North and East Region
Anderson County Commissioners Court approved a proposal for new fiber optic lines between the courthouse, annex and jail for $75,375 with Henkels & McCoy, an engineering firm and utility contractor.
Angelina County Commissioners Court voted to purchase for $150,000 the Denman Building from Consolidated Communications to help alleviate overcrowding in the courthouse and annex.
Bell County Commissioners Court awarded a contract of $26,180 for a fire suppression system in the computer room from Simplex Grinnell and $34,459 for new wall and roof insulation at the justice center.
Bowie County Commissioner Jack Stone told the Texarkana Gazette he is retiring Dec. 31 after 24 years as Precinct 1 commissioner. “When I went in office, water ran in the roads,” he said. “Now at my retirement all the roads are paved.”
Coryell County Commissioners Court honored Copperas Cove graduate Robert Griffin III, quarterback for Baylor University’s football team, for winning the Heisman Trophy as the outstanding college football player in the United States for the 2011 season.
Dallas County has an agreement with Horizon Scripted Television for filming for a renewal on the TNT network of the television series “Dallas.” According to the Dallas Morning News, Horizon will pay the county a security deposit of $25,000 and $1,000 a day to film in county-owned facilities.
Gregg County Commissioners Court agreed to assume management of the Longview Community Center after a 77-year contract with the Longview Federated Clubs. The Longview News-Journal said the move includes hiring a full-time manager.
Hill County Judge Justin Lewis accompanied a delegation from the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law to Mongolia to educate that nation’s leadership on the U.S. court system. “I presented information to the future lawyers of the country,” Lewis told the Hillsboro Reporter. “Hopefully we can work together to find solutions to judicial reform in the country.”
Jasper County Judge Mark Allen, a USAF veteran who is in his second term as county judge, has been sworn in as president of the Deep East Texas Council of Governments.
Johnson County Commissioners Court approved a request to spend $43,680 with Overdrive Productions of Plano to repair existing sound systems and add new equipment to first- and second-floor courtrooms at Guinn Justice Center.
Kaufman County Commissioners Court voted to improve security at a former National Guard armory and convert it to an emergency operations center, training facility and offices. “We certainly want the building to be secure for our later use,” Judge Bruce Wood told the Kaufman Herald. Commissioners also allocated about $65,000 in the family protection fund to Genesis Center, Lone Star CASA, and Kaufman County Children’s Center.
Lamar County received a federal grant of $116,101 for computer equipment for the sheriff’s department.
Leon County volunteer fire departments received a total of $225,000 in federal grants.
Liberty County Commissioners Court approved the purchase of a generator for the emergency operations center and accepted U.S. Department of Homeland Security grants of $30,000 and $70,000.
Limestone County Commissioners Court agreed to a contract with ACS to digitize the county’s land records to make them accessible online.
Morris County Commissioners Court approved U.S. Department of Homeland Security grants of $93,814 for 2010 for radios for police, fire and EMS and $35,595 for 2011 to use by Aug. 31, 2013.
Nacogdoches County will use a federal grant of $375,000 for radio communications equipment to help it become compliant with new federal guidelines by Dec. 31.
Panola County Commissioners Court authorized $1.9 million for the library relocation construction fund. The Panola Watchman reported that the Sammy Brown Library will be moved to the armory on South Market Street in Carthage.
San Augustine County received a state grant of $99,420 for new digital communications equipment for law enforcement.
Smith County Commissioners Court selected construction managers for jail projects. Turner/HGR Joint Venture will build a downtown jail addition of 384 cells for $25 million to $28 million, and RPR Construction was selected for a low-risk jail facility estimated to cost $7 million to $10 million.
Upshur County Commissioners Court approved an annual contract of $20,000 with Appraisal and Collection Technologies of Austin for computer hardware and software for the tax assessor-collector’s office.
Van Zandt County Commissioners Court selected software from iPlow.com at an annual cost of $5,650 for its new collections department.
South Texas
Bexar County Commissioners Court unanimously approved salary increases for the county manager (49.7 percent) and economic development director (13 percent). “Compared to their colleagues in other communities, they’ve been underpaid,” Commissioner Paul Elizondo told the San Antonio Express-News.
Calhoun County Commissioners Court voted to spend $89,400 on engineering for an Alamo Beach restoration project and approved the purchase of two LifePak monitor/defibrillators for EMS for $73,602 from Physio-Control of Redmond, Wash.
Hays County Commissioners Court authorized the purchase for $471,950 of 3.5 acres of land on FM 2770 for a new Precinct 2 building. Also, Precinct 3 Commissioner Will Conley was selected to chair the policy board of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Kleberg County Commissioners Court voted to participate in a program of the Texas Department of Public Safety that denies driver’s licenses to people with outstanding traffic or other fines.
Lavaca County received a donation of $41,950 from the Dickson Allen Foundation to purchase communications equipment and another heart monitor for its rescue service.
Travis County Commissioners Court authorized the purchase for about $19.2 million of 770 acres of land in southwestern Travis County to connect Milton Reimers Ranch Park and Hamilton Pool Nature Preserve. “If we hadn’t been able to lock in this property, it’s very possible that we would have ended up with a development right above this very beautiful, cherished spot,” Commissioner Karen Huber told the Austin American Statesman.
Wilson County Commissioners Court selected San Antonio-based Thorn+Graves Architects for a fee of $75,000 to help plan a stabilization project for the courthouse in Floresville.
West Texas
Andrews County Commissioners Court approved the contribution of $3 million to assist with construction of a 13.1-mile truck reliever route in the city of Andrews. The Andrews County News said the route “will alleviate what has become very congested traffic on the city’s primary roadways.” Commissioners also approved the purchase of mobile VHF radios for use in each precinct in emergencies for $41,040 from Midland’s Petro Communications.
Comanche County received a grant of $57,000 to purchase solar energy panels for the jail. Also, repairs have been made to three conservation dams determined to be at risk by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Dawson County Commissioners Court authorized the replacement of 2.5 miles of underground electrical power line with overhead line along a county road by Lyntegar Electric Cooperative.
Deaf Smith County Commissioners Court approved a bid from Asco for $88,918 each for nine new Volvo motor graders, which expect to average about 800 hours of use each year.
Eastland County held a fire-fighting training meeting for precinct employees.
Ector County Commissioners Court approved the construction of a 45-mile pipeline in 2012 to transport water from Ward County to Ector County. The Odessa American said the additional 35 million gallons of water a day will “help ease water issues in the county.”
Gray County Commissioners Court approved a change in jail medical services from Panhandle Correctional Care to New York-based ConMed, according to the Pampa News.
Hockley County Commissioners Court agreed to lease postage equipment from Advance Business Solutions at a savings of $70 per month. Also, Paul Scarborough was appointed interim sheriff to replace Kevin Davis, who resigned.
Jeff Davis County Commissioners Court approved a name for the former VFW building that has been remodeled for county offices. The Manuel S. Gonzales Veterans Memorial Building is scheduled to be completed this spring.
Jones County Commissioners Court authorized the issue of certificates of obligation not to exceed $6.9 million for a 96-bed jail, including land, building and equipment.
Llano County Commissioners Court approved the purchase for $321,764 of a new radio system from Motorola Systems in its upgrade of county EMS with federal grants.
Montague County has a new commissioner. Rick Lewis, a former justice of the peace, was appointed by Judge Tommie Sappington to fill the Precinct 3 seat previously held by Steve Howard, who resigned.
Palo Pinto County Commissioners Court approved a new contract with Southwest Data Solutions for tax-collection software.
Presidio County Commissioners Court accepted a bid of $275,000 from Lockheed Martin for a sensor system for the sheriff’s office for border surveillance. The system is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Reagan County Commissioners Court issued a letter of intent to Lonestar Truck Group to purchase a 2012 model ambulance in July or August for the price of a 2011 model with trade-in value of $54,000 for its 2008 ambulance. Also, Nancy Ratliff retired after 25 years as treasurer – replaced on an interim basis by Donna Holden.
San Saba County Commissioners Court honored the state champions in six-man football from Richland Springs High School in Division II.
Scurry County Commissioners Court approved five-year tax abatements for WL Plastics Corp., which manufactures high performance HDPE pipe and related products for the oil and natural gas industries and municipal water markets. According to the Abilene Reporter-News, Fort Worth-based WL Plastics will be the first tenant for Snyder’s new industrial park.
Taylor County Commissioners Court approved a three-year contract of $64,161 with Kansas-based CivicPlus for website redevelopment.
Tom Green County is receiving grants of $1,000 each from American Electric Power for its 10 volunteer fire departments and radios for the VFDs from the sheriff’s office. The county also received a federal grant of about $40,000 as reimbursement for firefighting expenses last spring. County auditor Nathan Cradduck told the San Angelo Standard-Times total reimbursements could exceed $500,000.
Wise County Commissioners Court voted to oppose the recommendation by the Environmental Protection Agency that the county be added to the Dallas-Fort Worth ozone nonattainment region. Judge Bill McElhaney told the Bridgeport Index, “It’s like we are guilty by association.” H – Compiled by Garner Roberts