County Road 185 Scheduled for Paving
Glasscock County commissioners plan to pave County Road 185 from CR 110 to CR 180 this year. County Engineer Dan Glass estimated the cost for paving those seven miles to be at least $140,000. Other portions of the year’s paving project will include paving around the Community Center and about two miles of seal coating on existing pavement in Precinct 3. The paving matters were discussed in the regular county court meeting Jan. 14.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Hugh Schafer is preparing to propose adding a mile of new road (unpaved) to the county’s road system. He said Doyle Schaefer has agreed to give the county right of way off Hillger Road to enable an old oilfield road to become a county road.
Community Center Matters Discussed
County Extension Agent Steve Sturtz, reporting on Community Center matters, said a ditching contractor wants the county to pay $4,400 for two extra days of work which they say was necessary due to encountering more rock than they anticipated. Sturtz, however, said the two extra days were necessary because of poor coordination and planning on the contractor’s part, and the county should not have to pay for them. The court agreed with Sturtz.
Sturtz also reported that an accessibility study of the center found only minor problems. The women’s bathroom needs two handicapped-accessible stalls (it has only one), and one needs a self-closing door. The other problem had to do with parking markers, and will be taken care of when the paving is done around the building. He said the commissioners will need to decide whether to sand and paint the concrete floors in bathrooms and in the community room/show ring.
County Insurance Woes Continue
Dierschke reported that Glasscock County, Reagan County and MHMR out of San Angelo are trustees charged with formulating a plan to resolve lingering difficulties with the now-defunct Texas Rural Counties insurance organization, of which Glasscock County was a part. He said if eight members would pay their shares, things would be fine. If no solution is found, the matter will end up in Travis County, where a receiver will be appointed to settle the group’s disagreements.
The court voted to leave the structure of the county grievance committee in its current form. It consists of the county clerk, county treasurer, county sheriff, county attorney and five citizens whose names are drawn from the grand jury list. The county judge serves as a non-voting committee chairman. The other option is to have all nine members of the committee be citizens drawn from the jury list. County Treasurer Alan Dierschke said he preferred to have all members from the community, “Let the will of the people prevail,” he said. The grievance committee is supposed to be set up each January, and is designed for county elected officials’ use. Other county employees take their grievances to the commissioners’ court.