Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
On Monday, Dec. 3, the New Rockford City Commission approved a proposal from Alan’s Furnace Service to replace the heating system in the Brown Memorial Auditorium. The downtown public facility hosted Santa Day this past weekend, and twice Paul Fortney of Viking Electric was called in to fix the aging boiler in the days prior to the event.
The boiler quit for the first time on Monday, Nov. 26, and Fortney replaced the motor and a fan. Then, late Saturday night Mary Seiler, the Brown’s maintenance worker, noticed that the boiler was acting up. The next day was Santa Day, and Seiler arrived to open and found that the boiler was again not working. Fortney made several tweaks before replacing a faulty switch, which did the trick just minutes before kids arrived to see Santa and play games at the annual carnival.
The total cost for the new forced air natural gas heating system is $9,271, which includes three new furnaces and ductwork. With this new system the city will have the option to install central air in the building in the future.
Dennis Nybo, Manager of the New Rockford Park District, reported to the commission that he has started making ice for the outdoor skating rink. He plans to have the rink operational before Christmas, weather permitting. The park district is looking for warming house attendants at the rink. Hours are 4-8 p.m. weekdays and 2-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Over the Christmas break, Nybo said they will plan to be open at 1 p.m. on weekdays. Anyone interested in working at the rink should call Nybo at (701) 302-8105.
Basketball season is underway, and so are plans for annual tournaments. Nybo said the New Rockford Park District’s annual youth basketball tournament is set for Jan. 27, 2019. The New Rockford Classic Tournament will be held March 10-11, 2019.
Nybo has a laundry list of things to address this winter during the “off season,” including updating emergency plans, personnel manuals and pool rules, obtaining bids for new lawn maintenance equipment, tree grant research and writing, reviewing summer activities and fees, and updating the Frisbee golf layout information.
More than 100 students took summer swimming lessons at the pool, and 75 percent of them passed a level. The pool was open 70 of the possible 84 days in the summer season, or 83 percent of the time.
Travis Dillman of Interstate Engineering updated the commission on progress made for the water and sewer improvement project. USDA-Rural Development made the official announcement Tuesday that New Rockford is the recipient of more than $9 million in grant and loan funds through the Water and Waste disposal Loan and Grant program. Dillman said that the survey work is complete for now, and that they are getting the pieces in place so the city can solicit bids for the water line replacement and valley gutter installation in March or April. Engineers also visited the water plant building and identified potential places where the new reverse osmosis treatment system could be placed. The water plant improvements are not expected to be complete until 2020.
The commission approved the purchase of Chamber bucks as a holiday gift for city employees, a total of $1,000. The four full-time employees will each receive $200 and the two part-time employees $100.
Public Works Superintendent Bruce Hirchert noted that the derelict house located on Second Avenue North, which the city acquired through delinquent taxes, had been demolished this past month. Winter street maintenance is also in full swing considering the early arrival of snow and ice. Hirchert said he had to order more sand as fog, rain and snow has built up on streets, making intersections especially slippery. “The street crew is doing its best,” noted President Calvin Packard.
Due to the New Year holiday, the January city commission meeting has been set for Monday, Jan. 7, one week later than usual.