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County speed limits set

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By Donnie A. Lucas

Drivers in Shackelford County will soon need to keep an eye out for new speed limit postings after the commissioners court approved a motion Monday setting speed limits on a number of county roads.

The court held a public hearing at 8:30 a.m. Monday prior to the regular meeting to hear comments about the proposed speed postings proposed at the April 27 meeting.

No one was present to speak about the change in speed limits on the posted roads, but Lance Thomas with H.R. Stasney and Sons asked the court to include CR 157 from the end of the pavement on the Cook Field Road (FM 1084) to the Hackberry Wind Farm. Thomas recommended a 35 mph limit on the county-maintained gravel road.

County Judge Robert Skelton said that the addition of CR 157 would have to start the process of advertising the proposal to include the additional roadway and hold a public hearing, which was set for the next regular meeting date on May 26 meeting.

During the regular meeting, Precinct 3 Commissioner Lanham Martin made the motion to approve the order for adopting uniform speed limits for the list of county roads. The motion passed with all three commissioners present voting in favor. Precinct 4 commissioner Cody Jordan was not present.

The motion added that the speed limit will be effective at the time signs are installed.

Precinct 2 commissioner Ace Reames made the motion to authorize a speed limit on CR 157 as requested during the hearing by Thomas.

 The roads approved in Monday’s motion were:

•Griffin Road to continue the 20 mph limit in effect in front of Nancy Smith Elementary, starting at the corner of North 10th and continuing past the Little League ballpark to the intersection with Browning Lane at the entrance to Weaver Heights.

•The speed limit would be raised to 30 mph from Browning Lane for the rest of the Griffin Road to the entrance to the Casey Ranch.

•McComas Lane, which borders the north side of Weaver Heights and the Albany Cemetery, will also have a 40 mph limit.

•Precinct 3 roads would be limited to 40 mph including CR 144, CR 122, CR 126, and CR 213, with a further reduction to 30  mph for the portion of CR 213 that fronts several residential homes.

•Precinct 4 roads including CR 151, CR 155, CR 150, CR 152, CR 243, CR 153, CR 154, and CR 156 all in the Hamby area will be limited to 40 mph, along with CR 163 and CR 177 north of Lueders.

Precinct 1 commissioner Steve Riley did not request that any county roads in Precinct 2 be included.

Riley stated at the April 27 meeting that he was concerned about how speed limits would be enforced on county roads, and therefore did not add any to the list.

Judge Skelton reminded the commissioners that the annual road reports, along with a list of projects to be included in the County Transportation Infrastructure Fund Application, are due by the next meeting on May 26.

The deadline to file the application is May 27.

Martin, who submitted his annual road report for approval at the last meeting, said that commissioners would need to consolidate the requests from the four precincts into a single list for the application. No action was required.

Parking Lot Project

Judge Skelton reported to the court what he found out concerning alternate engineering plans for a proposed parking lot and handicapped ramp to the JP office located in the former jail building.

The county received a bid of $10,500 to engineer the two projects from Jacob and Martin Engineering of Abilene during an April meeting. The firm estimated the cost of the parking lot construction at $90,000 to $95,000, with the handicapped ramp estimated at $20,000 to $25,000.

A couple of the commissioners asked Skelton to investigate the possibility of using local resident Keith Holcomb to pull elevations and map out the parking lot portion of the project. The judge said that Holcomb offered to provide the parking lot mapping without charge to the county.

Skelton said that detailing the ramp would have to pass state inspectors and most likely engineering plans would have to be followed.

Plans for both projects will  have to be signed off on by the Texas Historical Commission before work can begin.

“We are not on a specific time line to get this work done quickly, so we are moving cautiously,” the judge said. “The Historical Commission will not be concerned specifically about engineering plans as much as with any potential impact the projects might have on the Courthouse and the downtown historical district.”

Riley said that he feels the ramp should take priority over the parking lot; however, it was noted that funds for the parking lot are included in the current budget, while money to pay for the ramp would have to come from other sources.

IT Transition

County officers reported that the migration of the county’s IT, hardware, and software to a new vendor went smoothly. 

Commissioners voted earlier in the year to accept a bid from CTSI for the services. The services were formerly provided by Goldsmith Solutions.

A motion by made by Martin to add $125 per  month to Microsoft for additional licensing.

Other Business

•The court approved an application by a private concern to install a water line along a portion of CR 133. 

•Sheriff Ed Miller reported that the LECs panic alarm system has been tested, with all systems functioning as required.

•The sheriff also reported that a total of 13 COVID-19 tests were administered on Sunday by the Army National Guard and health officials.

•The commissioners voted to reactivate the county-wide burn ban.