Tuesday was the final Commissioners Court meeting of the year. It was also the final meeting for Commissioners Barry Burton and Jody Crump. Both were defeated in the Republican Primary earlier this year.
Burton and Crump expressed appreciation to their constituents for allowing them the opportunity to serve the county. They also thanked the other members of the Court for working together to make Orange County a better place.
The decision to cancel next week’s Commissioners Court on Christmas Day was approved previously. County Judge Dean Crooks reminded that the first meeting in January has been changed from Tuesday on New Year’s Day to Wednesday, January 2. The meeting will be held at 10:00 AM that day.
The Commissioners approved paying the bills as they do every meeting. Of special note was $180,228 for purchasing four new vehicles approved earlier for the Sheriff’s Office which were delivered in the last week. A payment of $332,688 will get six previously approved vehicles for the Road and Bridge Department. Those vehicles were delivered to the county, but have been returned for some minor alterations on them.
A decision on the new County Commissioner Precinct Two office building in Mauriceville will have to wait until the New Year. Maintenance Director Kurt Guidry has investigated several options for replacing the office building that was seriously damaged during Harvey. Guidry was not able to attend the meeting Tuesday so the Commissioners Court opted to take no action at this time on determining which option to use.
State Representative Dade Phelan whose office had been in the Mauriceville building has moved to the Veterans Administration Office on FM 1442. The lease with Phelan for that office was renewed by the Commissioners on Tuesday.
The contract with Republic Services to handle solid waste collection and recycling services for the county was renewed for another year. The Commissioners did discuss going out for bids for waste collection next year.
Assistant County Attorney Denise Gremillion was not able to attend the meeting on Tuesday. As a result, the closed executive session scheduled for the Commissioners Court with Gremillion was cancelled.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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