By Jerry Morgan, Reporter

COMANCHE -- Problems arising from errors made during the mapping and designation process for county-maintained roads prompted significant discussion and disagreement in Commissioners Court, as did the controversy over the cost of providing medical care for county inmates.

The training and equipment needs for heavy equipment operators assisting in wildfires, raising the Confederate flag on the Courthouse Square during April, and the suspension of the County Fire Marshall also provided grist for the meeting mill.

The Commissioners Court of Comanche County met in regular session on Monday, March 26, with all members present. Judge James Arthur presided and Commissioners Garry Steele, Kenneth Feist, Bobby Schuman and Jimmy Dale Johnson participated in what turned out to be a rather lengthy meeting.

Following the reading and approval of the prior meeting's minutes, with only minor changes, the first order of business was to accept the letter of resignation offered by the County Veterans' Service Officer and DeLeon resident, Truman Childress. Childress noted that although his resignation was effective March 31, he would continue to be available on a limited basis until a replacement could be hired and for consultation thereafter.

Judge Arthur presented a plaque of appreciation for Childress' long service to the county's military veterans. The presentation to Childress was seconded by a round of applause by the courtroom crowd as photos were taken. Childress expressed his gratitude to the Court for allowing him the opportunity to work with the County's veterans, adding that it had been his pleasure to serve. He commented on how he had benefited from working with the veterans. There were expressions of appreciation for Childress' service by various Commissioners and Judge Arthur.

County Road Designation Controversy

County Attorney Charles Williams next addressed the Commissioners regarding the Texas law requiring counties to designate county-maintained roads through a mapping, notice and hearing process.

Williams' opinion had been requested by Bobby Schuman regarding at least two errors that had been made in the designation process as implemented by Comanche County.

One problem arose when there was a conflict between the official notice to affected property owners and the official map of county roads. William stated his opinion that the notice was key to the official designation and that the mapping was not. He added a corollary to that opinion and that if a county road had been properly noticed and the map was drawn incorrectly, that the map could be corrected and the county-maintained designation remain in effect.

Williams stated that county maintained roads that failed to receive the proper notice and designation remain in the same status as they were before the official designation process. He said that those roads were still subject to being designated as county roads, but that the notice and hearing procedures must be followed as earlier.

Williams noted that the matter in the law was not entirely clear, but stated that his opinion should keep the county in safe legal status. He recommended that a "clean-up" process be pursued to eliminate the designation errors. He then said his opinion was not the final word on the matter, however, and that the Commissioners Court needed to take an official position as to what is controlling, the notice and/or the official map.

Many questions were posed by or to both the Commissioners and various audience members. Most of the questions involved a road generally referred to as Pettit Road in Precinct 3 off of Highway 2486 near Energy. Pettit Road was not included in the official notice, but was mapped as a county-maintained road. Arguments pro and con county-maintained designation were put forth by Josh Mahaffey, David Willingham and Craig Willingham.

Mahaffey, who favored a county-maintained designation, stated that the County had put up a road sign designating the roadway in question as Pettit Road. He also stated he had a deed indicating that the road in question was a county road. It was later noted that the sign was put up in connection with the 9-1-1 road designation effort and did not necessarily have legal effect.

Williams commented, "This is when the (Commissioners) Court gets to be a court." He suggested the matter should be studied and a later ruling made.

Bobby Schuman said that the Commissioners shouldn't vote to determine a road to be public when the County Attorney advises that it is his legal opinion that it is not.

Williams suggested the matter might be resolved by creating deeded easements along the roadway.
Mahaffey stated that he would not be satisfied with an easement and desired an official county road designation.

David Willingham noted that he did not desire to deny Mahaffey access to his property, but added that the roadway's primary public purpose served only poachers and beer drinkers. He recently placed a locked gate controlling access to the road.

Mahaffey restated his desire that the county maintain the road. Willingham stated that Mahaffey was a real estate professional and should know the legalities of the situation. Ruby Lesley suggested that the deed prior to Mahaffey's be researched to see if a county road designation existed at that time.

Bobby Schuman and Garry Steele both suggested that additional legal research was needed prior to taking an official position on the matter. Jimmy Dale Johnson noted that he wanted to see the Court do the right thing and not make a decision that would deny a taxpayer proper access to his property. Bobby Schuman said that the Commissioners needed to do what was right, but also had to do what was legal.

The matter was then passed pending further research.

Doyle Rone Presentation

DeLeon VFD Fire Chief Doyle Rone spoke to the Commissioners regarding information on the Heavy Equipment Assistance Team effort being initiated in Parker County.

Training for heavy equipment operators assisting in fire fighting, the acquisition of personal protective gear, and communications gear, all to be primarily funded by the Texas Forest Service, is being sought for rural counties.

Rone noted how effective the use of road maintainers and dozers could be while fighting wildfires and how much time they could save during firefighting. He expressed concern for the safety of the heavy equipment operators and their equipment in wildfire situations.

Rone stated that the danger of wildfires is not over, adding that the demise of peanut farming and the advent of coastal bermuda grass pastures had greatly increased the likelihood of additional wildfire events during dry and windy conditions. He spoke of the need for an emergency notification and evacuation plan to be developed.

Garry Steele expressed agreement in the need for training and equipment for his and other precinct's heavy equipment operators. He discussed the various items of heavy equipment available around the county for emergency firefighting situations. He noted a recent instance of one of his workers getting into a dangerous fire situation.

Jimmy Dale Johnson stated, "We need to do it, we don't need to wait." He later expressed reservations about sending untrained equipment operators into dangerous fire situations.

Rone emphasized the need for planning and training, because he was certain that additional dangerous fire situations would erupt. He noted that fire experts state that 75% of the outcome in wildfire situations come from advance training and preparation.

County Emergency Services Coordinator Ray Helberg said he had been working on the same problem for around a year and that a training course for heavy equipment operators was in the planning stage.

Steele asked about the equipment needs. Helberg responded that the Texas Forest Service's program is designed to assist volunteer fire departments, rather than counties.

There was general agreement among the Commissioners that the effort that Rone was talking about was a very good thing. Rone noted that he would be speaking with the Eastland County Commissioners on the same matter. He was thanked for his input.

Bid Opening for Pickup for Sheriff's Office

After Judge Arthur opened two sealed bids and read them to the Commissioners, Garry Steele offered a motion, seconded by Bobby Schuman, to accept a bid from Clemons Motor Company of $17,258 for a 2007 Ford half ton two-wheel-drive pickup. The motion was later amended to include an authorization for the Sheriff to finance the purchase of the pickup through a loan from Comanche National Bank.

Confederate Flag and Resolution Request

Thomas Harrison, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans organization, presented copies of resolutions approved by the Texas Senate in 1999 recognizing April as Confederate History and Heritage Month and another to the same effect by the Comanche County Commissioners Court adopted in 2002.

Both Harrison and Robert Vernon spoke in support of a request to raise the Confederate flag at the County Courthouse in support of Confederate History Month and a renewal of the earlier Commissioners Court resolution.

Bobby Schuman offered a motion, seconded by Garry Steele, to adopt the resolution. The vote of approval was unanimous.

Judge Arthur commented that he received questions every year that the Confederate flag has been flown. Garry Steele observed that as long as the flag flying was done in a historical context, he had no objections.

Judge Arthur added that the State of Texas was a Confederate state, a fact that surprises some, and that there were hundreds of Confederate veterans buried in the county.

County Inmate Medical Services

Kurt Meyer, the interim Chief Executive Officer of the Comanche County Medical Center, along with Chief Nursing Officer Shannon Steigleder, were present to report on their discussions with Sheriff Jeff Lambert and Commissioner Garry Steele regarding the cost of providing medical services for county inmates.

Meyer presented the hospital's offer of discounted medical services for county inmates and their offer to provide a mid-level medical services provider to the County Jail at least twice monthly.
Garry Steele thanked Meyer for his involvement in the matter and then commented that the matter of providing health care for indigents was currently under consideration in the Texas Legislature. He noted that movement seems to be toward requiring counties to assume the cost burden for indigent health care, but that things are currently in a muddled situation with few clear answers regarding financial responsibility available.

Steele then said, "I do not have a major problem with the county assisting in compensation for this. I do feel that since we are dealing with taxpayer money..., with the county or the hospital district, I personally feel like this should be done on a cost basis. I don't feel it is justified to the taxpayers to be paying extra for it."

Kenneth Feist noted that just because someone was a jail inmate did not automatically mean that they were indigent. Everyone agreed with that, however, the Sheriff's Office is not able to make valid determinations of indigency and the hospital is generally unable to collect charges for inmate care from the inmates.

Jimmy Dale Johnson asked how many prisoners had been sent to the hospital in total, and how many were county inmates.

Sheriff Lambert responded that 219 inmates had received medical care at the hospital and that about 22%, or around 50, had been local inmates.

Johnson then expressed his opinion that the hospital should not charge the county anything for county inmates, arguing that the hospital made sufficient money on the out-of-county inmates billed at normal prices to cover their fixed costs for county inmates. He noted that both the hospital and the county were taxing entities and that there was no need to be charging one another, to "shoot the horse twice,” doubling the cost to county taxpayers.

Meyer responded that the hospital could possibly discount their services slightly more than the percentage offered, but that it would still be entitled to a recovery of its costs of operation when treating county inmates.

Johnson responded that other than the medicines, the staff and facilities cost used to treat the inmates was already incurred.

Meyer agreed that was true.

Johnson then said, "Now how in the world are you losing money off of the Sheriff? If he don't come out there, you're still losing the same amount of money." He then reiterated his opinion that the hospital should take care of the county inmates at no charge to the county.

Meyer said that he agreed that the county should not pay full the full charge.

Shannon Steigleder explained how the provision of a mid-level medical services provider, either a physician's assistant or a nurse practitioner, at the jail on a scheduled basis, could save the Sheriff's Office the cost of a jailer and a vehicle to take the inmate to the hospital. She noted that the in-jail treatment costs would also be provided at a significantly discounted cost.

Sheriff Lambert expressed his opinion that the medical services should be provided at as close to cost as possible, but that the hospital should not be asked to lose money in providing those services. He later added that it would ultimately be the county's cost for indigent inmate health care.

Garry Steele stated his respect for Johnson's belief that medical services should be provided to county inmates at no charge. "I understand where he's coming from," Steele said, but then repeated his belief that clarification of a clouded responsibility could be expected from the current legislative session.

Steele recommended that the decision be put off a little longer and the matter studied further. "We are going to need to address this," Steele added. He indicated his desire that some of the Commissioners and the Sheriff should attend the hospital board meeting on the following day.

Jimmy Dale Johnson said he would be willing to attend the hospital board meeting, as did Sheriff Lambert. Steele suggested that a decision be made after the hospital board meeting.

There was considerable further discussion, often with multiple conversations taking place simultaneously.
One question that was asked and answered involved the total amount of billings involved. Shannon Steigleder responded that it was around $18,000 in the preceding year.

Bobby Schuman eventually offered a motion to authorize Garry Steele and Jimmy Dale Johnson to meet with the hospital board at their meeting on the next day to discuss the matter, along with Sheriff Lambert. Kenneth Feist seconded and the vote of approval was unanimous.

9-1-1 Addressing

Ray Helberg spoke to the Commissioners Court regarding 9-1-1 addressing. He noted an inconsistency between the map of county roads and the index of county roads in the front of the map book. He noted that the road he lives on, Broken Arrow near Proctor Lake, is shown on the map as a county road, however, on the list of county roads it is not.

Garry Steele said that some addresses on private roads had been designated with county road numbers in the 9-1-1 addressing process, which may now be in error after the conclusion of the process of adopting the official book of county maintained roads. He suggested that some of the addresses might have to be changed to private road designations.

Helberg, who is responsible for assigning 9-1-1 addressing to the post office and for other purposes, noted that he was having difficulty in determining whether some addresses should be county or private road addresses.

"What are we going to do?" Helberg said, "What are we going to call county roads and what are we not? And do we want these people to have to change their address or not?"

Garry Steele said there was a need for a meeting of the Commissioners to get a consensus on what needs to be done in the case of inconsistencies between 9-1-1 addressing and the map of county roads.
"It's going to take a half a day, I promise you, at the very least. It's not going to be done in 30 minutes," Steele added.

Judge Arthur indicated that he would set a meeting time at a later date.

Helberg also noted that emergency plans including nearly everything referred to earlier by Doyle Rone have already been developed and adopted. Helberg added that he had also been working on getting the communications gear and protective equipment, in addition to training for the heavy equipment operators.
In response to an inquiry from Jimmy Dale Johnson, Helberg added that he was developing a list of home-bound individuals that would need special help in a wildfire or other widespread emergencies.

Helberg described how the county's emergency command center trailer had been used in emergency situations in the last year or so. He also told the Commissioners that new radios have been received and will soon be installed in various units in the county to better improve communications during emergencies.

Garry Steele commented, "These things are gelling, but it takes time to get them all going, but it's in the works."

Helberg said that an emergency evacuation plan already exists. He added that it is still being updated and revised as experience from other disasters teaches new lessons and highlights new needs.

The need for better communication between the various emergency services was discussed.

County Fire Marshall Suspended

Garry Steele said he had requested the matter to be placed on the agenda, adding that the county still had some problems with getting the Fire Marshall department properly established.

Steele noted that Chris Hill, although appointed by the Commissioners, has yet to be properly sworn in, has no bond in place, and that some of the testing results that the county paid for were sent to the City of Comanche rather than to the county. Steele noted the incompleteness of Hill's county personnel file including various certifications required by the state.

Steele added, "Technically, he needs to cease and desist all his Fire Marshall activity until all this paperwork is in place, and I make that motion at this time."

Steele then made clear that he was not seeking to fire Hill, but only to get things completely in order before Hill assumes the duties of his office. He said, "I have no idea what the status of his office is. We wrote it in this Court to create a County Fire Marshall office, but I don't know where it is."

Jimmy Dale Johnson seconded Steele's motion and the vote in favor was unanimous.

Steele continued, "I like Mr. Hill and I want him to stay on as Fire Marshall, but we've got to have the paperwork. We're the ones hanging out to dry here. I just think we need to make a concerted effort to encourage him to get everything together."

There was further discussion of legal requirements for a peace officer to take an oath of office and to be bonded, neither of which events have yet taken place regarding Hill's service with the county.

Other Matters

The commissioners discussed an article published in the Stephenville newspaper by the Erath County Sheriff regarding the penalties for either vandalizing or being in possession of road signs and that it might be a good idea to put a similar article in Comanche County newspapers. Technicalities of the enforcement of sign laws were discussed.

The commissioners discussed with County Attorney Charles Williams whether Precinct 4 could make improvements on private property to create an access road for fire department access for refilling tankers. Williams said he had not researched the matter but that at first impression it probably was not a legal problem. He promised to look into the matter further.

The commissioners discussed looking into the purchase of a portable rock crusher that could be shared among the various precincts for the purpose of making its own road base materials.

The commissioners discussed the proceeds from a recent auction of surplus county equipment. They also discussed the need for an expression of appreciation for auctioneer Bill Blue for his volunteer work for the county in conducting the auction.

The commissioners approved the purchase of approximately $1,500 of carpeting and baseboards in the five courthouse basement offices recently vacated by the DPS and now to be used by the County Clerk's office for storage and programming of electronic voting machines and other election related equipment.