Spring is just around the corner, and the Carroll County Airport Commission will soon have to begin mowing to keep grass below airport standards.
Commissioner Morris Pate said the grass could not grow longer than 15 inches, as once the grass gets that high, it becomes hard to mow. The 64 acres must be mowed weekly, Pate said, and commissioners at the Feb. 21 meeting discussed the mowing equipment on hand. A zero-turn radius mower does a good job on the internal areas around the airport, but will soon need to be replaced. A zero-turn mower of sufficient size might cost $10,000 or more, and commissioners decided to look into buying a finish deck for their tractor. The finish deck will do a better job than a bush hog, will be faster than the zero-turn mower, and will cost much less.
Justice of the Peace John Howerton attended the meeting as a representative of the quorum court, and he was asked if the county might help. Howerton said such requests “have met with a lot of resistance” in the past. He said it might be possible for JPs to appropriate equipment into the county judge’s budget, which he could then make available to the airport.
In other business:
- Commissioners approved an estimate of $8,500 to install a hangar door. They balked at the price initially, but the money comes from a grant and could not be used on other projects. The commission has had a year to look for a less expensive local contractor, and they need to complete the project. “We’re losing revenue,” commissioner Dave Teigen said.
- Airport Manager Michael Pfeifer said the buried wiring for the fuel system is “haywired,” and could fail at any time. He asked a local electrician for an estimate on replacing the wiring, and the electrician spent an hour in assessment before admitting that he could not tell how the system was wired. The system includes a kill box and a trip shunt breaker, but commissioners still hope to find a local contractor. They will also seek a price from the contractor who originally installed the system.
- At the January meeting, commissioners discussed converting a mop closet to a shower for the convenience of pilots and mowers. They found that they would have to make it handicapped-accessible, and that would require an expensive remodel. One of the two restrooms would have to be converted to a unisex facility, and the other would accommodate the shower. With a price tag of as much as $15,000, they removed the item from further consideration.
This meeting was originally scheduled for Feb. 15, but the commission did not have a quorum. The next meeting will be at noon on Friday, March 15. A fly-in is scheduled the following day.