County moves ahead with paving project

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Shackelford County Commissioners Court opted to leave the current county-wide burn ban in force, took the first step in reducing the speed on another county road and voted to move ahead with repaving the courthouse parking lot during a meeting on Monday.

The court also held its first budget workshop, noting several areas that will require changes before the document is adopted prior to the start of the fiscal year on Sept. 1, 2020.

Due to the recent dry spell, the commissioners agreed to leave the current burn ban in place for now despite rains during the last week.

Speed Limit Change

Precinct 4 commissioner Cody Jordan requested that the court approve a reduction of the speed limit on County Road 243, also known as the Spring Creek Road, from the current 40 mph to 25 mph.

Commissioner Lanham Martin made the motion to hold the required public hearing prior to the next court meeting on Monday, July 13 at 8:45 p.m.

The court recently approved a number of speed limits for county roads, which were approve during earlier meetings following the required public hearings.

Parking Lot

County Judge Robert Skelton provided copies of recent core samples taken in the parking lot at the courthouse by Enprotec/Hibbs and Todd, an Abilene engineering firm.

The report indicated that there was an excessive amount of base under the entrance from the north, but that the rest of the parking lot has a sub-standard amount of base material.

The court has a bid of approximately $53,000 from a year ago by Raydon Construction in Breckenridge to complete the project.

Commissioners suggested that the county possibly could save some money by having county crews remove and haul away the asphalt top and any excessive base material.

Commissioner Jordan moved that the court appoint commissioners Steve Riley and Lanham Martin to negotiate with Raydon for a more current price and to determine any savings from the county assisting with the project.

Judge Skelton said he would notify the Texas Historical Commission about the core sample results and seek approval to continue the repaving.

The court had elevations of the parking lot and two entrances completed by local resident Keith Holcomb, who recommended ways to achieve proper drainage.

“I think we have done our due diligence on this, so I think we should proceed,” Skelton said.

The judge noted that he would like to see the final elevation even with the existing curb so not to cause a tripping hazard, but sloping the runoff to the center and away.

Budget Workshop

The court listed several expense items for consideration in the new budget for the 2021 fiscal year, including:

•The county will have to pay for redistricting in 2021, which is required every 10 years.

•Another auditor will have to be sought for the new year.

•The first lease payments for two new pickup trucks used by the sheriff’s department will be due in 2021, for a total of $23,898.

•A deficiency noted in the last inspection of the courthouse indicates a need to replace a flexible hydraulic hose in the elevator shaft with stainless steel piping.

•The county-owned radio transmission tower on One-Mile Hill is due for inspection and repainting at a cost of about $10,000.

•The sheriff’s office needs four new computer tablets with updated software to replace the laptops in four patrol units at a cost of $5,971.

•The law enforcement center also needs to replace the computer system that records prisoner checks and security for the building at a cost of $10,770.

The judge asked elected officials to come up with any budget cuts possible to offset increases in the budget, especially considering the state of the local economy at this time.

Skelton added that the budget process and setting a tax rate has changed due to Senate Bill 2, with the county required to hold a rollback election for any tax increase above 3.5 percent above the effective rate.

The judge said that he hopes that the county will not have to raise the rate at all this year.

Other Business

•Xavier Perez told the court that he is retiring from DPS as of Aug. 31 and is hoping to still serve the community in some capacity. He inquired about the vacant constable’s post, but also offered his services in other areas such as courthouse security. The county currently has operated for several years without a constable.

Treasurer Tammy Brown said that utilizing that position would require adding money to that area of the budget.

The judge and commissioners stated support for using Perez in some capacity if possible.

•The judge said that he was working on the expense side of the budget, but is waiting on final numbers from the appraisal district to propose the tax rate.

•The court approved renewal of agreements for county employee benefit packages and risk management liability insurance in separate motions. Both proposals were from the Texas Association of Counties.

There was no increase in premiums for the employee policies.