Cleanup from Tropical Storm Harvey is beginning to wind down. Emergency Management Coordinator Joel Ardoin gave an update Tuesday to the Commissioners Court on the pickup of debris caused by the storm.
Ardoin informed the Commissioners that county crews picked up 1,314 cubic yards of debris last week. He said the amount of debris is dwindling greatly and recommended the county release the big grapple truck and use just the two smaller trucks. FEMA has established August 25 as the deadline for debris removal for which it will pay reimbursements.
Nancy Beward with Windorf Beward and Partners presented a 35-minute power point program. Beward explained the work being done by her company to assist Orange County in its disaster recovery. The company is helping the county receive grant funds from multiple agencies to cover items such as debris removal, road repairs, improving drainage, repairing damage to buildings, and hazard mitigation. The amount of reimbursement could be in the tens of millions of dollars.
Bids to repair damage to county buildings were approved by the Court. The Sheriff’s Office will get new flooring at a cost of $16,666 which is about half the cost of the original bid to put tiles on the 2750 square-foot facility. The work is expected to begin July 22 and take seven to ten days to complete which has Sheriff Keith Merritt extremely happy.
The painting of the interior of the County Clerk’s Office except for one wall which is brick was approved by the Commissioners. This work is not related to damage from the storm last August. It is needed to match the areas painted that were damaged by Harvey. Commissioner Jody Crump cast the only vote against the painting project at a cost of $5,343 since it is not covered by insurance.
Orange County has assumed the operation of the county airport on Highway 87 this week. The Commissioners approved a line item transfer of $5,400 to cover additional airport mowing for the remainder of the fiscal year. Purchasing Agent Connie Cassidy was approved to advertise for bids on aviation fuel that will be used at the Orange County Airport.
A bid to buy a piece of trust property at 110 Mary in Bridge City was approved by the Commissioners. The property was to be considered for sale two weeks ago, but Tax Assessor Collector Karen Fisher could not attend that meeting.
Last week a second bid was phoned in to the tax office shortly before the Commissioners Court meeting, and the item was tabled until the second bid could be confirmed. In the week since then, the original bidder withdrew their bid when informed the new bid was considerably higher. The bid of $9,500 dollars was accepted by the Court Tuesday after a discussion on the policy of when bids should be cutoff for such items.
Commissioner John Gothia was concerned about the fairness of the process currently used. Counsel for the Court Assistant District Attorney Denise Gremillion said there is nothing in either the property code or the tax code that prohibits the county from receiving bids up to the point when the Commissioners Court approves a bid. Several of the Commissioners agreed a workshop maybe needed to discuss a change in the policy.
The Commissioners Court approved a letter of support for Jefferson Energy Terminal and its planned dock improvements on the Orange County side of the Port of Beaumont. The expansion is expected to allow Jefferson Energy to increase its exports of crude oil and ultra-low sulfur diesel by six million barrels annually.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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