Commissioners meeting July 13, 2015
A reinvestment zone was approved by the Commissioners Court Monday for LaPoint Energy Partners. Economic Development Director Bobby Fillyaw has been working with LaPoint Energy to get them to locate to Orange County. Fillyaw gave the basics of the agreement between Orange County and LaPoint Energy. Fillyaw said it is a one hundred percent abatement, but there are payments in lieu of taxes that Lapoint will be paying to the county over the term of 10 years which increase as the years go by. LaPoint will be making payments of 58 to 59 percent of the value of their property to Orange County over 10 years under Chapter 381 according to Fillyaw. The payments in lieu of taxes is commonly known by the acronym PILOT.
Details are still to be released, but Assistant County Attorney Doug Manning received approval Monday from the Commissioners Court to accept a settlement in the British Petroleum lawsuit stemming from the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill. Manning was asked what the amount of the settlement is for Orange County, but
Manning stated that he was advised by the county’s outside counsel to make no statement as to the amount of the claim for Orange County and added that it would be reflected in the settlement agreement and that outside counsel would tell him when and to what extent he could disclose that information.
The Commissioners Court approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the Orange County Public Health center and the City of Houston. Shelly Dilbeck is a nurse with Orange County Public Health, and Dilbeck explained the reason for the agreement. Dilbeck said this will allow Orange County and Houston to share data bases pertaining to food borne illnesses like salmonella to track and determine the source such as a restaurant or grocery store to fight and prevent more outbreaks.
The Sheriff’s Office was approved by the Court to purchase a 2016 Toyota Tundra for use in the Special Services Division. The purchase will be at no cost to the county and will be paid for out of the Drug Forfeiture Account. The Juvenile Probation office was given permission to have a carport constructed on Market Street to park a new Ford Explorer for the office. Craig Corder the Juvenile Probation Director said probation fees will pay for construction of the carport. There will be no Commissioners Court meeting next week since County Judge Brint Carlton and at least one Commissioner would not be able to attend the meeting if it was held. The Court will meet as usual on Monday, July 27 with two public hearings in the morning and the regular session in the afternoon.
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