Fannin County, Texas -- All five members of Fannin County Commissioners Court were present for a regular meeting held Tuesday, August 6, 2024. The meeting opened with an invocation by KeriLynn Lucas, pastor of McKenzie United Methodist Church in Honey Grove and pledges were led by Major James Manis (Ret.).
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Appointment and swearing in of new county officials
Fannin County Commissioners Court appointed Jenny Lea Garner as the new Fannin County Clerk, and accepted a corresponding bond issued through December 31, 2026.
Ms. Garner was administered the oath of office by Fannin County Judge Newt Cunningham.
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Fannin County Commissioners Court appointed Paul Thomas Ivy as the new Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace, and accepted a corresponding bond issued through December 31, 2026.
Mr. Ivy was also sworn in by Judge Cunningham.
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Routine items
Commissioners court approved payment of bills totaling $96,502.00; payroll was slightly more than $380,000.
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Commissioners court approved minutes from a special meeting held May 22, 2024.
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Report of monies collected for the Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 office for July 2024; $2,165.50.
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Discussion items
Fannin County Commissioners Court submitted the 2024/2025 Proposed Budget for Fannin County
The Proposed 2024 Tax Rate of 0.380809 per $100.00 of assessed value will be voted on at the regular meeting of commissioners court meeting on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. Last year’s tax rate was 0.400719.
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Fannin County Commissioners Court discussed purchasing requirements and possible options available to stay in compliance with legislative requirements.
Auditor Alicia Whipple explained the process to utilize "blanket" purchase orders for repetitive purchases and told how the county can begin complying with state law.
After a lengthy, raucous debate, county resident Rusty Deets admonished commissioners for admitting, in open session and on camera, that they have been breaking the law for 10 years regarding the current purchasing process.
Judge Cunningham suggested analyzing counties that have developed a legal and timely purchasing process, and then apply that system to Fannin County.
The county will set up Zoom meetings with other counties to compare other versions of the purchasing process.
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Commissioners court discussed the cost of 911 addressing.
TCOG handles this and charges the county $65,000 a year to get this done.
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Discussion, consideration and action items
Fannin County Commissioners Court approved the Order of General Election for November 5, 2024 and authorized the county judge to sign.
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Commissioners court approved the agreement between Fannin County and At-Scene, LLC for iCrime evidence gathering application software for the district attorney.
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Commissioners court approved the vendor acknowledgement page of County Terms and Conditions to be added to the county website.
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Commissioners court designated Pct. 1 Commissioner Dale McQueen to contact Union Pacific Railroad regarding acquiring outright or an easement(s) off of Hwy. 56 to access the existing county property located east of the Multipurpose Complex in order to make the property more marketable.
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Commissioners court designated Commissioner McQueen to contact VPG regarding acquiring outright or an easement(s) off of HWY 56 in regards to Property ID 72272 to access existing county property.
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Commissioners court approved moving $4,000.00 from Contingency to line item 100-406-1504, Overtime, to cover the current shortfall in the overtime line.
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Commissioners court approved an Interlocal Agreement between Fannin County and the City of Bonham regarding the Multipurpose Complex.
Fannin County will cede 59 acres where the Multipurpose Complex is located to the City of Bonham to operate as a venue. If the city decides to terminate the agreement, the county would take over the Multipurpose Complex.
The county will market the remaining 219 acres near the Multipurpose Complex.
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Commissioners court discussed marketing county-owned properties.
Over the years, the county has accumulated a significant amount of property, including 5 acres of very marketable, commercial lake property with water and electricity near Bois d'Arc Lake on FM 897, as well as more than 200 acres near the Multipurpose Complex west of Bonham.
The county decided to market the 5-acre lot for 30 days at $150,000 per acre.
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Executive sessions(s) and action if needed
Fannin County Commissioners Court had no need for executive session and adjourned at 10:48 a.m.