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COMANCHE -- Courthouse restoration
grants, fuel supply bids, the Leon River cleanup, 9-1-1 and GPS
addressing, and the appointment of a County Fire Marshall were among
the more significant topics covered at the Monday, September 25
meeting of the Commissioners Court. All active members were present.
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NEW
COUNTY FIRE MARSHALL
Chris Hill, a
27-year-old fireman from Comanche, who works for the Brownwood
Fire Department and is pursuing a peace officer's license, was
appointed as the Comanche County Fire Marshall by the
Commissioners Court on Monday, September 25. |
Courthouse Repairs & Renovation
Fort Worth architect Karl Komatsu, whose
firm has been working with the Commissioners on both emergency repairs
to the Courthouse exterior and on seeking grant funding for a general
restoration project, was the first non-routine agenda item.
Komatsu noted that the emergency
stabilization repairs to the limestone window and doorway lintels had
been completed and expressed his hope that the Commissioners were
satisfied with the work. No objections were heard.
Komatsu noted that the firm doing the
emergency repairs had also made a cosmetic patch to the window lintel
on the southeast side of the courthouse where a large piece of
limestone had become dislodged, fallen and shattered on the patio
below.
Komatsu noted that his firm had been
authorized by the Commissioners to begin work on a Courthouse master
restoration plan as a preliminary to seeking a restoration grant.
In the meantime, however, things have
gotten confused in Austin regarding the administration and execution
of the program to restore Texas county courthouses. Responsibility for
the program and its funding is now split between the Texas Historical
Commission, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal
Highway Administration. Komatsu said that the enabling legislation
passed in the prior session of the Texas Legislature suffered from a
lack of clarification in certain critical areas. Other problem areas
involve courthouse restoration work not meeting federal standards that
require relevance to surface transportation to qualify for available
federal and TxDOT grant funds.
The result is that the courthouse
restoration grant program is currently not funded. Komatsu said the
Texas Historical Commission is seeking alternative avenues of funding.
Komatsu noted that his firm had been
“sitting tight trying to see what’s going to shake out.”
In the meantime, Komatsu wanted to know
whether the Commissioners wanted him to proceed with work on the
restoration master plan.
Commissioner Bobby Schuman inquired
whether costs incurred to date had been wasted, or would continue to
qualify as local matching expenditures for a future grant.
Komatsu responded that his firm had not
yet incurred any master plan development costs on behalf of the
county, and noted that the expenses associated with the emergency
shoring of the lintels would have been incurred in any event and were
not wasted. He observed that the “temporary” lintel fixes would last a
considerable period of time. He added that the expenditures made to
date would most likely qualify for local matching funds if a future
grant prospect materializes.
Comanche County’s total expenditures
associated with the emergency courthouse exterior repairs are around
$29,500, of which around $12,000 were involved with structural
assessment and the balance of $17,500 for the shoring work.
Both Commissioner Garry Steele and County
Judge James Arthur indicated that they thought the appropriate course
of action would be to back off on the courthouse master restoration
plan work until the grant funding situation became clarified.
Steele expressed appreciation to Komatsu
for giving the County an option to hold up on expenses or to proceed
with the master plan work.
Komatsu indicated he would consider the
project to be on hold, and would keep the Commissioners notified by
mail of continuing developments.
Fuel Bids
Only a single response was received in
response to an advertised request for bids to supply fuel to county
vehicles.
Central Texas Energy Suppliers submitted
a bid of 15¢ per gallon above the OPIS (Oil Price Information Service)
wholesale fuel price for all four precincts and the Sheriff’s office.
Bobby Schuman expressed regret that there
were not any other bidders, and particularly from any DeLeon-based
distributors.
Garry Steele expressed his discomfort
with the 15¢ above OPIS price, noting that it had earlier been at 12¢.
Bobby Schuman said that Precincts 3 & 4 had been getting a better
price than 12¢.
Steele noted that state law required the county to seek bids, although
he believed it had the authority to reject all bids received.
Although he reiterated his unhappiness
with the 15¢ above OPIS bid, Garry Steele shortly thereafter offered a
motion to accept the bid. Bobby Schuman seconded and the vote to
accept was unanimous.
Leon River Cleanup
County Extension Service Agent Bob
Whitney addressed the Commissioners concerning a redraft of a
resolution regarding the Leon River cleanup effort.
At the Court’s September 11 meeting, a
proposed resolution prepared by Hamilton County Judge Fred Cox had
been tabled when the Commissioners acted on Whitney’s advice not to
approve it.
Whitney was requested to draft an improved resolution, which he did
and that document was presented for the Court’s approval on Monday.
The substitute resolution drew heavily from the Hamilton County
document, but differed in the request paragraph.
The revised resolution made a formal
request of both the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the
Texas State Soil and Conservation Board to “evaluate establishing
additional designated uses and standards for Texas rivers and streams
in order to recognize the impacts of wildlife on E. coli loading as
demonstrated by the recent Bacterial Source Tracking studies conducted
on the Leon River.”
Whitney noted that the federal
Environmental Protection Agency allows for more water use standards
than the two currently employed in Texas, which are either full
contact or non-contact.
Bobby Schuman offered a motion to approve
the resolution, Chris Biggs seconded, and the resolution was
unanimously approved.
9-1-1 & GPS Addressing
Garry Steele said that since the West
Central Texas Council of Governments has offered to provide 9-1-1
addressing and maintenance services for the county at no charge, that
the county should let them do it, adding that it would save time and
involvement on county personnel.
Steele added that the Commissioners would
have to be involved in the mandated GPS addressing effort to locate
residences that were not visible from the road and would otherwise not
be able to be easily located by anyone seeking to obtain a GPS
location.
Steele reported on his investigation of a
GPS address location service that had been employed by Stephens County
at a cost of more than $80,000. He said he had requested a quote from
the company for Comanche County but had not yet heard from them.
Steele suggested that WCTCOG be used for
9-1-1 addressing services and use County Emergency Services
Coordinator Ray Helberg for the GPS addressing, which is expected to
be paid for by grant funding from WCTCOG.
Ray Helberg noted that he expected the
county would receive around $20,000 to help cover the costs of the GPS
addressing.
Chris Biggs said regarding the WCTCOG
proposal to provide no cost 9-1-1 addressing and maintenance, “I think
we need to go ahead and do it. I’ll make a motion.”
Garry Steele seconded Biggs’ motion.
Bobby Schuman had left the meeting by this point to take care of
family medical matters and thus Judge Arthur was required to provide
the necessary third vote to approve the contract.
Regarding the GPS addressing, Garry
Steele said, “I feel like we’re better off going with Ray (Helberg)”
Chris Biggs added, “I do too.”
Steele added, “We’re going to run into
the same problems whether Ray does it or they do it, and Ray is a
little more familiar with our roads. But either way we go, the
Commissioners are going to have to get involved in locating some of
these people that live back in the areas that are not visible from the
road... It’s a lot easier, communication-wise, in having everyone be
local in getting ahold of each other and go do it.”
County Auditor Joey Boswell noted that a budget needed to be firmed up
this week for the GPS addressing effort.
Garry Steele offered a motion to
authorize Ray Helberg to work on the GPS addressing effort for a three
year period of time with his compensation based on what funds are
received from WCTCOG for the work. Chris Biggs seconded and the vote
of the two Commissioners and the County Judge was unanimous in favor.
Garry Steele suggested that the three
year period of time should start on October 1.
County Fire Marshall Appointment
Garry Steele said he had had discussions
with two or three individuals regarding the County Fire Marshall job.
He noted that the position doesn’t pay much or have many benefits. One
individual, Chris Hill, had a continuing interest in filling the
position. Hill was invited to address the Commissioners.
Hill noted that he was a certified
fireman and that he was nearing completion of his police academy work
to become a certified peace officer as well. He anticipated gaining
that certification in December.
Hill said, “I’ve got the ball rolling on all of it, but it’s going to
be the first of next year before I’ll have all of the shingles on the
wall.”
Hill, 27, added that he had been a paid
fireman for seven years and that he had gained a great deal of
experience with fires in that time. He said he had a total of 9 years
of fire fighting experience.
Hill stated that if selected, he would be
very visible to the public in performing his duties, including making
presentations to school children and conducting investigations where
arson or other law breaking situations are suspected.
Steele noted that in addition to his paid
fire fighting duties, that Hill is a volunteer fireman in a county
volunteer fire department, and that he lives in the county.
Steele noted that while they could not
appoint Hill immediately as an arson investigator, he could
immediately be appointed as the County Fire Marshall and later
appointed as arson investigator.
Hill and the Commissioners discussed what
would be needed in the budget for him to perform his work. Hill’s
primary request was for a good quality digital camera to document
suspicious fires.
Boswell noted that the Fire Marshall’s
salary was $100 per month with an annual budget for travel of $500.
Hill indicated he was agreeable to the
budgetary constraints as discussed.
Sheriff Jeff Lambert suggested that a
written description of the Fire Marshall’s duties should be
established and his suggestion was welcomed as a good one.
Garry Steele offered a motion to appoint
Hill as the County Fire Marshall. Chris Biggs seconded and the vote to
approve was unanimous.
Other Matters
In other matters, the Commissioners:
• Authorized the purchase of a used
Chevrolet pickup for Precinct 4 in the amount of $5,000.
• Voted to have their next regular
meeting on Tuesday, October 10, since the prior Monday is Columbus
Day, a county holiday.
• Authorized Macky Thedford, the county’s
designated representative for on-site sewage facilities inspection to
increase his fee, which is not paid out of county funds but from home
builders, from $100 to $150.
• Heard Sheriff Lambert discuss jail
operations. Lambert noted that an air conditioning problem had been
encountered that might prove to be expensive to repair. He added that
he had not yet received a quote for major medical insurance to cover
inmates. Jail counts are holding up well and the jail is currently
operating at a profit of around $10,000 for the fiscal year ending in
September.
• Approved a request from the County
Treasurer, Billy Ruth Rust, to use the new budget salary rates for the
first payroll in October, in line with established practice. |
