The Commissioners Court approved an amended easement for a right of way across the Orange County Airport at its meeting Tuesday. No action was taken on the renewal of a Re-investment Zone in the western part of the county.
The renewed easement is with ExxonMobil and was previously granted with Socony Mobil Oil Company in 1959 when the airport was owned by the Brown family. ExxonMobil will pay the county $167,178.5 which will cover the new agreement for the easement and back pay for the easement which has not been collected for several years.
The scheduled public hearing and the agenda item to renew the Re-investment Zone in Vidor for the Jefferson Energy plant were both cancelled. Jessica Hill with the Orange County Economic Development Corporation said not all of the taxing entities involved in the Re-investment Zone had been notified of the public hearing so it has been postponed to a later date.
Orange County will be participating in the annual Trash Off and Tire Disposal Drive in the City of Orange which is scheduled for Saturday, March 2. Speaking for Keep Orange County Beautiful were Deborah Bednar and David Derosier in support of efforts to clean up trash and especially the disposal of old tires.
This year’s Trash Off will be a joint effort of Shangri La and Keep Orange County Beautiful. The Trash Off will start at the City of Orange Boat Ramp and then spread out across the city to collect trash, litter, and even tires.
The Commissioners Court approved a $500 contribution to Southeast Texas Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) which is aligned with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in the disposal of the old tires that will be collected. The contribution will be used to defer administrative costs for RC&D. Commissioner Robert Viator reminded the Court the City of Vidor started a similar trash pickup two years ago for that end of the county.
Patrick Beebe the director of the Orange County Mosquito Control District was approved to purchase special equipment for spraying and tracking the use of insecticides to kill mosquitoes. The London Fog spray equipment incorporates special Stellar VF-GPS systems that are valuable to Beebe in monitoring the work of the vehicles spraying to kill the mosquitoes. The systems will cost $30,434.07.
The contract for permit requirements with LJA Engineering was renewed also for Beebe’s department. The contract with LJA Engineering is a joint agreement with the company which includes Orange, Jefferson, and Chambers Counties for a reduced cost. The TCEQ first required the permitting in 2012.
Approval was given by the Commissioners Court to transfer funds from the contingency fund to help pay for drainage improvements along FM 1442 at the entrance to the Entergy power plant. Road and Bridge Engineer Clark Slacum obtained a grant to pay for most of the work, but $4,400 needed to be transferred to cover the total cost. Drainage pipes to be replaced are a 320-foot section in front of the power plant and shorter section further down the road of about 45 feet.
There will be no Commissioners Court meeting next week. All four Commissioners plan to attend the Orange County Days at the capital in Austin next week so there will not be a quorum present for the meeting.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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