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Hangars at county airport must come into compliance or no lease
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By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
Persons owning airplane hangars at the Houston County Airport will be asked to bring them up to compliance or their leases will not be renewed. The county board unanimously approved a motion to that effect during the May 19 board meeting.
County Engineer Brian Pogodzinski and Highway Supervisor Tom Molling told the board a recent inspection of the hangars found that many of them were in violation of various safety regulations. The county owns the land the hangars are situated on and the owners of the hangars lease the land from the county. The County Highway Department is in charge of the county airport.
Pogodzinski said most of the violations were fairly minor, with hazardous chemicals being stored improperly and lack of fire extinguishers being two of the more common infractions.
Above ground and in-ground fuel storage tanks inside many of the hangars was the issue that concerned Pogodzinski and Molling, as well as the fire marshal, who was also part of the inspection team. The above ground tanks pose a grave safety risk to fire fighters, rescue squads and/or law enforcement personnel responding to a fire or accident. The underground tanks pose a health and safety issue in the event one would rupture.
“One of the main reasons why the county went to the expense of putting in the large fuel tanks at the airport was to get rid of the tanks inside the hangars,” Molling said. “They (the hangar owners) have been notified that they needed to get rid of the tanks.”
“What can we do to remedy this situation?” Commissioner Jack Miller asked.
“The code violations need to be addressed,” Pogodzinski replied. “I think we need to give them a chance to bring their hangars into compliance.”
A motion by Commissioner Jack Miller and seconded by Commissioner Bob Augedahl to only renew the leases on hangars that are in compliance with all county, state and federal codes was unanimously approved. The hangar leases are renewed every year during the summer.
In other board action:
Pup trailers purchased
By a 4-1 vote, the board approved the purchase of five used dump truck pup trailers for the County Highway Department.
Molling explained that he was able to find five good used pup trailers that can be used to haul sand, gravel or snow for $25,000. A new pup trailer costs about $21,000. By using the trailer to help haul product, Molling said the county can save over $6 per cubic yard in transportation costs over just using dump trucks.
Figuring fuel alone, the county will be able to pay for the trailers in three years, and that’s not figuring our labor costs,” Molling told the board.
“We keep making cuts everywhere, but we keep having requests for more purchases. It just doesn’t make sense to me,” Miller said.
County Finance Director Casey Bradley explained that the Highway Department will be foregoing the purchase of a roller that would have cost $31,000 to purchase the five pup trailers for $25,000. He felt with the fuel savings Molling brought up, it made fiscal sense to purchase the trailers.
The motion to purchase the five used trailers passed with Miller voting no.
Woodland repairs
The board approved $1,980 to make floor repairs and replace the tile in the men’s and women’s bathrooms and the break room at Woodland Industries. The county owns the building Woodland occupies.
Indigent funeral services
Director of Human Services Beth Wilms and Jeff Fredrickson of Jandt-Fredrickson Funeral Home discussed the increased call for county-provided funeral services for indigent residents.
According to Fredrickson, from 1992 to 2002, there were only about five county-assisted funerals. As of May 19, there have been four this year.
The current policy, which has been in place since 2003 provides for $750 to be paid to a funeral home for “professional services” such as embalming and cosmetics. The cost for professional services at an average funeral is actually $4,000, according to Fredrickson.
“As you can see, the $750 we receive from the county is very minimal,” Fredrickson said.
The county currently covers the costs in opening and closing the grave and for cremation services.
Fredrickson said he heard there is talk of putting a $1,000 cap on all county-provided services, which would include the “professional services,” as well as the grave and cremation aspects.
“There’s no way anyone could provide a traditional funeral for $1,000,” Fredrickson told the board. He said he would rather see the county policy remain as it is.
Wilms said she, Fredrickson and Human Services Financial Assistant Supervisor Bonnie Goetzinger will review the current policy and bring back some recommendations in the near future.
Wilms pointed out that the county still has five plots in the Evergreen Cemetery, but if the current trend continues, the county board might have to look at purchasing a few more.
You can contact Charlie Warner at
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