Meetings watch: Aug. 28 County Commission

This is a report on Tuesday’s Curry County Commission meeting:

• The Special Events Center is approximately 93 percent complete and looks like it will come in under budget, according to construction manger Randy Kamradt. The current contract value is $7.14 million with a little more than 86 percent of the construction budget requested, he said.

Kamradt said more than $48,000 remains in contingency.

“All in all it has taken a little bit longer than we all expected but the quality of work is good and a year from now nobody will remember (it took a little bit longer),” he said.

The majority of the project will be completed Aug. 31.

• Plains Regional Medical Center Administrator Hoyt Skabelund gave a report to commissioners on the hospital. Patient satisfaction is currently rated in the 75th percentile among hospitals in the country, he said. The hospital has about 550 employees, and is expecting several new doctors, including a pediatrician and surgeon and is recruiting other specialists, he said.

• County Assessor Randy Williams said there was a 9.21 percent increase in total taxable this year valuation to $595 million. Grady School District will experience a noticeable decrease because several areas in the district were re-evaluated at lower values.

— CNJ staff writer Sharna Johnson