The Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District board voted unanimously on Monday to get an engineering assessment of what to do next about a recent landslide that has closed Stateline Drive. District Manager Lawrence Blood estimated 1.3 acres between the rock bluff on which Holiday Island Dr. runs, and Stateline Dr. down below, has been impacted. So far, 400 cubic yards of dirt and debris have been hauled away to relieve pressure on the slide area.
Blood said the slide has settled toward its bottom edge but continues to amass toward the top. In addition, a source of water, which previously flowed underground, redirected and is now dampening the middle of the slide area making it difficult to traverse.
This section is apparently prone to slides because there was another one during the rains in April 2017. Blood is unsure whether the area is stable enough for crews to work, so the sentiment of the board was for him to get a strategy from engineers for stabilizing the slide and removing the jumble of debris and mud.
Blood said his road crew does not have the equipment to handle this, so he will need to hire outside crews and equipment to take care it. He will see if the county can provide assistance.
Commissioners were also concerned the area be blockaded securely so drivers do not simply go around barriers. There will be follow-up discussion at a meeting Friday, April 27.
Heat pump upgrade
Bobby Deaton of Island Airco delivered the unfortunate that one of the heat pumps serving the HISID office has an irreparable leak. It’s a 1995 model, so the condenser coil is no longer available. He also mentioned these units usually have a life span of 12-15 years, so the district was lucky it got 23 years out of it.
His proposal to replace the faulty unit would cost the district $8108 for the heat pump, upgrade of the copper line, and reconfiguring their several units because they were not installed properly.
Blood said this would be an unanticipated and unbudgeted expense and he would do what he could to absorb the cost. Commission voted to accept the bid.
Credit where credit is due
Board Chair David Makidon announced the Volunteer of the Month was Drenda Higdon who heads up the HI Emergency Preparedness Team and the Fire Department Auxiliary. Makidon said Higdon sees to it firefighters get a hot meal after fighting fires.
This month’s Employee of the Month was Cody Harp of the Road Department. Makidon said Harp went beyond the call of duty when there was a water leak at midnight, and in an emergency he cut down a tree to save a nearby power line.
Other items
- Resident Keith Smith, a former electrician, said he noticed from a readout that a pump for one well was costing as much in electricity as the entire sewer plant, and offered to help the district save money by looking at the wiring in certain pumps.
- Blood said bids for replacing the fuel line at the marina would be opened this week, and commissioners will see them at the next meeting.
Next meeting will be 9 a.m., Friday, April 27.