The Commissioners Court held a one-hour workshop Tuesday to hear about the progress of removing debris from properties in the county. Representatives from Ashbritt and Tetra Tech informed the Commissioners that there are about 77 vehicles currently working in the county to remove the debris. Buddy Lofton with Ashbritt is sticking by his company’s earlier prediction that the debris pickup should be complete by Thanksgiving.
County Judge Brint Carlton said progress is being made to get debris on private and commercial property to the landfill. About 54 percent of the original quarter million cubic yards of debris has been hauled to the Orange County landfill. The county has received permission for Ashbritt to make one pass to pick up debris from small businesses’ property and to remove debris on private roads. Judge Carlton indicated the county is still trying to receive a waiver from FEMA to allow for debris on private property to be removed. “As of right now things are going as quickly as we can,” Carlton concluded.
During its regular session on Tuesday the Commissioners Court approved a new disaster pay plan for county employees. Under the new plan which is based on a similar plan used by Jefferson County, Orange County employees at the Courthouse and in the Sheriff’s Office will all be under the same policy.
Employees that actually work during a declared disaster would get time and a half their normal salaries for their first 40 hours worked and then another time and a half for any overtime worked over 40 hours a week. County employees who do not actually work during a declared disaster get paid their regular salaries.
Commissioner Johnny Trahan worked on the new plan and believes it is fair to all the county employees. “It’s just something I thought we needed to do for fairness,” Trahan explained.
The plan was approved by a vote of 3 to 2. County Judge Brint Carlton and Commissioner Jody Crump opposed the plan with comments that they thought the compensation was too much for those employees who worked during a declared emergency.
Commissioners approved a resolution which will allow the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to issue grant funds to small businesses in Orange County that were damaged by Tropical Storm Harvey. The resolution will allow $150,000 to be used for the grants. Jessica Hill the Executive Director of the EDC said the response since applications for the grants became available this week has been very strong. Completed applications may be returned to Hill’s office in the Administration Building at the Courthouse beginning Monday, October 23.
Assistant County Attorney Doug Manning informed the Court that he has studied the minutes from a previous meeting where the Commissioners approved seeking a grant administrator for the flooding last March in the county. His recommendation as a result of his research is the Commissioners Court should rebid for another grant administrator to deal with damages from the Tropical Storm Harvey disaster and not include Harvey on the earlier RFP.
No fees will be charged citizens using the Orange County landfill through Tuesday, October 31. Landfill hours will be from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM on Mondays through Saturdays. The county will continue not charging any fee for citizens requesting building permits at least through the end of the month.
Two large line item transfers were approved by the Commissioners. The Sheriff’s Office had $428,669.50 transferred from contingency to cover the purchase of ten Ford Expeditions and several items for the Orange County Jail. The Road and Bridge Department had $246,763 transferred which will be used to purchase a new Gradall Excavator. The Commissioners had approved the purchases at a previous meeting.
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