County to Advertise for Maintainer
By a vote of three to one, (Halfmann opposed) the Glasscock County Commissioners voted Nov. 12 to advertise for bids on a new maintainer for Hugh Schafer’s Precinct 3 and for bids to sell the used Precinct 3 maintainer.
Commissioner Mark Halfmann suggested that the county reduce the number of maintainers to three, sell the used maintainer for its guaranteed buyback of approximately $112,000 and put that money into the county’s reserve funds. Building the reserves, he said, would help the county get away from deficit budgeting.
Commissioner Jimmy Strube said, “If we were going to do that, we should have done it with yours, Mark.”
To which Halfmann replied, “That’s what I tried to do.”
Strube said having dollars in a maintainer is just like having money in the bank, and that people want to see maintainers.
Strube suggested putting in a bid of just over $5,000 for a reconditioned road sweeper being sold by the highway department in San Angelo. He said the machine has a new broom, a diesel engine, and enclosed cab with air conditioner and said the one the county has now is in bad shape. No action was taken because the item was not on the Nov. 12 agenda.
Bids Accepted for Mower and Pickup
The court accepted the only bid ($1,081 from Courtney Strube) for a used riding lawn mower. It also accepted the low bid ($20,704 after trade-in) from Bob Brock motor for a new sheriff’s pickup. The vehicle is to be a Ford F150 XLT 4 x 4 with crew cab, captain’s chairs and a 5.4-liter engine.
County Judge Wilburn Bednar said a bronze plaque (which has been on hand for years) honoring the county’s war dead needs to be displayed. He said he will put a discussion of the matter on the court’s December agenda. The county historical committee did considerable work in the past on plans for a veterans’ memorial, which would include the plaque. The plan was to locate the memorial in an area near the old jail, where a concrete water tank had stood. Work on the project was postponed until after the construction on Highway 158 was complete. The historical committee has had approximately $8,000 earmarked for the project since the county’s centennial in 1993. Alan Dierschke, a member of the committee, said the memorial plans “just need to be implemented.” The historical committee is chaired by Helen Wilkerson; Dierschke and Mary Jo Cope are members.
Changes Made to Community Center Rules
The court made some changes to the rules for using the community center, the main one of which related to security when alcohol is available. According to the revised rules, if alcohol is available after 6 p.m., two security officers must be hired by the renter at $20 each per hour, and paid until the last person leaves and the building is locked. Written requests for variance from community center rules must be submitted in writing to the county commissioners’ court no fewer than seven days prior to the rental date.
Extension Agent Steve Sturtz reported he had conducted a walk-through inspection of the community center with representatives of the architectural firm, general contractor, engineering and plumbing contractors Oct. 24 to address problems (mostly involving water leaks). As a result, corrections are to be made and the general contractor has agreed to extend the warranty on the condensate piping and domestic water piping one additional year.
Center Needs More Exterior Lighting
Warren Multer suggested that the county install additional lighting on the east side of the community center, which he said is extremely dark at night. He said the building was great for the Halloween Carnival, and a welcome change from the bus barn.
Sturtz summarized activities of his office’s livestock, range and wildlife programs, which included range demonstrations of practices such as brush control and contour ripping, plus participation in a five-year study of quail.
Multer discussed activities regarding field crops and pest management, including conservation tillage, drip irrigation, and boll weevil control. He said St. Lawrence Cotton Growers is installing equipment to gather wind data, with the hope of using it in the future to bring wind farms to the county.
In other action, commissioners: reappointed Dale Hillger and Vernon Gill to the district appraisal board; voted to change companies for a voluntary deferred compensation plan for county employees and decided to make no changes in county employees’ retirement plan.