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COMANCHE -- County Judge James Arthur's
plan to realign office space in the old Comanche hospital building,
now referred to as the Courthouse Annex, was a prime topic of
consideration at the Monday, November 13, regular Commissioners Court
meeting.
All active members of the court were
present, including Judge Arthur and Commissioners Garry Steele, Chris
Biggs and Bobby Schuman.
In a recent Commissioners meeting, Garry
Steele had proposed a plan that split the east wing of the Courthouse
Annex between Emergency Management and the County Clerk, with at least
two offices between the two areas remaining unassigned. The County
Clerk's use of the space was for storage and programming of the new
electronic voting machines and related equipment.
During the interim, however, Judge Arthur
investigated the possibility that office space in the basement of the
courthouse currently used by the Texas Department of Public Safety
might be used instead by the County Clerk for storing and working with
the electronic voting machines.
The possibility of moving the early
voting out of the Courthouse hallway and down to the largest
Courthouse basement room currently occupied by the DPS was also
discussed.
Judge Arthur suggested that the offices
used by the DPS troopers, as well as the licensing services office, be
relocated to the Courthouse Annex where they would have adequate
space, public accessibility and, not be in a windowless basement.
Judge Arthur asked the Commissioners to
approve his plan. He noted that he was unable to get casualty
insurance on the voting machines when they are stored in an area
served by a fire sprinkler system, such as in the Annex offices.
Arthur added that the basement location would also be more convenient
for the County Clerk's personnel to work with the voting machines.
The DPS, for its part, seemed to be
enthusiastic about the possible relocation. Trooper Vernon Gaines did
most of the speaking for the law enforcement agency, although there
were other agency supervisors present who also made comments.
Gaines noted that the DPS was mainly
concerned with security issues for their offices. Aside from those
concerns, however, Trooper Vernon described the Annex offices as "a
lot better than what we've got now." He stated that it was "almost
unbearable to go down to the basement at night time", adding that
"everything settles down there" at night. He then added, "We're ready.
We're ready to move at anytime you all give the word. The only thing
we really want to do is to make sure it is secure for us." Vernon
stated that expensive equipment and sensitive information was stored
in their offices.
Commissioners Garry Steele and Chris
Biggs both made comments indicating that they supported the move. The
Commissioners discussed reinstalling an entry door in the hallway,
beefing up the locks on the rear entry doors and the installation of
burglar bars on the windows.
Bobby Schuman offered a motion to
authorize the change in offices and Chris Biggs seconded the motion.
The vote of approval, with Judge Arthur adding his vote for good
measure, was unanimous.
County Clerk Ruby Lesley noted that the
U.S. Department of Justice would have to provide advance approval
before the early voting location could be approved. There was also
discussion regarding storage of the expensive electronic voting
equipment during the transition period. Judge Arthur offered the
County Courtroom as a possible location.
Garry Steele suggested that the needed
security enhancements could be completed in 45 days. He then suggested
January 2, 2007, as an effective date to be used for planning
purposes.
Another significant meeting agenda item
was a request by DeLeon Mayor Danny Owen to discuss the County
Emergency Management budgeting and management situation.
Owen said at the outset, "This is not a
personal attack on Ray Helberg or the Commissioners Court. I just want
to clarify some concerns that I have."
Owen noted that although the County pays
a large part of the Emergency Management cost, that the cities of
DeLeon, Comanche and Gustine also participate in the total funding on
a per capita basis.
Owen then discussed several concerns
regarding Emergency Management. The first was that he was given no
opportunity to participate in grant funding requests. His concern was
that cities have needs for radios and personal protective equipment
for city workers. He added that he didn't want to see all of the
available grant funding being used exclusively for the County
Emergency Management's needs.
Owen noted that he was not receiving
copies of the mandatory reports that were being filed by the County
Emergency Management office. He asked the Commissioners if they were
receiving copies of the reports and got not indication that they were.
Owen noted that as one of the members of
the County Emergency Management Coordinating Board, that he should be
receiving copies of the reports.
Owen further suggested that the Board
should be conducting meetings in order that the municipal participants
might be better informed and a part of the management process. He
pointed to the lack of communications as being fundamental to his
concerns.
Owen said that the City of DeLeon had a
very difficult time balancing its budget this year and that its share
of Emergency Management costs had been a contributing factor. He
stated his concern that the cost of the office would continue growing
and that the cities would have little or no say in the overall budget.
Owen commented, "I have employees that
didn't get much of a raise this year because this was an unanticipated
expense for all of us, this time around, that hasn't been in the
past... I want to make sure that we are monitoring this and keeping a
close eye on it, because right now we're looking at a $40,000 budget,
and I have concerns that next year it's 50 or 60."
Owen pointed out that the cities had an
option of pulling out of the County Emergency Management agreement,
and then added that he hoped that DeLeon never had to do that.
Owen also asked if there was any job
description for the Emergency Services Coordinator and posted office
hours.
Ray Helberg responded that much of his
work took place outside of the office and outside of normal business
hours.
Garry Steele noted that the Commissioners
also have budget concerns and that they wanted to keep the Emergency
Management function on a feasible cost scale.
After further questions and discussion of
federal requirements, reporting and communications, Garry Steele said,
"I do think it would be good if the Mayors and the Judge, along with
Ray (Helberg), had a meeting every month, or every other month, just
like the Central Dispatch Board. It would certainly improve
communications and everybody would know what was going on."
Judge Arthur agreed, noting, "We can
communicate a lot better."
Owen asked if there was an annual
evaluation of the Emergency Management Coordinator and Steele
responded, "That would be up to the Board." Owen and the other Mayors
are members of the Board.
Owen noted that he did not get an
opportunity to participate when the Emergency Management office's
budget was prepared and approved. He asked whether the County was the
only agency benefiting from the grant funding.
Bobby Schuman and County Auditor Joey
Boswell both responded that grant funding is shared pro rata on the
same basis as expenses, and that the cities were benefiting along with
the county. It was noted that most of the grant funding was equipment
purchase related.
Garry Steele reiterated his belief that
the Board needs to meet on a regular basis so that it can help make
decisions on how limited grant funding resources are used and
allocated. He asked Judge Arthur if he could call a Board meeting and
the Judge said, "Sure."
Steele further stated his desire that a
regional Council of Governments representative be invited to attend
and explain to the Board and the Commissioners the requirements and
operations of the Federal and State emergency services programs.
Several comments were made regarding the
importance of the emergency planning effort in general, and the
disaster at Cross Plains within the last year was recalled as an
example of its need.
Ray Helberg commented that it was not
mandated that the county have an Emergency Management Coordinator such
as himself. He added, however, that the preparedness work and
reporting were mandated and that the Mayors, along with the County
Judge, were ultimately responsible to see that it was all done.
Owen returned to commenting on the need
for better communication and more involvement in the County's
Emergency Management function by municipal officials. He added that if
his name is on the list as responsible, then he wanted to be as
knowledgeable as possible on what was being reported.
In other business, the Commissioners:
• Approved the cost of $435 in roof
repairs for the Courthouse Annex.
• Approved a proclamation of Texas
Recycle Day in Comanche County for November 15. Environmental Deputy
Rhonda Alderman outlined plans to collect and recycle such things as
eyeglasses, cell phones, aluminum cans and coats in both DeLeon and
Comanche.
• Approved resolutions and requests for
state funding on bridge replacements on CR 419 and CR 476.
• Approved Garry Steele's work on
revising replacement insurance amounts for various County buildings.
The changes involved an additional insured valuation totaling $629,000
at an approximate annual cost of $500.
• Approved the deputation of Timothy John
Fanning, Jr. as Deputy Sheriff. Deputy Fanning had previously served
on the Dublin Police Department.
• Approved a new group medical plan
choice for County retirees.
• Heard a report by Sheriff Jeff Lambert
that the State was inspecting the County Jail on the following day.
Lambert also presented a standard inmate housing contract with Burnett
County to be approved by the Commissioners at a later date.
• Approved accounts payable totaling
$107,066.
• Discussed whether Jimmy Dale Johnson
should be asked to attend the Court's vote canvassing meeting, to be
held on the following Monday, November 20, and whether he should be
appointed by the County Judge at that time to fill the unexpired term
created by the death of Precinct 4 Commissioner Clyde Brinson. Johnson
won the November 7 election for the post.
Judge Arthur indicated he would discuss
the matter with Johnson. |
