The entirety of the meeting can be seen on a video below the photos that follow this article.

In his report, County Office of Emergency Services Director David Gummeson reported on the desire of the National Weather Service to place at no cost ot the county a weather radar installation in the southern part of the county to allow a greater ability to see tornados as they develop.  The signals of radar sites from Shreveport and Little Rock do not go low enough into the county's valley to see these and the county has to rely on those patrolling the area for visual reports. An installation for the northern part of the county is also needed, but the county would need to find the funds for it.

The radar images would be made available on an app, Gummeson said. Their names are RadarScope and RadarOmega.

He also spoke about reimbursements related to damage from past storms and the federal disaster declaration. 

The first matter discussed in the meeting was County Treasurer Lorelai Hale's financial report, in which some accounts were down because reimbursements from the state are about two months behind.  County Judge Mike Otwell said it was not unusual for them to be as much as three months delayed. The city of Prescott is also behind on payments to the 911 system but Hale said they would be catching up soon.

Judge Otwell spoke of a conversation with Pike County's County Judge who told him of success using a piece of heavy equipment called a packer to keep gravel road repairs from being swept away in heavy rainfall.  He asked that the Quorum Court authorize him to buy a brand new one for $133,000 from the Caterpillar company.  This authorization was granted with the exception of one no vote from Justice of the Peace Regina Irizarry.

Irizarry called for the appointment of a committee to administer and draw up a five-year plan to use funds from the 3/4-cent sales tax passed last month to address needs for capital improvement, including repairs to the jail, to the courthouse roof and HVAC and purchasing and installing a cover over the county landfill to prevent rain water from causing spillage into the environment.  Irizarry said a new compactor at the landfill will soon be needed. Sidewalk improvements in front of the courthouse were also mentioned.  The judge said he would appoint these members and participate in the committee's work.

Gummeson announced that the Willisville Fire Department is planning to become a rural fire department.  The advantage this offers includes eligibility for different grants than they would as a municipal fire department.  A proclamation making this change will be drawn up for the court's approval at the next meeting.  Gummeson also said bridge and road repair crews from the state will be addressing issues during the summer.

A county resident planning to use his land for an RV park asked questions about how to set up sewer service (the answer was to contact the state) and about the price of permits the county dispenses to loggers ($5, but this payment actually costs more to collect than it is worth).  

JPs expressed the opinion this should be increased and that the damage to county roads from log trucks is considerable.  Judge Otwell told the resident that if he knew of log trucks operating unpermitted to report it since the county could collect a $500 fine. Otwell also said he and District Prosecutor Ben Hale, acting as County Attorney, are working on an ordinance now to address the issue of heavy truck damage to roads.

The court adjourned after the nearly hour-long meeting.