The Llano County Commissioner's Court met on Monday, February 24th at 9:00 am with a relatively light agenda.
During public service announcements, Sheriff Marquis Cantu announced that Bill Wolf, officer of 25 years, is retiring effective Friday. He also took the opportunity to talk about the Designer Purse Bingo fundraiser that took place Saturday, February 21st at the Horseshoe Bay Resort. Over 800 ladies attended and raised over $350,000 and raised for the Children's Advocacy Center.
Emergency Management Coordinator Gilbert Bennett announced the upcoming Wildfire and Severe Events Program to take place on March 25th 5:30-7:30 pm at the Lantex Theater. Brian Hurtuk, Region 8 Operations Chief for the Texas A&M Forest Service will cover the Ready-Set-Go Wildfire Preparedness Program. Paul Yura, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Antonio will talk about being storm ready for severe weather events.
The current burn ban expired on Monday, but after recommendations from Bennet, the court decided to keep it on. 900 Texas counties are still under a burn ban and 4 out of 5 fire departments polled recommend keeping the ban in place. Though fire danger is currently low, rain is not in the 10 day forecast.
Exciting news came when Judge Ron Cunningham presented an Order for approval that would allow the him to temporarily lift a burn ban for up to 72 hours if conditions improve because of rainfall. He explained that previously, he could lift a burn ban under favorable conditions, but wouldn't be able to reinstate it again if dry conditions returned during the 90 day duration of the original ban. Under the Order, the ban would automatically reinstate after the 72 hour temporary lift without action required from the court. The Order was enthusiastically approved, motioned by Commissioner Linda Raschke and seconded by Commissioner Brent Richards.
County Attorney Dwain Rogers gave an update about the Llano County Hospital's separation from Mid Coast. He explained that a term sheet is in place and that they are now tackling the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which is an agreement between two or more parties to move forward with a contract.
"It will create the separation and create a road map for how that separation would occur. We haven't quite crossed the finish line, but the MOU is very close to where we'd like it to be for execution, " said Rogers. "We've made substantial progress and all parties are negotiating." Those parties include the Hospital Authority Board, Llano County, and Mid Coast.
County appointments and reappointments were approved. Jimmy Decker was removed from the Emergency Service District #3 board and Jerry Moore was appointed in his place. John Florence was appointed to take over Jordan Spiros' term as Commissioner to the Emergency Service District #1 board in Horseshoe Bay, which ends December 31, 2026. Becky Widner and Nancy Daniel were appointed and Margaret Wilkinson was reappointed to the Llano County Historical Commission for two-year terms.
A payment for a court interpreter that was used by JP1 was denied because a PO was not issued before the services were rendered. Three replats were approved and then the court adjourned into executive session.
The next Commissioners Court Meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 24th at 9:00 am at the JP4 Courtroom.
