By Jerry Morgan, Editor

COMANCHE – The County Commissioners Court heard requests for the cleanup of a property littered with trash on CR 300, for the reconstruction of a bridge on CR 457 and for the acceptance of maintenance of two new roads in a Proctor Lake area subdivision along with other items in a lengthy agenda at its regular meeting on Monday, May 8. 

            All members of the Court were present except for Clyde Brinson, who was absent due to medical reasons. 

Old Cora Courthouse Project

            The first item of business was a presentation by Margaret Dudley on behalf of the Old Cora Courthouse restoration project. 

            Dudley opened by stating that she was pleased to report that the renovations were almost completed to the old log cabin that served as the County’s original County Courthouse.  She thanked the Commissioners Court for its support and help in the project. 

            Dudley said that work on the old log cabin courthouse had been completed.  The only work remaining was for the construction of the two rock chimneys that would support the information kiosk that would have maps of the county and cities on it.  She added that the maps and commemorative plaque had been completed.  Weather permitting, work on the kiosk chimneys was expected to begin on Wednesday of the current week.  Jim and Nancy Wilkerson were funding the kiosk’s construction in memory of Mary Wilkerson. 

            Dudley said that a formal ceremony marking the opening of the renovated Old Cora would be held sometime in the near future.  She recommended that the County insure the facility for replacement costs and then requested assistance in arranging for having the old courthouse be unlocked and opened for visitors on a Monday through Saturday basis. 

            Judge James Arthur stated his opposition to leaving the old courthouse routinely open to the public, citing his concerns that it might be damaged or vandalized by visitors, even during the daytime.  He cited recent incidents in the current County Courthouse as examples of his concern. 

            After commenting upon her surprise at the County Judge’s opposition to routine opening of the old courthouse, Dudley noted that a part of the justification for the Texas Department of Transportation grant that funded 80% of the rehabilitation work was that it would be open and accessible as a pedestrian information center for tourists and visitors.  She added that the old courthouse had been routinely open for years until it had been closed because of visitor safety concerns.

            After discussion, it was agreed that the Commissioners would be given keys to the facility and would be responsible, along with City of Comanche personnel, for the opening and closing of the facility on weekdays and Saturdays, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.  Jim Dudley, who also was involved with his wife Margaret in the Old Cora restoration, had duplicate keys made and later passed them out to the Commissioners. 

            Margaret Dudley noted that the Old Cora restoration project was “going to come out just fine on the money”.  She added that the Texas Department of Transportation had been a very good partner to work with in the effort.

            Garry Steele advised Dudley that an insurance replacement values study would soon be prepared on all County properties and that the Old Cora courthouse would be included in that study. 

Approval of Plat for

Lakeway Addition

            Charles Mazurek presented a plat and restrictive covenants for the 12-lot Lakeway Addition subdivision, planned to be located on the west side of Highway 2861, just south of the Getaway Restaurant near the Proctor Lake dam.  Two proposed county roads, each about 480 feet long, were included in the plat.  Mazurek said that water, sewer and electricity services were already in place. 

            Bobby Schuman, in whose County Precinct the subdivision would be located, offered a motion to accept the plat as submitted.  Chris Biggs seconded Schuman’s motion and the vote to approve was unanimous. 

Trashed Property on CR 300

            Bonnie Palmer and her brother, John Shaffer, both addressed the Commissioners Court requesting their assistance in cleaning up a property adjoining theirs that had been burdened with trash and abandoned travel trailers and vehicles. 

            Palmer distributed a sheaf of color prints that illustrated the condition of the subject 1.43 acre property.  She stated, “What I’m here to beg for is an ordinance, or a proclamation.”

            When told by the Commissioners that they did not have the ability to pass ordinances, Palmer said she had copies of ordinances that had been approved by other counties, and that she had consulted with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality personnel who had visited the site.  She passed out business cards from a woman with the Commission who said she could be of assistance to the County in the matter of drafting ordinances on littering and trash accumulation on rural properties. 

            Palmer cited her frustrations in earlier attempts to address the matter with the County Judge, the County Attorney and the Sheriff’s Department.  Palmer concluded, “Anyway, that’s why we’re here, to see if we can get any help or relief from the Commissioners Court.” 

            Chris Biggs noted that he had hauled off materials that had been left in the area that blocked the County Road.  Biggs added that a tree had been removed from the roadway in the area where people would park in the shade and drink beer all day. 

            Garry Steele commented, “I certainly agree that something needs to be done on it.”

            Palmer said she and her brother had been trying to sell the property from their Dad’s estate, and that as soon as potential buyers would see the adjacent mess they would lose interest.  “I don’t blame them,” she added.

            John Shaffer read a letter to the Commissioners recapping the Shaffer family’s problems with the neighboring property, noting that it had become a refuge for indigents and undesirables and was littered with old mattresses, junked vehicles, junk of all sorts and garbage. 

            Shaffer described it as a health hazard, in addition to being an eyesore, and noted that it was located directly behind Rockin’ J’s convenience store and restaurant. 

            Shaffer said it was unfair to surrounding neighbors and property owners whose values were lowered by the condition of the subject property and its irresponsible owners, whom, he added, were not current in paying their property taxes.  He added that the City of Comanche had ordinances dealing with that type of problem, but that this property lay one half block east of the city limit signs.  Shaffer then asked, “Are the property owners of Comanche County not entitled to the same rights as those who live in the City?”

            Bobby Schuman suggested they should get an ordinance drafted if the TCEQ lady knew how one could be structured and enforceable. 

            County Auditor Joey Boswell reminded the Commissioners that Texas Counties do not generally have ordinance making powers. 

            Sheriff Jeff Lambert commented that his office was making an effort to get someone trained in this area of the law so that problems of this nature could be addressed. 

            Garry Steele said that if the property were to be foreclosed by the County for unpaid taxes that there was no guarantee that a future buyer would clean up the property, that the County could not require someone to clean it up.  After further discussion, he added, “I think we need to pursue this.  This is unacceptable.”

            There was discussion regarding how to proceed toward an acceptable resolution. 

            Chris Biggs agreed to contact the TCEQ representative.  Sheriff Jeff Lambert said he would discuss with the County Attorney about writing a letter to the property owners and would continue his efforts to get someone in his office properly trained in the applicable laws and enforcement techniques.  County Auditor Joey Boswell suggested that the matter should be placed on future Commissioners Court meeting agendas in order that progress in the effort could be reviewed and actions taken if needed. 

Request to Replace Bridge on CR 457

            Kenneth Dabney, who lives near the intersection of County Roads 459 and 457 in the Nabors Lake area west of DeLeon, addressed the Commissioners Court expressing his frustration with the non-replacement of the bridge on the upper end of Nabors Lake after the flood of 1990. 

            Dabney noted that the bridge was not destroyed in the flood, but was later moved to another location on CR 459.  He commented upon theft problems encountered on the portion of his property that had been cut off by the missing bridge.  Dabney questioned the varying estimates of the cost to replace the bridge, numbers which he had heard ranged from $35,000 to $1,000,000. 

            Dabney said that he had been told by a reputable DeLeon businessman that if the Nabors Lake Development Corporation would remain quiet about the County not replacing the bridge on CR 457, that the County would make improvements on CR 459, a deal which Dabney said was carried out. 

            Dabney summed it up when he said, “So, I guess I don’t really understand what is going on, and I wish someone could help me.”

            Bobby Schuman responded that it was the State that made the selections on which bridges would be replaced and that the County really didn’t have any say in the matter.  He added that he knew of examples where bridges had been replaced that weren’t needed in his estimation.  “We don’t have any input on their decisions,” Schuman stated.

            Schuman noted that much of the cost of a new bridge would be in construction of an elevated approach to the bridge that would withstand flooding.  He then added, “We could try to get the State to look at it.”

            Garry Steele stated that bridges of that size are installed by the Texas Department of Transportation, that they are engineered bridges built by contractors and are very expensive.  He added that the County was not equipped technologically or equipment-wise to build bridges of that size that would meet standards and that it would certainly cost more than $35,000. 

            Dabney stated that although he had tried to be a good neighbor, that he felt he had been completely mislead regarding the reasons for the non-replacement of the CR 457 bridge. 

            It was pointed out that if the Nabors Lake Development Corporation was successful in closing CR 459, that the replacement of the CR 457 bridge would be all the more needed, since it was the original roadway serving the areas to the west and north.

            Garry Steele stated his agreement that Larry Smith, the District Engineer with TxDOT, should be requested to look into replacing the CR 457 bridge.  Steele added, “We will pursue this as best we can and try to get something started on it.”

Other Matters

            In other matters, the Commissioners:

            • Discussed procedures for advertising for bids on temporary lintel shoring for the County Courthouse and decided to initially only advertise in the two County newspapers.  There was also discussion regarding whether the County should pursue any extensive Courthouse restoration work, but rather only the more urgently needed work which included electrical and plumbing. 

            • Agreed to permit a proposed cable installation in right of way on CR 125.

            • Discussed implementation of the Texas Election Administration Management (TEAM) voter registration system as required and funded by the State of Texas as a part of the federal Help Americans Vote Act (HAVA). 

            • Discussed plans to get GPS location information for all 9-1-1 addresses in the County.  Garry Steele said that Emergency Services Coordinator Ray Helberg had offered to assist in the project.

            • Discussed a letter from Anna Marie Lindley which contained photographs of the portion of CR 462 which passed through the George farm in which she has an ownership interest. 

            Lindley stated her disagreement with the determination recently made by the Jury of View and offered the County opportunity to show that it can properly maintain the roadway and avoid the expense of re-litigating the matter in District Court. 

            Bobby Schuman indicated he would work with the Precinct 4 employees on improving the roadway. 

            • Discussed the County Jail inmate population and operating budget with Sheriff Jeff Lambert.  Lambert commented that the Jail has been staying very full lately and that another Texas county has been trying to keep some of their prisoners here. 

            County Auditor Joey Boswell commented that the Jail has just about paid its own costs this fiscal year. 

            Garry Steele said he continued to believe that although the Jail has had its ups and downs, that overall it has been a successful venture for the County. 

            Boswell noted that the County had benefited $300-350,000 in the current fiscal year by operating a larger jail and keeping out-of-county prisoners.