Larry Andress told the Board of Commissioners on Sept. 18 that the county’s weights-and-measures work at multi-grade gas stations has grown more physically demanding and that he needs occasional help to continue inspections. Andress said some stations now have many different fuel grades per pump and that transferring multiple five- and ten-gallon samples across parking lots to bulk tanks imposes a heavy physical burden.
Andress said he has a medical condition he identified in the meeting as “andalusian spondylosis,” which he described as a form of rheumatoid arthritis, and that his mobility has declined. He told commissioners he is willing to continue the work if he can have a helper, and that he would be prepared to pay for an assistant out of his own pocket if necessary.
Discussion at the meeting covered options including hiring a part-time helper, assigning a county highway vehicle with a 500-gallon portable test tank that some jurisdictions use, or using supervised community-service or trustee workers. Andress estimated the helper work would total about 30 hours annually and said the portable truck-mounted tanks he has seen cost roughly $15,000. He also said some stations require high-flow diesel testing that currently requires outside technicians.
The transcript records a direction to "work something out, Larry," and commissioners asked staff to explore options for equipment or staffing. No formal motion or hiring action was recorded at the meeting.