Portable building to replace voting site
By Melinda L. Lucas
A solution for the deteriorating Rockhill voting site near Hamby was approved during a regular meeting of the Shackelford County commissioners on Monday, Dec. 23.
Precinct 4 commissioner Cody Jordan presented a $16,800 bid from Hawk Buildings for a 12x20 portable structure on skids that will be installed near the Rockhill School building, where county voting has been held for decades.
The abandoned school, with ownership currently being researched, has become unsuitable for public use.
Utilities are available at the site, said county judge Robert Skelton, and it will be finished on the inside, including a half bath.
The purchase, which will come out of Precinct 4 funds, was approved by the court and should be in place by Feb. 1, well before it is needed for the March primaries, said Skelton.
Burn Ban Lifted
The commissioners also lifted the county-wide burn ban in response to about a dozen citizens who have requested to burn brush piles.
However, a special session has been called for Thursday morning, Jan. 2, with the intention of reinstating the ban in view of ongoing wildfire concerns.
Skelton personally contacted each of the 11 individuals on the request list and recommended that they consider days with humidity above 40 percent and winds less than 20 MPH, as well as contact the sheriff’s office prior to burning.
“The commissioners were reluctant to lift the ban at all, but we wanted to give these citizens an opportunity to get rid of their brush,” said Skelton.
Other Business
•Skelton will contact county IT consultant Sam Goldsmith with the commissioners’ concerns that $49,000 of the $110,000 budget was spent in the first three months of the fiscal year.
•The elected officials also opted to have a five-year state inspection of the Courthouse elevator that is required by the state in addition to the regular annual inspections. The cost of the special inspection is $740, but would have been several hundred dollars more had the company not been in the general area that day.
•A new Project Agreement with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice was approved in order for workers from the Walker Sayle Unit in Breckenridge to continue coming to Shackelford County.
•Also approved was a routine service agreement with TAC’s County Information Resources Agency to keep maintaining Shackelford County’s website.
•Skelton proposed several alternative meeting dates in 2020 for regular sessions that fall on holidays.
