McPHERSON COUNTY, Kan. — McPherson County Commissioner David O’Dell gave a report at Monday’s Commission meeting on progress of the McPherson County Building renovations, which as of last week is 55 percent complete.
O’Dell noted Fuqua Construction was able to re-use some of the existing doors, and there will be change orders coming reflecting that along with some things coming in at a lower cost than budgeted.
Sheetrock work is nearly complete on the 5th floor where painting has begun, with that work continuing with the 3rd and 4th floors. One thing they are looking at adding is heating to the sidewalk on the west side of the building, which is connected to the new entry doors.
O’Dell also said the license tag display in the current Treasurer’s office at the Courthouse is going to be relocated to McPherson College’s automotive restoration program facility, as they won’t have the space to display it at their new space in the county building.
Emergency Management and Communications Director Emily Yates gave an update on the new Windom tower project, for which microwave dishes have now been installed at the new Windom site, and work will now begin on the dishes at the Moundridge site. Yates said she will know more about timelines after a meeting Wednesday. The Commission also approved an end of introductory raise for an Emergency Communications dispatcher.
McPherson Airport Manager Cynthia Peterson presented a proposed revision to a fuel system project that’s mostly funded through FAA and Kansas Department of Transportation tanks. Peterson said they are looking at replacing the existing 12,000 gallon AvGas and 10,000 gallon jet fuel tanks with smaller tanks, of 8,000 and 5,000 gallon capacity respectively.
The existing tanks were installed at a time when the fixed based operator at the airport was involved in a lot of delivery work and training of Central College students. By going to the smaller size tanks there will be less risk of fuel going bad due to age, which Peterson said they have come close to having to deal with in the past.
The change order is expected to reduce the total cost of the project, which is currently estimated at around $1 million.
