Polk County News - Breakout

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The Polk County Historical Commission had its first meeting of 2023 on Jan. 17 at the Polk County Chamber of Commerce in Livingston. New members added to the commission include Laverne Taylor, Joe Ann Manry and Emily Banks Wooten. All members are appointed by the Polk County Commissioners Court in odd-numbered years to serve two-year terms. Back row (l-r) Roy Newport, Otto Lyons, Gary Davis, Kathryn Richardson, Joyce Johnston, Joe Ann Manry, Emily Banks Wooten and Nita Battise. Front row (l-r) Laverne Taylor, Patricia Snook, Museum Curator Betsy Deiterman, J.D. Coogler, Joanne Westmoreland and Mona Marsh. Members not pictured include Josh David, Kathy Lott, Annette Lowe and Kathy Prescott. Courtesy photo

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By Emily Banks Wooten
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In what Polk County Judge Sydney Murphy referred to as “a yearly event,” the Polk County Commissioners Court approved a resolution in opposition to unfunded mandates from the state during its regular meeting Tuesday.

Again, the Texas Association of Counties has requested each county approve a resolution in opposition to unfunded mandates imposed by the state. The county auditor’s office recently completed an unfunded mandate survey and we do have to give a huge thanks to the auditor’s office because that’s a lot of work to try to gather that information,” Murphy said.

“Part of what happens when we receive mandates from the state and have to follow them, then they basically leech money away from the taxpayers and away from the county. The unfunded mandates on any given year can go anywhere from 35% to 45% of our budget,” Murphy said.

The Court received a nuisance abatement hearing determination for Cause No. A00522 following a hearing in a Polk County Justice Court and approved an order to abate and move forward. The property in question is located in Tree Harbor in Precinct 2.

Two requests for exemption from the county subdivision regulations were approved – one is the development of Abst. 77 of the A. Viesca Survey (154.381 acres) located in Precinct 1 and consisting of one tract with access to existing public road with no other common areas and/or streets and the other is the development of Abst. 77 of the A. Viesca Survey (two acres) located in Precinct 1 and consisting of one tract with access to existing public roads with no other common areas and/or streets.

The Court approved 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, specifically, after market equipment on a leased vehicle for the fire marshal, in the amount of $7,055 and an upgrade to the jail camera system, not to exceed $211,552.18.

The appointment of Rachel Slocomb Drake to the Burke Center Board of Trustees to fill the unexpired portion of Col. Howard Daniel’s two-year term that began Sept. 1, 2021 was approved.

A resolution for the restructuring of the adult sexual assault response team was approved with Shelly Sitton replacing Lee Hon, Tami Pierce replacing Beverly Armstrong, David Mitchell replacing Craig Finegan and Kaleb Barker replacing Leon Middleton.

Several items related to some of the local volunteer fire departments’ utilization of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds were approved, including the following:

Payment to Wanco for generator/light tower equipment for the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Nation VFD, in the amount of $10,000;

Payment to Lone Star Emergency Group to replace fire pump and pump motor for the brush truck for the Corrigan VFD, in the amount of $10,000;

Payment to South Polk County VFD Inc. for a brush truck for the Holiday Lake Estates VFD, in the amount of $10,000;

Payment to Dalmatian Fire Equipment LLC for 10 self-contained breathing apparatus packs for the Livingston VFD, in the amount of $10,000;

Payment to Nalcom Wireless Communications for radio equipment for the Segno VFD, in the amount of $7,557.50;

Payment to Red Barn for materials to replace the roof and rafters for the Segno VFD, in the amount of $2,442.50;

Payment to W.S. Darley & Co. for firefighting equipment for the Goodrich VFD, in the amount of $10,000; and

Payments to Thomas Supply, Lowes Home Centers, Tejas Paint & Flooring and General Wire & Electric Supply for materials to renovate the Indian Springs VFD station, not to exceed $10,000 in total.

In personnel matters, the Court reviewed and approved personnel action form requests submitted since the last meeting and reviewed four authorized emergency hirings – two at the sheriff’s office, one in maintenance and one in road and bridge. They also approved an update to the personnel management system.

The Court approved the fiscal year 2023 budget revisions and amendments as presented by the county auditor’s office.

During informational reports, Precinct 1 Constable Scott Hughes presented a report to the Court regarding the services provided by his office.

“I took office January 2013 and had one vehicle, one laptop that didn’t work and a bunch of evidence that wasn’t documented. Now, we fund my office fully. I have two fulltime contract deputies that are paid full time. They get the benefits and the insurance and the incentive package. I have three parttime employees that are paid, contract deputies because they’re not considered county employees, and support staff. What I come here today to talk about is we’ve been trying to work out an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with Goodrich School District since August. It boils down to the children’s safety, the teachers’ safety and the community’s safety,” Hughes said.

Two people addressed the Court during the portion of the meeting reserved for public comment – Billy Lambeth and Tyler Epstein.

Lambeth wanted to discuss a road at Outlaw Bend Subdivision. “The road makes an S and the school bus has to make two or three turns to get to it. An oil company was going to drill a well and I let them cut that corner of that S out. When the oil company gave it up, in my agreement they had to take the rock up and plant trees. I told them to leave it, I was going to try to swap it to the county. I went to Tommy (former Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Overstreet) three years ago and he said no, y’all didn’t want it. I put that place up for sale and if y’all want it now’s the time or it’s going to have to go back to the S curves. I’ll give y’all the new easement but I want y’all to abandon the old road and give it to me,” Lambeth said.

“You need to discuss that with the new commissioner. If you’ll provide that to the new commissioner, then he can take a look at it,” Murphy said.

Epstein wanted to discuss a gate on Sandy Land Road. “There’s a gate on Sandy Land Road by C.M. Hardy that is there blocking off a county road and there is no reason for it to be there. It’s not there by law. It needs to be removed. I’ve got an affidavit signed by a gentleman testifying to the fact that he put a fence over a county road on Horace Bond Road in 2006 and that is, again, a county road that’s being blocked, less than 20 years. I’ve also got an email from Bob Bass where he let Mr. Vincent (former Precinct 2 Commissioner Ronnie Vincent) know that a road laid out by a jury of view had to be formally abandoned or it’s still a county road and I have access to it. The commissioners court has not addressed that or taken advice from counsel. I think it’s owed to the taxpayers to explain why they are fighting litigation right now against the advice of counsel when by law, the county attorney is telling you that it is still a valid road because it hasn’t been abandoned properly and every effort has been made to find that this road has been abandoned and it’s not been. The other issue is the school owns two acres on this road that is also public property that if this can’t be accessed, it’s essentially landlocking public property as well, which can’t be done,” Epstein said.

Items on the consent agenda include:

Approval of the schedules of bills;

Approval of an order designating surplus property;

Receipt of the county auditor’s monthly report, pursuant to local government code Sec.114.025;

Receipt of the county treasurer’s fiscal year 2022 fourth quarter report;

Receipt of the sheriff’s department’s 2022 racial profiling report;

Approval of the sheriff’s request to submit an application to the office of the governor for the fiscal year 2023 criminal justice grant program for a special victims officer;

Approval of the sheriff’s request to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance for an evidence/procurement manager position;

Approval to construct a wall at Precinct 2 Road & Bridge in the amount of $1,000 to be funded out of the Precinct 2 Road & Bridge operating expenses fund; and

Approval of the purchase of a 2019 truck with trade-in for Precinct 1 Road & Bridge in the amount of $41,700.

Pastor Sonny Hathaway of Central Baptist Church of Livingston opened the meeting with prayer.

 

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By Albert Trevino
Enterprise Staff

The Corrigan City Council moved forward with multiple grant requests for law-enforcement upgrades during its January regular meeting.

During the action agenda, the council approved three requests to the Texas Criminal Justice Division’s (TCJD) grant program to primarily upgrade out-of-date equipment with the local police department.

Also during the meeting, the city officially called the upcoming General Election for May 6, 2023.

Dorrie Cotton was also appointed the City Secretary again after serving in the same position in recent years.

The first grant request is under the TCJD’s Rifle-Resistant Body Armor Grant Program. TCJD accepts applications for projects under this program to increase the safety of Texas law enforcement officers and prevent further loss of life in active shooter situations.

The Body-Worn Camera Grant Program is to equip peace officers with body-worn cameras to help improve public safety and support victims of crime by addressing system gaps and promoting innovative solutions to common problems.

The third grant on the agenda reportedly relates to upgrading equipment for law-enforcement vehicles.

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The January meeting of the LISD trustees opened with student recognition. Blake Thornton, Livingston High School Career & Technical Education Coordinator, brought students who participated in a welding event held at the high school where they earned certifications in welding processes. A total of 30 students earned more than 40 certifications. Welding instructors Edwin Buford, Jesse Lazenby, and Johnny Sitton were also recognized. Courtesy photo

By Brian Besch
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The Livingston ISD Board of Trustees heard reports on academic performance and approved the school calendar for 2023-2024 during School Board Recognition Month Monday in the high school library.

During public hearing, LISD Superintendent Dr. Brent Hawkins presented information on the Texas Academic Performance Report, which reflects a “B” rating for the district.

“The state uses a comprehensive reporting system defined by statute that was developed to provide a snapshot for our parents and community,” the superintendent said. “The report reflects the state average attendance at 94.9 percent, and the district ranked a tick higher at 95.3%. The college, career, and military readiness increased by 15.7% over last year’s rating. LISD graduation rate was 87.3%, and the six-year rate averages 93.4. The state mobility rate was 13.6%, and LISD was higher at 19.8%.

“This figure reflects that our students are more mobile than the state average. This requires the district to spend more money on interventions to make sure our students are successful. Last year, the district was 78% socioeconomically disadvantaged, and this year the number has dropped to 58.4%. While the numbers reflect that our families became wealthier, this number was changed because our families were required to fill out free lunch documentation online which depressed the completion rate. Our grant allows us to feed all LISD children for free, so we did not receive completed forms indicating the income status of our families. This impacts the funds we receive from grants, as well as our accountability ratings. It caused our district to be compared to more affluent districts.

“Our staff turnover rate was 27%. A short time ago, 50% of our teaching staff was made up of teachers with zero to five years of experience. Now, we have a healthy distribution of experience that makes up our teaching staff. When I arrived in the district 10 years ago, the district was ranked in the bottom-third of per-pupil revenue. Now we are in the top-third in the state and above the state average in teacher salaries. It has been a climb for everyone in the district to get to this level, but a priority the board set to achieve.”

Texas Association of School Boards designates January of each year as School Board Recognition Month.

“We recognize the importance of the role of a school board member,” Hawkins said to the board. “It is a crucial job in serving the students of LISD.”

The board received gifts, cards, letters, signs, and videos from students on every campus. The role of a trustee is possibly the most misunderstood, serving as trustees and not representatives. They are responsible for the oversight of the management of the organization.

Hawkins reviewed the Annual Performance Report with board members, highlighting the last two years of the district receiving “B” ratings, while maintaining an academically acceptable “C” rating for the previous 24 years.

“I’m so proud of the accomplishments in this report, as it is truly heartwarming to see the impact that has been made on our students,” he said. “This hard work accentuates the teamwork going on in this district and deservingly created the best report in the district’s history.”

The report highlights the decreasing tax rate over the last 10 years, bond refunding savings, and the low administrative cost ratios when compared to many other districts.

“A lot of administrators are wearing multiple hats, which gives us an advantage in keeping costs low,” Hawkins said. “We have a lot to be proud of – a robust teacher salary schedule, improved district safety, and improved curriculum practices. We honor our fine arts, academic, and student-athletes who competed above the district level at the Parade of Champions. We celebrate an incredibly low incident rate in the transportation department. Our 60 bus routes are covered by exceptional drivers, who travel a combined total of 4,026 miles each day, which is the distance from Livingston, Texas, to Anchorage, Alaska.

“Our second biggest cost to the district behind salaries is energy costs. The LISD Energy efficiency project saved $1,449,589 over the last four years. The Class of 2022 completed 350 academic dual-credit courses and earned 380 certifications. Research indicates students completing 24 college credit hours will complete a degree. The Class of 2022 was the first class to be offered 60 college credit hours paid by the district, and they also were the first class to be offered CTE dual-credit courses in cosmetology, and HVAC heating and air conditioning.

The 2023-2024 LISD School Calendar was created by the District Advisory Committee.  Hawkins said the perimeters of the calendar are provided by the state. Members of the District Advisory Committee submitted many versions of the proposed calendar, with some including a four-day school week. The board policy committee met and gave the recommendation to continue to study school districts that are the same size and geographical makeup to see how they manage a four-day week. The board policy committee narrowed the calendar choices to two. The decision between the two calendars was given to the employees of the district, and 65 percent of the vote selected the final version of the LISD school calendar. Board action approved the 2023-2024 school calendar.

In addition to minutes from previous board meetings, financial statement, payment of bills, and overnight trips, the consent agenda included a purchase amendment of over $50,000 for the purchase of a CTE vehicle.

“Each year for the last three years, we have had an agenda item to purchase a vehicle, but the order was filled,” Hawkins said. “We would like to purchase a vehicle from a local car lot.”

The consent agenda was approved unanimously.