Plywood plant progress discussed

WOODVILLE – The Tyler County Commissioners Court held its first meeting of 2023 with new faces on the bench.

County Judge Milton Powers presided over his first meeting, along with new Pct. 2 commissioner Doug Hughes.

Powers quickly called the meeting to order and called for approval of the minutes from the December 12 meeting, which were unanimously approved. All monthly reports were also approved form the various offices within the courthouse.

Powers then moved on to the agenda items for approval. Two tabled items from last month were removed; Item A was the Tyler County Tax Abatement Policy for the Houston Plywood Plant, which Pct. 3 Commissioner Mike Marshall discussed again and brought the court up to date on its progress. According to Marshall, equipment is being moved in, and they are getting set up in phases. The court approved the request to pursue the tax abatement for the plant. Item B removed was the Reinvestment Zone Property (also known as Tax Increment Finance “TIF” Zone), located in precinct 3.

Agenda items considered for approval were quickly addressed. Item A and B were budget and accounts payable items; these were approved quickly, as was items C, D, E and F, (i.e.: surety bonds, board contract for preservation of district clerk records prior to 1950, purchase of office equipment, and renewal of the Texas Forest Country Partnership Member Investment). The court unanimously approved the donation of a 2012 Dodge van from East Texas Support Services for the Senior Nutrition Center. This van will be used to transport meals from the hospital to the center once the program gets started.

Agenda item J, which was the consideration of a vendor agreement between the Tyler County Senior Nutrition program and Tyler County Hospital District to provide meals for the senior nutrition program was discussed and tabled by commissioner Joe Blacksher.

Blacksher said he wants to be absolutely certain they have met all the requirements, and at this point in time, he wants to have a special meeting with representatives from the hospital district.

One last item approved by the court was the transfer of funds from the Emergency Disaster Relief fund to Pct. 2 to cover a deficit in the amount of $60K.