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Polk County News - Breakout

Public input sought on voluntary annexation

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Onalaska logoThe Onalaska City Council will receive public input on the voluntary annexation of 96.090 acres of land located in the John Burgess Survey, Abstract 7 and the Wesley Fletcher Survey, Abstract 827, Polk County, Texas with service plan, by Wagner Farms LLC, the property owner, during a public hearing at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Council will consider approval of an ordinance annexing the land during its regular meeting at 5 p.m.

Council is slated to deliberate and consider action on the termination of the contract with McCreary Veselka Bragg & Allen PC to enforce the collection of debt and account receivables for municipal fees and fines.

In related activity, Council is also slated to deliberate and consider the adoption of an ordinance authorizing a collection fee in the amount of 30% as provided by Article 103.0031 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure for the collection of debt and account receivables for municipal fees and fines; and a resolution approving a contract with Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson LLP to enforce the collection of debt and account receivables for municipal fees and fines.

Property Owner Timothy Frank Dassow is slated to make a presentation to Council regarding Lots 206 and 207 of Section 1 of Canyon Park to show cause why such building should not be declared unsafe and/or dangerous. Following his presentation, Council will consider action to declare the building unsafe or dangerous and act on an order to vacate, remove or demolish the structure.

Reports will be presented on behalf of the police department, fire department, fire marshal/building inspector, library representative and city administrator. The Veterans Day art contest winners will be announced and recognized.

Other items on the agenda include approval of the minutes, vouchers and financial reports.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Public hearing on city agenda to determine if property is unsafe

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City of Livingston logoThe Livingston City Council will hold a public hearing on the determination of an unsafe and/or dilapidated building and cleanup of the property during its regular meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Following the public hearing Council will discuss and consider action on the final order for the property.

The property in question is a residential structure located at 1008 Dunbar Ave. owned by Dunbar Livingston 1008, LLC, the property being described as: Lot 6 of Block 1 of the Viola Jones Addition, a subdivision in the City of Livingston, in Polk County, Texas, according to the map or plat thereof recorded in Volume 1, Page 98 of the Plat Records of Polk County, Texas, also known as 1008 Dunbar Ave., Livingston, Texas.

Council is slated to discuss and consider action on the City of Livingston’s personnel policy update which was tabled from the Oct. 11 meeting for additional review. A preliminary plat review for the 190 Apartments Subdivision will also be considered for approval.

Holiday compensation for 2022 will be considered for approval as will the setting of the 2023 calendar year holiday observances.

Several items are on the agenda regarding the Texas General Land Office community block grant disaster recovery program. Council is slated to consider a proposed resolution authorizing the submission of the application and authorizing the mayor to act as the city’s executive officer and authorized representative in all matters pertaining to the city’s participation. Council will also consider a proposed resolution adopting the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development financial management and procurement guidelines; consider approval to begin procurement of engineering and administration services for the grant; and appoint a rating review committee to rate the proposals received.

An executive session is on the agenda at which time Council is expected to consult with the city attorney and review the salary schedule for the fiscal year Oct. 1, 2022 through Sept. 30, 2023. However, any action will be taken upon return to open session.

Livingston Police Chief Matt Parrish and Lieutenant Marty Drake will present an update to Council regarding the use of Flock Group Inc. automated license plate recognition cameras.

Other items on the agenda include the city manager’s monthly report, accounts over $500 and minutes of the Oct. 11 meeting.

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Amended agreement on agenda

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Polk County LogoThe Polk County Commissioners Court will consider approval of an amended agreement with Goodwin Lassiter & Strong for engineering services for the water infrastructure projects to be funded by the American Rescue Plan Act during its regular meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

A request from the county clerk to utilize the judicial center break room to temporarily house voter registration records will be considered.

Proposed revisions to the Polk County subdivision regulations will be considered and a public hearing scheduled.

An amendment to the SAAFE House lease agreement will be considered for approval, as will a resolution supporting additional measures to secure the U.S.-Mexico border against criminal activity.

The Court will consider requests for capital purchases to be paid from the general fund balance and included on the fiscal year 2023 reimbursement resolution for the year-end issuance of legally authorized debt as follows – a request from the Precinct 1 justice of the peace for the purchase a desktop scanner not to exceed $1,000 and a request from information technology for the purchase of computers for the annual technology rotation not to exceed $30,180.

An offer to purchase Lot 19 of Block 12 of Section 1 of Impala Woods, tax foreclosed property in Precinct 2, will be considered for approval.

In personnel matters, the Court will review and consider personnel action form requests submitted since the last meeting and review any authorized emergency hirings. Additionally, the Court will consider fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2023 budget revisions and amendments as presented by the county auditor’s office.

During informational reports, the Court will receive updated landfill and collection station rate sheets from Republic Services.

Items on the consent agenda include:

Approve minutes of the Oct. 25 regular meeting;

Approve schedules of bills;

Approve order designating surplus property;

Approve enrollment in Texas Association of Counties cybersecurity training;

Update master street address guide; and

Approve order assigning space in county-owned buildings.

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Early voting - Roughly 22% of county’s voters turned out early

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From Enterprise Staff

As of 4:45 p.m. Friday, 9,331 ballots had been cast during early voting for the Nov. 8 general election – 6,025 in Livingston, 913 in Corrigan and 2,393 in Onalaska. Those 9,331 ballots account for 22.087% of the 42,245 total registered voters in Polk County.

Voters opting to wait until Tuesday, Election Day, to cast their ballot may vote from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at any of the following polling places:

•Escapees Clubhouse at 100 Rainbow Dr. in Livingston

Trinity Lutheran Church at 221 Pan American Dr. in Livingston

Scenic Loop Fire Department at 1406 FM 3277 in Livingston

Onalaska Sub-Courthouse at 14111 U.S. Hwy. 190 West in Onalaska

Blanchard Baptist Church at 2450 FM 2457 in Livingston

St. Joseph Catholic Church Family Center at 2590 Hwy. 190 West in Livingston

Dunbar Community Center at 1102 Martin Luther King Dr. in Livingston

Sechrest Webster Community Center at 100 W. Front St. in Corrigan

Alabama-Coushatta Administration Building at 571 State Park Rd. #56 in Livingston

Schwab City Baptist Church at 10998 Hwy. 146 South in Livingston

Soda Baptist Church at 8135 U.S. Hwy. 190 East in Livingston

Polk County Judicial Center at 101 W. Mill St. in Livingston

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Protecting yourself

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By Brian Besch
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An active shooter and critical incident response seminar was held at Dunbar Gym to give the community a better understanding on actions to take and how to prepare for the worst of situations.

Employees of school districts, hospitals, churches, law enforcement, as well as first responders and community leaders were all invited to attend the presentations held Thursday morning and afternoon.

The seminar was held by Ricardo Garcia of the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office. Garcia has held these talks for over six years now and upon retiring in two weeks, plans for many more. He has held positions in hostage negotiation, SWAT team, and medical training.

“You are only going to be able to do what you already have planned,” Garcia explained to those on hand. “We have to encourage our teachers, our schools, our businesses, our churches to just accept the fact that we have to start preparing for these things. I think one of the most important parts of preparation is that we have to accept that this is currently the world we are living in. We can’t ignore this; it is not just going to go away.”

Garcia said many ask what should be looked for and what is the profile of the shooters.

“The truth is, we don’t have one. We have shooters that are 10-year-old boys, 12-year-old girls, teenagers, we’ve had married couples working in tandem, members of faith, we have had attorneys, we have had veterans, we have had homeless people. Everybody that you can imagine has been an active shooter in this country.”

Though not able to give a profile, Garcia said the one thing they all have in common is preparation. He said that gives law enforcement an edge, because each will look to see what has worked in the past.

Garcia also warned that the main goal active shooters are hoping to accomplish is the highest death total possible. He fears that many of the active shooter situations will instead turn to explosives.

An example he gave of this was at Columbine High School. He said the death total there should have been at over 600. However, two very large explosive devices on weight-bearing pillars failed to function because of a small mistake on timers.

School shootings go all the way back to 1927 in Bath, Michigan. A man, upset that he was taken off the school board as treasurer, killed his wife and destroyed their farm. He then went to the school and detonated explosives 15 minutes after class began. As the town’s people came to rescue survivors, another round of explosives were set off. At 45 people, it remains the deadliest school attack in United States history.

“This is the mentality and you never know what is going through someone’s mind,” Garcia said. “No one talks about this because it wasn’t firearms, it was explosives.”

He also explained that the response in Uvalde was incorrect from law enforcement.

“Since Uvalde happened, everybody questions law enforcements’ response. They asked me all the time what the sheriff’s office is doing differently. The answer is that we are not training them any differently, because we don’t understand what they were doing in Uvalde. We look at those videos and it goes against every single thing that we teach. It was completely wrong on every level. We don’t know what those officers were doing and why, or what was their mentality. We’re not changing the way that we are training, because we know that our training is correct.”

The way officers are now trained, the first on the scene goes to engage the attackers. He said officers should be equipped and trained to go directly into the area of danger. His reasoning was if the shooters are now engaged with law enforcement, they are no longer a threat to civilians and casualties are limited.

Thursday’s session ended with first aid and tourniquet training, which Garcia said would save many lives if used during these horrific events.

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