Commission approves engineering agreements for Boot Hill energy storage and Off-System Bridge 101

Ford County commissioners on April 7 approved two engineering agreements with Kirkham Michael: one for the Boot Hill Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and another for Off-System Bridge 101 construction.

County Engineer Jon Halbgewachs presented the agreements. Commissioner Chris Boys moved to approve the Boot Hill BESS engineering agreement and Chairman Gary Thomas seconded; the motion carried 3-0. Commissioner Shawn Tasset moved to approve the Off-System Bridge 101 engineering agreement and Commissioner Boys seconded; the motion carried 3-0.

The minutes identify Kirkham Michael as the engineering firm for both projects but do not include contract values or schedules in the public minutes. The Boot Hill project was discussed earlier in the engineer's report, which also noted related site work on Boot Hill Solar where asphalt had been placed but backfill materials did not match plan specifications; the developer was instructed to replace the backfill and Kirkham Michael provided a road damage summary that is awaiting the developer's response.

The Off-System Bridge 101 agreement approval follows the engineering planning reported in the county engineer's monthly update. The minutes note that some land-acquisition negotiation related to other bridge work (OS Bridge 31) prompted a request for executive session but do not tie that negotiation directly to Bridge 101.

No financing details, construction start dates or performance milestones are provided in the minutes; commissioners recorded their approvals by voice vote.