Fannin County, Texas -- All five members of Fannin County Commissioners Court were present for a regular meeting Tuesday, April 13, 2021. The meeting opened with an invocation by pastor Michael Evans and pledges were led by Major James Manis (Ret.).
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Jennifer Peaco was awarded the Meritorious Service Award for developing and supervising the Fannin County Covid Vaccine Call Center.
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Commissioners extended by one week the Fannin County Declaration of Disaster Proclamation for Covid-19, as well as the Covid-19 Response and Continuity of Operations Plan for Fannin County
As of Monday afternoon, April 12, Fannin County had been notified of 2,584 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 846 probable cases for a total of 3,430 cases.
The county currently has nine active cases, with two of those in local state prisons.
Fannin County has suffered 107 fatalities since the onset of the pandemic.
On April 12, 2021, Texas hospitals reported 2,823 lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients, the lowest total since June 16, 2020.
The hospitalization rate in Trauma Service Area E is 3.41%.
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Brookshire's will be administering first shots on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next three weeks. For more information, click here.
The county's scheduling center will close Friday, April 16 at 5:00 p.m. There was a total of 8,425 names on the list at one time and all those numbers have been called, but many people are not answering. The scheduling center made 305 Monday, however only five people answered the call.
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Fannin County Judge Randy Moore led a brief discussion regarding the ongoing restoration of the 1888 Fannin County Courthouse.
Metal shingles are being installed, electrical work is underway, the elevator shaft walls are being sheetrocked and corrugated metal ceilings are going up on the third floor.
Work on columns and curbs/gutters continues.
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Steve Long of Freese & Nichols, formerly of North Texas Municipal Water District, updated Fannin County Commissioners Court regarding the Bois d'Arc Lake project.
The project has shifted from temporary water rights to permanent water rights.
The FM 897 boat ramp is nearing completion.
The raw water pipeline to the Leonard Water Treatment Plant is almost ready to fill and the treated water pipeline is being installed towards Collin County.
There is no date yet for when the public will have access to the lake and there is no agency in place to distribute water throughout Fannin County.
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Larry Standlee of the Fannin County Historical Commission asked commissioners to consider removing the historical marker from the courthouse grounds and store it until restoration is complete. The marker has been damaged during restoration of the historic courthouse. Mr. Standlee suggested that the county apply for a replacement marker with an updated narrative once restoration has been completed.
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Fannin County Commissioners Court approved the Treasurer’s Financial Report for March 2021 and the Treasurer’s Investment Report for March 2021.
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Commissioners approved minutes from 04/06/2021 (S), 03/30/2021 (S), 03/30/2021 (R), 03/16/2021 (R), 03/09/2021 (S), 02/23/2021 (R), 08/31/2020 (S), 08/24/2020 (S), 08/17/2020 (S) and 03/20/2020 (S).
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Fannin County Commissioners Court received a quarterly report of indigent healthcare activity from the Indigent Health Care Director.
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Commissioners voted to hold a public hearing May 18 to set the speed limit at 30 m.p.h. on County Road 2610 in Precinct 3 and 4.
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Commissioners voted to go out for bids for groundskeeping of the county buildings.
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Commissioners tabled an agenda item regarding equipment for auction.
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Fannin County Commissioners Court voted to approve the dedication of County Road 4833 in Leonard to the county for maintenance.
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Commissioners voted to allow Precinct 2 to purchase a 1994 International M/N 9400 12-yard dump truck for $15,000 from Double D Truck Repair.
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Fannin County Commissioners Court voted to adopt Local Option Property Tax Code Exemption(s) for Fannin County.
The county allows a tax discount in the amount of $8,600 for disabled residents or residents over 65 years of age.
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Commissioners approved a Memorandum of Understanding between Indigent Healthcare Solutions (IHS) and Fannin County
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Commissioners approved Auditor Monthly reports for March 2021.
Judge Moore noted that a marked reduction of the county's inmate numbers has helped lower expenses.
"We appreciate everyone who is helping out with that," Moore stated.
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Commissioners approved payment of bills.
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Fannin County Commissioners Court went into executive session at 10:32 to deliberate architectural services for a justice center.
Commissioners reconvened in regular session at 11:44 a.m. to announce this would be on the agenda again at next week's regular meeting.
"We are trying to determine what type of justice center we need, the cost and how we pay for it," Judge Moore explained.