Commissioners approve tree cutting and removal bid

• Emergency Management Coordinator Leonard Smith speaks to County Commissioners at their May 20 meeting about how they plan to distribute the 23 hand-held radios the court voted to purchase. Photo by Roxanne Thompson/Fairfield Recorder

Freestone County Commissioners accepted a bid on tree cutting and removal from four bids received.

The commissioners took this step at their May 8 meeting, when they also authorized the county treasurer to request capital credits.

As for the bid for tree cutting and removal, that bid was awarded to Kent Philips Trucking, but the commissioners noted that if that company is not available to do a job, the county may call a different company.

COUNTY TREASURER TO APPLY FOR CAPITAL CREDITS

In other matters, the court approved having County Treasurer Jeannie Keeney apply for any capital credits that have accrued to be sent to the county. Keeney said that once the credits arrive, the court may decide how the funds will be spent.

Also at the meeting, although the commissioners had planned to hold a discussion on cyber-security, IT Director Dane McBroom had not received all the required paperwork, so the item had to be tabled again.

DISASTER DECLARATION

Freestone County Judge Linda Grant issued a local disaster declaration for Freestone County as a result of the significant damage caused by flooding, tornadoes and high winds beginning April 26 and continuing for several weeks.

Judge Grant issued the disaster proclamation just before noon on Thursday, after the May 15-16 Commissioners Court meeting. The Commissioners Court meeting began on Wednesday, May 15, but ultimately recessed until Thursday, May 16, and continued then.

During the Public Comments portion of Thursday’s meeting, Martin Widtfeldt, the District Disaster Coordinator in Waco, spoke about the state’s effort to access federal disaster funds after the damaging storms from April 26 to the present. Widtfeldt asked whether Freestone County intended to make a local disaster declaration for the county, and he offered to help the county make such a declaration. The county loss threshold for a disaster declaration is $89,530, he said, and the state loss threshold is $53 million.

“We wouldn’t be pushing so hard for this if we didn’t think we had a good argument to pursue this federal money,” Widtfeldt told the court.

INVESTMENT POOL OPTIONS EXPLAINED

On a separate matter, David Shechtman, with Hilltop Securities, made a presentation to the court on Hilltop’s local investment pool.

An investment pool, he explained, is a money market fund created for governmental entities such as counties, cities, school districts, appraisal districts and water districts. Hilltop offers two investments: TexSTAR and LOGIC, and Shechtman explained their similarities and differences. Grant said that information would be given to the county’s investment committee.

APPRAISAL FIRM CONTRACT RENEWED Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the court approved renewing a contract with Pritchard & Abbott, an appraisal consulting firm that works with the Tax Office on appraisals. Tax Assessor/Collector Daniel Ralstin told the court Pritchard & Abbott maintains the computers and computer software in the Tax Office.

The current year’s charge (2023-24) was $129,940 and expires June 30. The proposed new contract will run July 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2026, and will cost $139,650, which is about a 7.5 percent increase, Ralstin said. The charge for 2025-26 would be $143,640, which would be about a 3 percent increase, he added.

SHERIFF’S OFFICE SB 22 FUNDS WORKED OUT

In other business, the court members had an extended discussion on Wednesday on how exactly the Senate Bill 22 funds for the Sheriff’s Office would be allocated. The court discussed the matter further on Thursday.

Ultimately, the court raised the starting salaries to $50,000 for deputies and $40,000 for jailers; raised the salaries of current deputies, jailers and administrators to bring the pay to the higher level and also include longevity pay, incentive pay and any other additional pay; and agreed to order two new patrol vehicles.

DRUG TESTING POLICY TABLED

Also at Thursday’s meeting, the court revisited a discussion from Wednesday’s meeting on possible changes to the county’s drug testing policy and reporting of drug test results. Judge Grant noted that according to county hiring policy, if a job applicant tests positive for drugs, that person’s test results are to be sent to a second drug testing facility and the applicant asked what medications they are taking, to determine if a medication has the potential to cause false positive results. Ultimately, the court tabled this item until the meeting of Monday, May 20.

OTHER COURT BUSINESS

In other action, the court:

• Approved the Texas Association of Counties’ insurance policy for Fiscal Year 2025. County Auditor Karen Craddock noted that new property had been added to the policy and new emergency vehicles. Craddock said she had been advised to add 10 percent because of all the storm damage.

• Received from IT Director Dane McBroom a copy of his proposed cyber security policy for the court to review and provide feedback later;

• Heard from Sheriff Jeremy Shipley and Mc-Broom about about using a system called E-Force for law enforcement. Mc-Broom said the county simply has to choose a software that works with E-Force. Consequently, the item was tabled to a future date.

• Took no action to re-initiate a burn ban; and

• Authorized Memorial Day fireworks sales.

WIND TURBINE PROJECT MAY COME TO FREESTONE

During the Public Comments portion of Wednesday’s meeting, Dan Stendahl, with Apex Clean Energy, spoke about his company, which constructs wind, solar and storage facilities across North America.

Apex Energy is based in Charlottesville, Va., and has been in operation 15 years. Stendahl spoke about a wind turbine energy project the company hopes to build in western Freestone and eastern Limestone counties.

The project would add jobs and diversify the tax base, he told the commissioners.

The plan would see construction south of Teague in 2027 and commercial operation in 2028.

He estimated the project would produce about 10 long-term jobs.