It is always a good day when someone gives you money. Tuesday was a good day for Orange County as Jefferson Energy Terminal presented the Commissioners Court five checks totaling over $4.65 million.
Mark Viator the director of government affairs for Jefferson Energy Terminal in Orange County at the Port of Beaumont gave the payments and thanked the Commissioners Court for their granting abatements to the company since 2014. Viator emphasized his company also employs 489 full-time and capital contract workers. Eighty-one of those live in Orange County.
That got Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting off to a good start. County Emergency Management Coordinator Joel Ardoin followed that with more good news that the debris collected following Imelda has been completely removed from the Orange County landfill and taken to Newton County. Ardoin said 23,657 cubic yards were taken to the permanent landfill in Newton County.
The final step will be to restore the cap at the county landfill on FM 1442. Ardoin indicated this will be done by the contractor Ashbritt when the ground has gotten a little drier since it is too muddy currently.
The Commissioners did hear some bad news from Maintenance Director Kurt Guidry concerning the former Commissioner’s office on Highway 62 in Mauriceville. The contractor Scarborough Construction which is scheduled to do the repairs to the building has discovered mold in the ceiling. This will delay the long awaited renovation of the structure.
Guidry presented the Court two options for fixing the problem. The first option is ripping out the current sheet rock ceiling and installing new sheet rock which will take more time and may require the whole project being rebid. Guidry stated the other option would be to remove the mold infested ceiling and replace it with a dropping ceiling. The Court was definitely in favor of doing the second option because of time and cost.
In the meantime, the Commissioners recommended using the delay to add sand or other material to the base of the office building. The structure only has floor joists and no actual floor. Sheriff Keith Merritt has offered inmates at the jail to help with raising the base.
Guidry did have positive news about the repairs to the Claiborne West Park. The office there is only about two and a half weeks away from being completed. Work on the pavilions is continuing. Next will be addressing leaks in the plumbing that serve the pavilions.
The Sheriff’s Office was approved to purchase a new ice making machine for the Orange County Jail. The cost will be 2,724 dollars.
The Parks Department will buy back one of the lawn mowers that were flooded during Imelda. Parks Director Sabrina Gray said the county could actually get $917 as a refund for the depreciation of the two mowers. Parts of the two mowers will be cannibalized to make the mower being bought back to work. The Texas Association of Counties has previously issued a full insurance payment for the two mowers which were thought to be totaled by the flooding.
The Commissioners approved an agreement with the City of Orange for Orange County to contribute Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funds of up to $100,000 for fencing around the city’s pavilion project at the Boat Ramp. The use of HOT funds for this type of project is authorized by the tax code as amended by the Texas Senate in 2019.
No action was taken to approve an agreement between Orange County and Liberty Marketing Company. Liberty is producing two thousand maps on which it wanted to include an endorsement from the county. Assistant County Attorney Denise Gremillion explained the Texas Constitution forbids the county from doing that for one business over another.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
Starting on March 3 the landfill will have a list of standard fees to be charged for different items.
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