Fannin County, Texas -- All five members of Fannin County Commissioners Court were present for a regular meeting held Tuesday, January 30, 2024. The meeting opened with an invocation by Jace Waller, pastor of Telephone Baptist Church, and pledges were led by Ruben Moreno.
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In public forum, Molly Hayes reminded residents that the deadline to register to vote in the primary election is February 5; early voting is set for February 20-March 5.
Mitchell Smith advised residents that Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller will be in Bonham on Friday, February 9 at Solid Rock Church.
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Fannin County Commissioners Court approved payment of bills totaling $57,125.43.
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Commissioners court approved minutes from regular meetings on November 7, 2023 and January 1, 2024, and the court approved minutes from a special meeting held December 5, 2023.
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Bonham Fire Chief Scott Ridling presented the EMS Monthly Report for December 2023.
Chief Ridling reported 401 calls for service, calling December a "pretty steady month."
Pct. 1 Commissioner Dale McQueen noted that the five-year contract between the county and EMS is coming up this year and asked for a breakdown of calls to particular zip codes.
Fannin County Judge Newt Cunningham said that he expects EMS expenses to go up.
Chief Ridling pointed out that the price for ambulances has gone up significantly during the course of the five-year contract.
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Fannin County Commissioners Court approved the Treasurer's Financial report for December 2023, as well as the Treasurer's Investment Report for December 2023.
Fannin County Treasurer David Woodson told the court that revenue is up due to property taxes coming in. Revenue in December 2023 was $2,232,339.93.
The county's share of sales tax revenue continues to perform well; Oct. sales tax revenue was $161,850.58.
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Report of monies received by the Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 office for December 2023; $2,248.75.
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Discussion items
The court discussed possible locations for the North Texas Auto Task Force to perform inspections of trailers, vehicles and semi-trucks.
Inspections are done on Thursdays and the parking lot at the future site of the justice center was utilized until demolition started.
Any possible location must be big enough to accommodate semi-trailer trucks.
Judge Cunningham suggested considering the Multipurpose Complex, although scheduling would be an issue.
Pct. 3 Commissioner Jerry Magness volunteered the use of his county barn or the use of a county-owned lot across the road from the Bois d'Arc Lake Operations center on FM 897.
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Discussion, Consideration and action items
Fannin County Commissioners Court approved moving forward with repair of the courthouse basement floor.
Some contractors are claiming the county waived proper construction plans.
Jeremy Stewart, representing the original concrete contractor for the basement, said the slope of concrete pools water away from the drain in the basement and estimated the cost to correct that problem in a 400-sq.-ft. space would be $23,937.00
"Have we gone out for bids?" asked Pct. 4 Commissioner Doug Kopf.
County resident Rusty Deets questioned if installing sump pumps could be a less expensive option.
Jason Walker inquired, "Is this the original contractor who did the work?" Walker asked why the county hasn't already sued under the state's 10-year statute of repose.
Stewart said his original concrete contract was through Turner Construction and the proposal to slope to drain was sent to Turner Construction.
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Commissioners court voted to pass on an agenda item regarding the means of payment for Document Logistix software used by county law enforcement agencies through October 2024.
The company provided the county with a grossly inaccurate estimate for second year of $19,000 when the actual cost was approximately $10,000 more.
County resident Chris Wilson said that, based on years of experience in the software license business, he believes this company will lower the cost and suggested saying, "We're not paying you more than the estimate. When is the cut-off date?"
All parties involved seemed eager to find another vendor.
Commissioners court will continue to review this situation.
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Fannin County Commissioners Court passed on an agenda item regarding a possible Interlocal Agreement between Fannin County and the City of Ector for road work.
Ector has two gravel roads that tie into county roads.
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Commissioners court approved working with precinct employees to acquire a Commercial Driver’s License, although stipulations have yet to be developed.
The classes cost would cost the county $2,300 per employee. County employees would be expected to take the classes at night and commit to working for the county for a specified time after receiving their CDL. If a county employee who utilizes this program to receive a CDL decides to secure employment elsewhere, he or she would have to compensate the county on a graduated scale based on time employed by the county before jumping ship.
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The court discussed the possible relocation of the Precinct 4 barn. A location further from the City of Bonham would eliminate complaints regarding activities such as burning brush at the precinct barn.
Pct. 4 Commissioner Doug Kopf suggested looking for land that the county owns and then selling the 26 acres just east of Bonham that the Pct. 3 barn currently sits on.
Commissioner Magness suggested considering the county-owned lot across from the Bois d'Arc Lake Operations Center, saying the lot already has electricity and water, so that location would just need the precinct barn.
Judge Cunningham said the county will go forward with the initiative to retain a realtor and also study the cost to construct a new precinct barn.
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Fannin County Commissioners Court passed on an agenda item regarding an Interlocal Agreement between Fannin County and the City of Leonard related to development and implementation of regulations in Extraterritorial Jurisdictions (ETJ).
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Open discussion items
Open discussion items will be passed on unless discussion is requested by a member of the court or a citizen.
In a brief discussion regarding the Fannin County Subdivision Policy, Judge Cunningham asked residents to send in their questions in writing.
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Regarding courthouse repairs, Cunningham said some contractors have signed documents that indicate repairs have been done and those repairs are being examined.
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Work at the future site of the justice center continues; the strip mall and façade of the former Brookshire's building have been demolished. At this point, the roof appears to be structurally sound.
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Cunningham noted that the county is $29 million in debt and said he will try to prevent accumulating debt.
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Fannin County Commissioners Court entered executive session at 10:33 a.m. to consult with their attorney and to discuss personnel issues.
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Commissioners court returned to regular session at 11:18 a.m. to report no action was taken, while asking that proper procedures for purchases be strictly adhered to.
