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COMANCHE -- Burn ban procedures, a new
County Extension Agent and authorizing the sale of memberships in air
ambulance services were some of the matters before the Comanche County
Commissioners at their most recent meeting.
The Commissioners Court met on Monday,
January 28, with all members present. Precinct Commissioners Garry
Steele, Kenneth Feist, Bobby Schuman and Jimmy Dale Johnson were
present.
County Judge James Arthur conducted the
meeting.
Other county officials present at the
meeting included County Clerk Ruby Lesley, County Auditor Joey
Boswell, Sheriff Jeff Lambert, County Attorney Craig Willingham,
Constable Mark McDonald, Emergency Services Coordinator Ray Helberg
and County Court Administrator Sherry Ward.
There were also several candidates
present for the two Commissioner posts where the incumbents, Garry
Steele and Bobby Schuman, have declined to run for re-election, as
well as a good number of county residents and persons interested in
various matters scheduled for consideration.
Burn/No Burn Authorization Procedures
Garry Steele commented that the present
arrangement where an area volunteer fire chief is supposed to advise
Central Dispatch on a daily basis whether or not burning is allowed in
their service area is not working because the fire chiefs are not
calling in daily.
He added that it puts Central Dispatch
"between a rock and a hard place" if they don't know how to respond to
burn requests called in to them.
During a period of restricted burn ban,
which the county is currently and normally in, permission must be
sought prior to any outdoor burning other than minor exceptions for
trash burning and cooking in situations where the flames and embers
are contained.
Steele added that there have also been
recent instances when permission to burn was given by a volunteer fire
chief on a day when burning should not have been allowed.
He suggested that a countywide
centralization of the burn/no burn authority would be a solution to
the current confused situation and that Ray Helberg, the county's
Emergency Services Coordinator should be the sole person to decide
whether or not to allow burning on a given day.
Steele added that the policy change, if
adopted, should be communicated to the county's volunteer fire
departments and that if afterward the changed burn permission policy
is overridden by an area volunteer fire chief, that the county's
financial contributions to that department should be discontinued.
"We've been fighting this thing for 11 or
12 years that I know about, and we're no closer to having everybody
working in the same direction as we were then. And this is the only
way that I know that we can insure that," Steele concluded.
Ray Helberg said that he was willing to
continue working through the local fire departments and let those fire
chiefs who call in on a daily basis to continue to do so, and that he
could call those who did not regularly call in and get their thoughts
on whether or not to allow burning in their service areas.
Bobby Schuman asked Garry Steele to read
for the record a letter from Central Dispatch employees regarding the
situation.
Steele read from the letter, "On January
18, 2008, the (central dispatch) Board met in regular session to
discuss problems with service that some of the speakers had been
outlining with the way the county's burn ban had been implemented. One
of the biggest problems that came to light was Dispatch not being
notified on a daily basis that burns were going to be allowed that day
or not. The Board feels that Dispatch would be better served if only
one person was in charge of making that determination and calling
Dispatch. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the Board the
Emergency Management Coordinator, currently Ray Helberg, be designated
as the person to make the call."
Schuman asked Steele what he thought of
Helberg's suggestion and Steele responded that he thought it would
keep Central Dispatch in the same mess that it had been in all along.
He added that if a fire chief has a truck out of action or other
reason for not allowing burning in his service area that he should
call Helberg rather than Dispatch.
Both Jimmy Dale Johnson and Bobby Schuman
expressed agreement that a uniform burn/no burn decision procedure was
needed.
DeLeon VFD Fire Chief Doyle Rone was
present at the meeting and invited to offer his opinion on the matter.
Rone noted that Dispatch was in a
difficult situation with seven fire chiefs supposed to be calling in
daily and that some were not. He added that he did not have any
problem with Ray Helberg being the central contact point for burning
decisions and that he would be glad to work with and advise Helberg of
any special situations when his department was short-handed or
otherwise temporarily limited in its capabilities.
"It seems like a workable deal," was
Rones conclusion.
Kenneth Feist asked what would happen in
Helberg was unable to call Dispatch. Helberg noted that even when he
was out of town he could be contacted by cell phone and that he could
obtain wind warning information wherever he might be.
Feist asked for reassurance that the new
procedure would result in uniform burning permission or absence
throughout the entire county and was told that would be the case.
Garry Steele said the change would not
affect the public, since they are required to and generally are
calling Central Dispatch for burning permission. He added that
Dispatch is doing their job even though being put in a difficult
situation of having to deal with angry people when denying permission
to burn.
Kenneth Feist then made a motion to
authorize the change in burn/no burn permission procedure as
recommended and to designate the Emergency Services Coordinator as the
central authority for decision-making.
Garry Steele asked Feist if his motion
included the penalty for violation and Feist said that it did. Steele
then seconded the motion. The vote of approval was unanimous.
Steele then made a motion for the County
Judge to send a certified letter to each volunteer fire department in
the county notifying them of the change of policy, the effective date
and the consequences for violation. His motion was seconded and
unanimously approved.
Jimmy Dale Johnson stated that the
Commissioners appreciated the volunteer fire departments and the job
they were doing. Garry Steele stated his agreement with Johnson's
statement and added that everyone needs to work together.
New Extension Agent Presented
Ron Woolley, District Extension
Administrator for the newly renamed Texas Agrilife Extension Service,
introduced Kim Miles as an applicant for the vacant Extension
Agent-Family & Consumer Science position. He added that she was
recommended to the Commissioners for appointment in that position.
Woolley stated that Miles was a native of
Haskell County, had attended school at Tarleton State and was very
active in her support of 4-H programs. He added that in addition to
her Bachelors degree from Tarleton, that she has a Masters degree from
Texas Woman's University and has been an employee of the Extension
Service for over ten years working as a 4-H coordinator in the
Waco/McLennan County area.
Woolley added that they recommended a
February 11 work start date and that Miles is married and has a 14
month old daughter. Her husband has accepted a job in Brownwood and
the couple a looking for a home on the western side of Comanche
County.
Bobby Schuman made a motion, seconded by
Jimmy Dale Johnson, to appoint Miles to the Extension Agent position,
and the vote of approval was unanimous.
Miles stated that she was looking forward
to working here in Comanche County and that she was a strong believer
in the 4-H program for youth. Woolley added his appreciation to the
Commissioners for their support of the Extension program.
Kenneth Feist then stated, "Mr. Woolley,
we've had some troubles in the last two or three (Family & Consumer
Science Extension Agents). I don't know if they are having problems
with their secretary down there, but I'd like for you to check in on
that for us and see what's going on."
Woolley responded that he felt very
confident in Kim Miles and with her experience and knowing her duties
and responsibilities that they would have three staff members in the
office (including the secretary) that could work together.
Other Matters
In other matters, the Commissioners:
Held a required public hearing on an
earlier adopted order that requires maintenance contracts be in force
and on file for all aerobic septic systems in the county. It was
estimated that there are only 30-40 such systems in the county and
that the action taken was only to continue policy that had been in
effect since around 1990. At the conclusion of the hearing the
Commissioners unanimously adopted the order on a motion by Garry
Steele and seconded by Kenneth Feist.
Conducted a lengthy fact finding
hearing and discussion regarding a request by Careflite to sell
memberships in their air ambulance service.
The Commissioners had earlier granted Air
Evac Lifeteam permission to sell similar memberships in the county.
Commissioners Schuman and Johnson did not favor allowing Careflite to
sell memberships, whereas Commissioners Steele and Feist seemed to
favor granting permission.
It was apparent that there was a
deadlock, which would prevent permission from being granted. Garry
Steele finally offered a motion to leave the situation unchanged for
the present time, Jimmy Dale Johnson quickly seconded, and the vote in
favor of the motion was 3-1 with Kenneth Feist voting nay.
Approved the purchase of a 23 c.y.
belly dump truck for Precinct 2 in the amount of $26,200.
Acknowledged a letter from the Texas
Department of Transportation to establish alternate routes on CR 167
and CR 419 during bridge replacement work over Jimmy's Creek and
Copperas Creek.
Authorized the County Clerk's office to
purchase EDOC Software with records management funds.
Approved the installation of additional
exterior courthouse lighting on the west side ramp leading to basement
to assist election workers bringing in ballot boxes and election
returns at night.
Authorized the Emergency Management
Office to purchase a new computer with already budgeted funds.
Heard updates on FEMA projects and from
the Sheriff.
Approved a prisoner housing contract
with McCullough County (Brady) at standard rates and terms.
Approved the County Treasurer's
quarterly report.
Approved payment of accounts due and
owing in the amount of $182,981.11.
Approved the payment of salaries and
related benefits coming due prior to the February 11 Commissioners
meeting. |
