Commissioners Talk Vacation Hours, Additional Invoice for Debris Removal

Limestone County commissioners spent a considerable portion of their meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 8, discussing policies for vacation accrual by county employees, and additional costs related to the debris removal performed by J&H Excavation.
County Judge Richard Duncan explained that current policies and procedures allow employees who have worked for the county for five years or fewer to accrue a maximum of 120 hours; and those who have worked for the county for more than five years, a maximum of 160 hours.
Duncan stressed department heads have the final say-so on approving vacation time, and should encourage employees to use their vacation time when possible, such as the road and bridge department using it in the winter or “off-season” when there is less demand or workload. He stated private businesses do not offer benefits like this on vacation time, so county employees should be using the time.
Road and Bridge Administrator James Trantham explained that one employee has been with the county for at least eight years but due to a clerical error, never received the cap increase for vacation hours from 120 to 160 hours.
“This isn’t to be critical of any department because things happen, but I have to agree with the judge on this. We have to be more diligent on getting people to take vacation,” Commissioner Stephen Friday said. “There’s no reason, in my opinion, to have people getting to 160 or 300 or whatever the number is. When we’re down people, others have to pick up the slack.”
Following much discussion, commissioners approved increasing the cap on accrued vacation hours to 300 for all employees, with the stipulation that an employee leaving their job will be paid a maximum of 160 accrued vacation hours if they have been in the position for more than five years, or a maximum of 120 accrued vacation hours if they have held the position for five years or fewer.
The court also discussed a $5,000 invoice from J&H Excavation for the photos they provided of debris it removed and burned, a measure the court requested in hopes of securing reimbursement from FEMA for the emergency work resulting from the spring storms.
“As y’all know, this was done with great speed after the storm because we wanted to get the debris off the roads. We tried to find somebody to do this work and found basically no one,” Duncan said. “The one bidder pulled his bid out. Then we got two more, one for an exorbitant amount of more than $200,000, and the other for $82,000 (from J&H Excavation), which we approved. As we started moving through FEMA and doing meetings, we found out there are so many things we have to do to ensure we can be reimbursed: burning the debris at locations approved by TCEQ, pictures of each dump, longitude and latitude, etc. We didn’t put those things in the bid, but I spoke with the contractor and outlined these things. I have all these pictures he took if y’all want to look at them, but we got an invoice for $5,000 for these photos.”
Commissioner Bobby Forrest spoke up, praising the work done by J&H, as well as the Road and Bridge Department’s help in cleanup efforts, but his motion to pay $2,500 (half the invoice) died without a second. Trantham and others stated that the contractor did not use the TCEQ-approved burn sites every time and that he did not meet all the FEMA requirements, although Duncan reminded those in attendance that the bid did not include all the additional steps required by FEMA.
Forrest made a motion to approve paying half the invoice a second time, and again, it died without a second. More discussion followed, including the matter of FEMA’s expectation that a county employee should ride with the contractor and oversee the work, which the county did not comply with because of the associated cost of paying an employee the overtime to do so. Forrest’s third motion to pay half the invoice was seconded by Commissioner Bill David Sadler. Commissioners Micah Anderson and Friday voted, “Nay,” and Duncan broke the tie in favor of paying half the invoice.
The court also approved several contracts and service agreements between Limestone County and other entities, including: South Limestone Hospital District, Shiloh VFD, Groesbeck Maffett Memorial Library, Gibbs Memorial Library, Thornton VFD, Tehuacana VFD, Kosse VFD, West Lake Limestone VFD, Lake Mexia VFD, and Prairie Hill VFD.
County Sheriff Murray Agnew confirmed the Sheriff’s Office’s willingness to assist Axtell ISD’s newly formed police department should the need arise, and commissioners approved the memorandum of understanding between the two entities.
Agnew also explained a request to initiate a permit process for mass gatherings, having considered similar permit processes used in Leon, Robertson, Hill, and Brazos counties, among others, and speaking to the District Attorney’s Office.
State health and safety code requires 45 days advance notice of such an event, and Agnew’s proposal includes an application process through the Sheriff’s Office for such events, which will also require a public hearing no later than 10 days before the event. Commissioners spoke in favor of the liability and security measures included in the permit process before approving it.
Commissioners also approved hiring attorney Benji Reed to transfer titles and deeds for the Senior Citizens Center to Limestone County, with Friday abstaining from the vote.
In other business, the court:
Approved the consent agenda;
Approved the monthly operation reports and the accident report;
Took no action on the county burn ban (it remains ON at time of press);
Accepted for the record the Statewide Automated Victim Notification Services (SAVNS) maintenance grant contract and the Victim Coordinator and Liason Grant (VCLG) contract with the Attorney General;
Accepted for record an addendum to the Intergovernmental Agreement between Cherokee Nation and Limestone County (to accept inmates for LaSalle);
Approved an easement agreement with Denise Thompson for Antenna Tower; and
Approved a road use agreement with Ryan Company.
After a brief executive session concerning a personnel matter, the court reconvened and took no action on the matter. Duncan invited those in attendance to the “Remember the Alamo” plaque dedication at the courthouse later in the day, then court adjourned.
The next regular Commissioners' Court meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22, in the county courthouse. The meetings are open to the public but also available for live-streaming or later playback on YouTube (search: Limestone County Commissioners Court).
The agenda and relevant attachments are also available online at
https://limestonecotx.portal.civicclerk.com/ .