Bosque County’s governmental offices to close for eclipse day

The Bosque County Commissioners Court during its meeting on Monday, March 4, approved closing the county’s governmental offices on the day of the upcoming total solar eclipse.

The court also approved the submission of a letter to the Texas governor’s office expressing intent to declare a disaster due to the solar eclipse that will cross over the entire county.

The letter stated that the countywillface“seriousissues” regarding the eclipse, including gridlocked traffic conditions along State Highway 6 and all nearby roadways.

“This gridlock will effectively cut off our normal emergency traffic routes to hospitals in Waco. At the same time, the influx of thousands and possible tens of thousands of eclipse watchers into Bosque County will quickly overwhelm local emergency resources,” the letter stated.

It continued, “Without assistance, we will be unable to provide acceptable emergency response, treatment, and transportation for critically injured or ill persons.”

The county’s letter conveyed that the county had submitted requests for assistance through the state of Texas’ STAR program.

The requests focused on “critical areas of concern only,” though the letter signed by the county judge did not go into further detail.

The possible disaster declaration for Bosque County would be for the April 5-9 period, the letter said.

Election agreements

The court approved interlocal agreements with and between Bosque County and several municipalities and public school districts for the county’s election services.

The municipalities under the agreements included the City of Cranfills Gap, City of Meridian, City of Morgan, City of Valley Mills Theschooldistrictsunderthe agreements included Clifton ISD, Cranfills Gap ISD, and Meridian ISD.

Voting equipment

The court approved the sale of five ES&S ExpressVotes 6.1.1.0 machines to Austin County for $7,500.

The court approved another sale of 20 ES&S ExpressVotes 6.1.1.0 machines to Smith County for $30,000.

Racial profiling report

The court approved the Bosque County Sheriff’s Office’s 2023 Racial Profiling Report, as presented by Bosque County Sheriff Trace Hendricks.

Commissioner Liardon mentionedthenumberoftraffic stops has increased from when he first started, and he said he felt like this was due to the state troopers being re-assigned to the border and sickness. He expressed his appreciation to the sheriff’s office for filing in the gap accordingly.

Auditor’s report

The court approved receiving and filing the Bosque County Auditor’s January 2024 monthly report.

Continuing education

The court approved receiving and filing the certificates of competition for the County Judge and the Commissioners Association of Texas for Commissioners Billy Hall, Townley, and Larry Philipp.

Public comments

Gayla Bevins voiced her concerns about a ditch, asking Commissioner Hall for a resolution to fix it.

Judge Vanlandingham recognized the flags of the different military branches on display in the courtroom.These flags are on loan from the Bosque River Valley Chapter of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution.

Usual business

The court approved the payment of claims, salaries, and wages against county and precinct funds.

The court approved extending the COVID-19 Declaration of Local Disaster issued by the county judge, pursuant to Chapter 418 of the Government Code for another seven days.