Knox County Commission approves $68,479 airport terminal repair, weighs per diem administrator

Knox County commissioners approved a $68,479 expense to repair the airport terminal's air conditioning line, which leaked in June and has been running on a temporary fix. Commissioners also discussed bringing in per diem help for the human resources and county administrator roles after the current administrator leaves at the end of the month, and were told several job description updates are coming.

Key points

• Commissioners voted to authorize the airport manager to approve $68,479 to repair the airport terminal, with the money expected to come from reserves or the airport budget.
• The repair follows a June leak in the underground air conditioning line; a temporary above-ground fix by Siemens has kept cooling running, and the county is holding about $8,300 in related invoices until the system is fully fixed.
• An insurance representative is expected on site during the excavation, and officials said they hope the work is covered, though Siemens declined to share costs.
• The county administrator position will be vacant after October 31, and staff proposed hiring per diem workers for HR and possibly the administrator role instead of a full-time interim.
• Commissioners raised questions about the legal authority of a per diem administrator and asked staff to check with legal counsel before moving ahead.
• Staff said updated job descriptions are coming for the communications deputy director, the district attorney's investigator position, and an administrative role, with no major budget changes expected.

Next steps

• Staff will consult legal counsel on what a per diem or interim administrator can legally do and report back at a future meeting.
• Staff will gather the county administrator application packet and review how the last administrator search was conducted.
• The commission will continue the administrator coverage discussion at its regular meeting on Tuesday at 2 p.m.

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