate 20, so damage was fairly tightly limited to about one mile either side of the highway. He noted that rain gauge measurements indicated some parts of the county received seven inches of rain in about two hours.

County Clerk Brent Zitterkopf requested approval of a change to the county's merchant processing agreement with Merrick Bank to use a different credit card for charges, which won't cost the county any extra fees.

The commissioners met in brief executive session at the end of the meeting, but did not conduct any business when they returned to open session.