By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
All five members of commissioners court were present.
Here’s what happened at the meeting:
Court approves resolution for HAVA grant
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to approve a resolution allowing County Clerk
Teresa Esther Chapoy to apply for a $60,000 grant for voting equipment under the Help
Americans Vote Act (HAVA). County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. noted the court had
previously approved the action, but noted grantors needed a formal resolution from the
court. Owens said the grant will require a 20-percent match from the county.
Court approves overtime for tax office remodeling
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to approve overtime funds to be paid for
county employees working on a remodeling project at the county tax assessor collector’s
office. County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. said the remodel would include workstations at
the tax office and would be done by building maintenance employees and members of the
county’s information technology staff. County Tax Assessor Collector Elodia “Loly”
Garcia said the remodel will be done July 4 through July 6, over the Fourth of July
holiday, to minimize impacts to the public.
Court approves certification required by Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to approve “a certification required by CEO
(chief executive officer) and head of law enforcement agency.” The certification,
required by the Texas governor’s office, assures the state that Lewis, as county CEO, and
County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez “participate fully and will continue to participate
fully”. . .“in all aspects of the programs and procedures utilized by the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) notify DHS of all information requested by DHS
related to illegal aliens in agency’s (sheriff’s office) custody; and (2) detain such illegal
aliens in accordance with requests by DHS.”
Court approves National Guard use of camp at SE Ranch
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to allow the National Guard to use the “old
Bravo Camp” on acreage that is part of the county’s SE Ranch property. County Judge
Lewis G. Owens Jr. told the court if it approved use of the land, he would begin the
process of exploring bringing city water to the site. On a question from County Commissioner Pct. 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez about the National Guard’s goal in the area,
Owens replied he did not know. Owens noted that if the city were amenable to
constructing a water line to the camp, that line could also serve Laughlin Air Force Base.
Court appoints representative to appraisal district board
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to approve the appointment of Robert
“Bobby” Hernandez to serve on the Val Verde County Appraisal District Board of
Directors. County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. noted the court had previously appointed
Randle Dissler to serve on the appraisal board, but said Dissler had to resign because the
court appointed him to serve as the Precinct 2 justice of the peace. Owens said Hernandez
is currently employed as a sergeant with the Del Rio Police Department. County
Commissioner Pct. 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez made the motion to appoint Hernandez.
Court approves salary increases, personnel moves for district attorney’s office
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to approve two requests by District Attorney
Suzanne West. The court unanimously approved a request by West to increase salaries of
law enforcement staff and others in her office as outlined by Senate Bill 22 and West’s
request to switch investigators to be paid from one budget to another budget. County
Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. noted the requests will not cost the county any money.
Court approves MOU with Texas Advocacy Program
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to grant County Attorney David Martinez the
authority to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Texas Advocacy
Program (TAP) “to formalize the commitment of the two parties to work together to
provide trauma-responsive services to the survivors of abuse.” The court also listened to a
presentation from a TAP representative about the services offered by the program.
Court approves change order for Laughlin sunshades project
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to approve a change order request from Agate
Steel Inc. Laughlin Air Force Base T1-A Aircraft Sunshades Project for lightning
protection installation for rows P and Q. County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. noted there
are funds in the grant to complete the change order. County Engineer Carlos Velarde said
the county received a $3.6 million grant for the sunshades project, and the contract in
place with Agate Steel is for $3,350,000. Velarde told the court the amount of the change
order is $220,000.
Court selects contractor for new gun range facility project
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to award a contract to J.P. Sanchez
Construction of Del Rio for the gun range facility project. The range will be built on land
adjacent to the Precinct 3 yard off U.S. Highway 277 north of Del Rio. County Judge
Lewis G. Owens Jr. said the county received six proposals for the project and noted that
Sanchez Construction was the proposal scored the highest by a committee of county
evaluators on criteria approved by the court, but added the company did not have the
lowest cost proposal.
Court approves contractor for adult probation expansion project
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to give County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr.
authority to negotiate with the companies that had the three highest-scoring proposals for
a project to expand the adult probation department. Owens told the court if he cannot
negotiate with the companies for a price falling under the amount the county had set aside
for the project, the county will have to re-advertise for new proposals.
Court selects healthcare plan for county employees
• Commissioners court members voted 5-0 to select a healthcare plan for county
employees for the coming year. The court heard a presentation on the health plan during
its last meeting and spent about 45 minutes Wednesday discussing various options
available through the Texas Association of Counties (TAC). A TAC representative
present at Wednesday’s meeting went over the county’s options in detail and answered a
number of questions posed by members of the court. The TAC representative urged the
court to encourage employees to take advantage of the county’s wellness plan and free
preventive screenings, noting that a large portion of the high-cost claims from county
employees were the result of diabetes-related issues.
Court celebrates June/July birthdays
• County elected officials and department heads celebrating late June and early July
birthdays were recognized at Wednesday’s meeting. Among those celebrating were
County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr., County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez, County
Commissioner Pct. 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez, County Commissioner Pct. 3 Fernando
Garcia and County Human Resources Director Juanita Barrera.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com .
