[0:01] Okay, here we go. Yep. Okay.
[0:06] I'd like to welcome everyone this morning to our regular commissioner's court meeting
[0:10] here november the 19th. We're
[0:14] grateful for all our guests that's here today, but we're going to begin with invocation
[0:18] be offered by commissioner moore. Then our pledges are gonna be led by commissioner hunt,
[0:22] if you'd stand with us, please.
[0:28] hello, spring. Dear honey, father lord, we thank you for this day. We thank you for
[0:32] all the rain that we received and the cooler weather. And lord, we also thank
[0:36] you for all your blessings that you give us each and every day. We pray
[0:40] for wisdom today. Lord, we pray for understanding. Lord, be with us as we make
[0:44] decisions for the county, lord, that to be your will, not ours, lord, we wanna be
[0:49] grateful for our employees and all the military and, uh, first responders
[0:53] serving abroad. Lord, we just give you all the praise and your son's holy name. Amen.
[0:58] amen. Amen. I pledge all allegiance to the flag
[1:02] of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands,
[1:07] one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice
[1:11] for all on honor the texas flag, I pledge allegiance
[1:15] to the texas one state under god, one individual.
[1:20] thank you. You're welcome. Alright, do we have anyone
[1:25] have any routine correspondence or announcements this morning?
[1:29] no. Yes. Uh, yeah. At, uh, two o'clock today at the terrell
[1:33] uh, police department. Um, we're going to have the official pending for
[1:37] our new chief, uh, arley sanson. Okay. This'll be a real nice event if
[1:41] anybody wants to attend that. Good. Okay.
[1:45] alright. Nothing else. We move on to the consent agenda. We have three items
[1:49] there. Number a is discuss, consider accepting the commissioner's
[1:54] court meetings for november the 12th. B, discuss. Consider accepting
[1:58] the auditor's report for the month of october and c, discuss.
[2:02] consider the appointment of rhonda huey to the children's shelter for a three year term, beginning
[2:06] september 24th. The late on that one. . Any
[2:11] comments or questions? Not need a motion to approve. I'll make a
[2:15] motion for you. Mr. Phelps makes the motion. Do I have a second? I'll
[2:19] second. Mr. Barr makes the second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Motion carries.
[2:23] next up, mr. Chuck, discuss, consider and present the coffee county
[2:28] treasurer's monthly report for october of 24. Morning, judge. Good
[2:32] morning, judge. Commissioners, excuse me. Uh,
[2:36] we ended up the, uh, month of october with $7,948,000
[2:42] in the fund to 10. Our interest earned was $825
[2:47] in american national bank and 394,420
[2:52] int pool and texas class. We had, uh, 15.9 million
[2:57] invested intex pool, 69.4 million invested in texas class.
[3:02] we are earning, uh, average yield of 4.9902%
[3:08] in text pool and 5.042% in texas
[3:12] class. Total funds in american national
[3:16] bank, 26.69 million. Uh, value of
[3:20] the collateral at the end of the month, 44.6 million. So we were collateralized by
[3:24] the bank at 167%, which is very good.
[3:29] we had 76.19% of our, uh, cash
[3:33] invested during the month. Wrote 112 receipts for
[3:37] $2.2 million during the month. Any questions?
[3:41] looks very good and we're very well collateralized. Yes, we
[3:45] are interest. Hopefully it stays up. Yeah. Come down just a tad. Yeah,
[3:49] it's down a little bit. Not a whole lot though, but that's okay. It ebb and flow
[3:53] still practically 5%, so yes. Yes. Any
[3:58] questions for chuck? Comments? Nothing. I need a motion to accept.
[4:04] commissioner hunt makes the motion to have a second. I'll second. Mr. Phillips makes
[4:08] a second. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Motion carries. Thank you, chuck. Thank
[4:12] you,
[4:23] robert. Come on up. We can give just a minute to sign all these papers and we'll be ready.
[4:36] good morning, mr. Ray. Whoop.
[4:42] no, you done, sir.
[4:59] thank you.
[5:05] mr. Robert hunter. Discussed considering approved the donation of a vietnam era.
[5:09] ah, one cober helicopter to the kaka county veterans memorial park
[5:14] for mr. Ken waterson of terrell. Good morning. Good morning, gentlemen. Good
[5:18] to see y'all this morning. So this morning I have with me mr. Ray, raymond, which you guys know very
[5:22] well. Yep. Uh, he is on the park board with me, and I also have the pleasure of
[5:26] introducing to you if you don't already know him, mr. Ken waterson. He is a tarot resident
[5:30] and he is also the, uh, director of the homeless
[5:35] veterans services, uh, which is located, uh, just next to the dallas
[5:39] va on lancaster. Okay. Um, it is actually where the helicopter
[5:43] in question has sat for, uh, a great period of time until they started
[5:48] doing construction. Um, so without any
[5:52] further ado, um, it was about, uh, probably two weeks ago when mr.
[5:56] waterson called and asked if the park would be interested
[6:00] in, uh, basically homing, uh, the, the helicopter
[6:05] that he has. Uh, currently it's on a trailer. They've used it in a few,
[6:09] uh, parades and, uh, there's not a real home because the
[6:13] location that it was in, as I said, is under construction. It was nearly struck by some
[6:17] construction vehicles. They don't want it damaged. And so, um, he had
[6:21] considered maybe putting it over at the terrell airport, but he decided that that really wasn't
[6:26] going to be, uh, the proper venue for it. And so
[6:30] he called and talked to me and, and I discussed it with him. And, and
[6:34] so, uh, he came up, uh, with a, with a letter, uh, that he's asked
[6:38] me to read. Um, and it says, dear commissioners, I am ken waterson, president
[6:43] of the veterans resource center in dallas, texas. I am from terrell and it is my
[6:47] honor to have served in vietnam in the us marine corps. And as a member of the
[6:51] veterans committee that brought the vietnam wall to the kaufman in 2008.
[6:55] it is my pleasure and desire to donate the ah, one cobra helicopter
[7:00] estimated at approximately $10,000 that we depended on
[7:04] so much in vietnam to the kaufman county veterans memorial park.
[7:08] it is my understanding in that, in doing so, the county will maintain and care
[7:12] for the helicopter and that it will be placed on a concrete slab with proper,
[7:16] proper lighting illuminating it at night, as are the rest of the
[7:20] monuments in the park. He further asks that if for any reason
[7:24] the park were to disband, disassemble or no longer be, or
[7:28] that we no longer desire to use the helicopter in the park, that
[7:33] rather than selling or destroying or taking it off, that we would call him so that
[7:37] he might find a new location so that it can be properly honored.
[7:41] I think that's a great idea and we certainly appreciate your donation and your service to the
[7:45] country. Uh, we need something like that out there. Mm-hmm, , it's
[7:50] very, very welcome and we appreciate it. It's a beautiful park. It's
[7:54] a good place for it. Yes it is. And we'll do, we'll take all the proper care
[7:58] that we can to make sure it's maintained in the condition it's in. Yes, sir.
[8:02] any other comments? Bloody helicopter mechanic in here on yeah.
[8:07] to work on those simple fire marine work on. Yeah. So, uh, commissioner
[8:11] moore was a marine, I was actually helicopter mechanic in the cobra is
[8:15] one of our gun ships that we worked on. So she actually flew, was
[8:19] flew in vietnam or afghanistan, iraq. I'm not sure. She has bullet holes in her.
[8:24] uh, she was stationed in georgia for a while before we got it.
[8:28] okay, good. I had grabbed some interesting information because
[8:33] I spent, uh, as y'all know, this is project mr.
[8:37] raymond's been working on for 15 or 20 years, and I've been working on
[8:41] for about the last eight years. Um, but I don't know very much about,
[8:46] I didn't know very much about the cobra because I was medevac, so my platforms
[8:50] were typically utility style. Uh, and so, um,
[8:54] I, I did do some research on this and it was impressive that during the
[8:58] gulf war, uh, 78 marine super cobras flew 1,273
[9:03] sorties in iraq. The, uh, they destroyed 97 tanks,
[9:07] 104 armored personnel carriers and two anti-aircraft artillery
[9:11] sites. So, I mean, even as recently as just the, the gulf war, these,
[9:16] these helicopters were, uh, utilized and, and in service.
[9:20] and, uh, they're, they're almost all but phased out now. The marines were the last group
[9:24] to hold onto 'em, and, and I think even the marines have phased them out now and started moving
[9:28] to a different platform. So, uh, it's pretty neat to have one of these.
[9:32] I did provide a picture in, uh, in the, um, uh, request
[9:37] to appear before commissioner's court picture is, uh, a few years old. Uh, I
[9:41] have seen recent photos still looks very similar to that. So, um,
[9:45] it will be just the olive drab with the, uh, shark's mouth on
[9:49] the front, which was so common during the vietnam era especially. So any
[9:54] questions with the united states marine corps on the side of it? Yes, sir. ?
[9:58] yeah, that was, we didn't change the army really. It
[10:02] actually got the marine corps on one side and the army on the other side. So interesting fact, the,
[10:07] the cobra was actually a, an army helicopter first. Right. And
[10:11] the army moved on to something else and the marines made very good use of it. So, oh,
[10:15] you're saying you got hand me downs, is that what you're saying? No, they did.
[10:19] okay. He's in the army. Yeah. Yeah. You the marines got the hand me down. Oh.
[10:23] is that an insult? You know, that's what, that's what we always give, we always give our helpers the
[10:28] handy down . Oh my god. Alright, we've gone too far here.
[10:32] , did you have anything you wanted to add? I just like thank the judge and the
[10:36] court for accepting this. Yes sir. I think it's gonna be a great
[10:40] addition to our, our part. It is. We look forward to having it there.
[10:44] and did you have anything you wanted to say additionally? Yeah. Um,
[10:49] how many veterans do we have on the court? Three. Three. Awesome.
[10:54] I'd like to give you my challenge coin. Alright, we luck those. I was a
[10:58] national 2007 during the year and also I spent,
[11:02] uh, 1965 to 68 in vietnam and was
[11:07] wounded in no shaw valley in 68 on 21st birthday,
[11:11] according to the build phi simplifi marine.
[11:17] thank you very, very much. Appreciate it. I like that.
[11:24] thank you sir. Alright. Thank
[11:28] you. We certainly appreciate
[11:32] all the work and the effort. Mr. Waterson, we thank you again for your
[11:36] service and for your dedication and for your honor, giving us the honor
[11:41] to display the helicopter here for us, for people to enjoy and realize what
[11:45] happened in the past. History seems to be eluding us. Mm-hmm.
[11:50] quickly. Yes. Right. You're kinda
[11:54] speechless today, . I I
[11:58] quit that long time ago. . Well, let's get a picture if y'all will
[12:02] come up here. Ashley, if you get a picture, come on up and
[12:06] just get y'all come on here. I appreciate the continuous
[12:10] support. Yes, sir. Our veterans. Yes sir. See, lot
[12:14] of time today. Wait, he's got a toy. It's on the chair. Where's
[12:18] the toy? Laura's on the chair. The chair. I'll give him the toy. So
[12:22] that's robert's toy. I'm sorry. And it doesn't
[12:26] look like the one that we're this display , I
[12:31] want everybody to see. It does not look like that.
[12:36] oh, where'd it go? Here, there it is. He's got it. That's it. That's
[12:40] a good looking bird. I, if I can get
[12:44] it's hold steel hold. Well here brad, you hold this.
[12:49] we're back to see it. There you go.
[12:53] so I hope they don't come out and expect to see that silver monster there. Yeah,
[12:58] . Well, if we paint it silver, we won't
[13:02] have to have the marines on it. Oh no.
[13:06] might that thank
[13:10] y'all very much and I'd like, you know me to make a motion on it. You bet. Y'all have a great day.
[13:14] you can make a motion on it and speak and second it. I'll make a motion to accept it.
[13:19] thank you gentlemen. I'll second we have a, a, uh, motion by
[13:23] commissioner moore and a second by commissioner phelps to accept it. All in favor
[13:28] say aye. Aye. Motion carries. Thank you gentlemen. Very, very much.
[13:33] number four. Oh, there's ya yasma. Come on.
[13:38] we're going to discuss, consider, and approve the kaufman county library except a 2024
[13:43] lad in catherine hatcher foundation grant in the amount of $5,282.
[13:49] yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Good morning, judge. Good morning. Good morning commissioners.
[13:53] I would first like to say thank you to commissioner hunt and to commissioner
[13:57] barber for your service on the court in case I don't get to come back to court
[14:02] again before the end of the year. I know the court sessions are winding down and
[14:06] just to say thank you for everything you've done for kauffman county, especially for the kauffman
[14:10] county library. So I just wanted to say that and thank you. Really respect you guys.
[14:15] um, this ladin hatcher grant, it was written to add
[14:19] two additional story times to our programs.
[14:23] so we added another story time in september, um, for our preschoolers,
[14:28] which serves ages zero to five. Those pre story times
[14:32] average like 50 kids every session every week.
[14:37] so this grant was written to kind of break that down to add two more.
[14:41] one for elapse it for ages zero to 18 months, and
[14:46] then another one for ages 18 months to three year olds so that we can kind
[14:50] of disperse the population in that. So, um, this will
[14:54] buy felt board seat cushions, sensory toys and tables,
[14:59] um, additional books and things that we would need to conduct these story times.
[15:03] so I just ask for your approval to accept that grant. Yeah.
[15:07] thank you for looking for all these grants. Mm-hmm. And taking care of 'em and our children
[15:11] definitely benefit from it. Yes sir. No doubt. Yes. Thank you. You're welcome.
[15:16] gentlemen, what's your pleasure? Make a motion. Mr. Hunt makes the motion.
[15:20] I second. Mr. Barr makes a second. All the favors say aye. Aye. Motion carrie.
[15:24] thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[15:29] ms. Tandy smith.
[15:34] discuss, consider approved canvasing the election results for the november 5th, 2024
[15:39] general election. Good morning, ms. Tandy. Good morning.
[15:44] how are y'all today, ms. Grace? Fine. So I provided you guys with a copy
[15:48] of the official canvas that's submitted to the secretary of state's office,
[15:52] um, for this election. After limited ballots were counted
[15:57] and provisional ballots were processed, we end up with 69,772
[16:03] votes cast in the november 5th election. How'd that compare
[16:07] with the general election before? Uh, about 5% more.
[16:11] okay. As far as turnout goes, uh, we really thought
[16:15] it was gonna super boom. Uh, early voting was hot and heavy. As a matter of fact,
[16:20] almost 60,000 of these votes were early voting. Wow. Uh, polls
[16:24] came out, uh, day before election day. So election day was a lot less of a
[16:28] turnout than, than early voting for sure.
[16:33] um, but we've kept pace did a little better than, you know, 2020.
[16:37] that's always a good thing. I think that's good. And with all the early votes, it
[16:41] did relieve a lot of pressure on that soup on that tuesday. It did. And the additional
[16:45] equipment we placed out during early voting really did help keep things flowing.
[16:49] those were a, there were a lot of people being processed. I mean, when you break
[16:54] 5,000, almost 6,000 in a day, that's a lot of people
[16:58] when you consider six locations. Um, and something to
[17:02] consider is the fact that, you know, the forney isds oc was a brand
[17:06] new election, early voting location used in
[17:11] november, hadn't been used in a november election for this kind of
[17:15] election before. And most of those times when you add something that new, you
[17:19] don't see a giant turnout. You see a little bit, but not a lot.
[17:23] and they were right up there and that was a big year.
[17:28] it was a big year, but that I, I mean, com compared to what
[17:33] the forney sub courthouse, just across the way they, that whole area
[17:37] just exploded. Yeah. And it didn't hurt that, you
[17:41] know, forney had a tell me an issue on the ballot . Yeah, they did have an issue on
[17:45] the ballot. That's good. That's good. It gets a hold out. Uh, but yeah, no, a lot. We've processed
[17:50] 593 provisionals
[17:54] for this election. We processed those within three days. So dps
[17:58] had time to review before we brought the ballot board back in on the 12th.
[18:02] um, we had 539 limited ballots.
[18:07] so these are people who moved to our county that had not registered
[18:11] yet, but were registered in their previous county in texas. So they get to vote
[18:15] on the state federal issues that are in common with those. So our registered voter
[18:19] count has boomed , we're
[18:24] well over 111,000 now and quickly
[18:28] approaching 102 by the time we're finished. There you go. Processing everything from this
[18:32] election. Okay. Any comments or questions for ms. Sandy?
[18:37] well, this the challenge to handle the growth. You know, I the county's exploding and
[18:41] stuff and more people are moving in. It's just gonna do nothing but get
[18:45] bigger. I I can tell you, I'm, I'm proud of every person
[18:50] that worked in this election, whether it was in the field or in my office because you
[18:54] gentlemen know we have a very tiny office. Yeah. And to process the volume of
[18:58] calls and questions and pia requests during an election
[19:03] while the state was still sending voter registration applications that were valid.
[19:07] well, we certainly appreciate your work. , you put in lots of long hours.
[19:11] I have a lot less hair. You were texting me back and forth at all hours of the night.
[19:15] so we, we do try to keep you informed. Yes. Um, it was a little more
[19:20] challenging to send updates like I would normally do with the workflow that we
[19:24] had coming in there, but I, I'm very proud of everybody that performed in this
[19:28] selection. Okay. Any comments or questions? If not,
[19:32] entertain a motion to accept and approve. I'll make a motion. Mr. Phillips makes
[19:37] the motion to have a second. I'll second. Mr. Moore makes a second. All in favor, say aye.
[19:41] aye. Motion carries. Thank you tandy. And number seven, jurors again
[19:45] to approve and discuss, consider attendance to attend the
[19:50] election staff to the t-a-c-e-o, texas association
[19:54] of county election officials midwinter conference in south
[19:59] po island on january five through 10 of 2025
[20:04] fy 25 budgeted item. And this, uh, associated
[20:08] closure of the elections office during this timeframe. Correct. This was an
[20:12] ffy 25 budgeted item. We've been very blessed, um, that
[20:17] taio, the texas association of county elections officials
[20:21] has extended grants to people serving in elections in an effort
[20:25] to keep, um, from having so much turnover. We're
[20:29] losing three good eas this year. And so all conference
[20:33] registration has been waived and paid by a grant. They've offered us
[20:38] the course fees associated that my staff will be able to take, have been
[20:42] waived and paid for and associated with this grant as well. Um, so
[20:46] the only thing we're gonna be out is our travel to there and our stay. Okay.
[20:51] so that's a cost savings of $4,700. Okay.
[20:56] any questions? Need a motion? I'll make the motion. Mr. Moore makes
[21:00] the motion to have a second. I'll second. Mr. Hunt makes a second. All in favor of ci
[21:05] aye. Motion carries. Thank you, tan. Thank you general. I appreciate it very much.
[21:09] okay, ms. Shannon, we're going to discuss
[21:13] and consider and approve or deny the variance requested by nextera
[21:17] kaufman solar llc for screening standards pursuant to
[21:21] section 12.04 of the subdivision and land development
[21:25] regulations originally denied by the development support committee. Good morning. Good morning.
[21:30] so the development support committee met to review the variance requested by nextera.
[21:34] they're also known as kaufman solar, llc, uh, for those screening requirements,
[21:38] the committee ultimately denied that request per section 13 of our regs.
[21:42] they have the option to appeal to commissioner's court for the final decision.
[21:46] senior project manager, uh, tracy johnson and her team are here today and they brought
[21:50] some items to distribute to you guys and they'd like to speak to the court. Sure. Come, come forward
[21:55] please.
[22:05] and if you would state your name and, uh, where you live
[22:09] and what your job title is, please. Sure. I'm tracy johnson. Okay.
[22:13] come up to the podium please. Good morning. Good morning. I'm
[22:17] tracy johnson. I work for next year energy resources representing kauffman
[22:21] solar within the county. Uh, I, I'm,
[22:26] I live in juno beach, florida. So I'm just here to represent the interests
[22:30] of the project in front of the commissioners and yourself. Judge. Yes.
[22:37] hi, my name is, uh, travis wykoff. I'm an environmental manager for, uh, nextera
[22:41] energy, uh, for here in texas in the ercot region. I'm based outta austin,
[22:45] texas. Okay.
[22:49] my name is brendan jack. I work for nextera energy. I oversee the engineering and
[22:54] construction for texas, currently live in lag vista, texas, but born on dia air
[22:58] force base, um, in abilene, texas. Okay.
[23:02] howdy. Good morning. Yes, my name's ryan blankenship. I'm with environmental consulting and
[23:06] technology. We're the environmental firm that was procured by the developer to assist with some of
[23:10] the site plans and, uh, visual, uh, renderings
[23:15] that you'll see today. And I'm out of dallas. Okay.
[23:20] so who's making the presentation of, what do you intend to do or
[23:24] want to do that the committee has denied? So we are seeking,
[23:29] um, a variance exception for compliance with
[23:34] 12.04. Um, the screening requirement,
[23:38] um, that is part of the 12.06 requires,
[23:43] um, compliance with. So, uh,
[23:48] we propose this limited vegetative buffer, um,
[23:53] because we think that, um, it follows the spirit
[23:57] of the ordinance. Um, it fits in with the, um,
[24:02] the aesthetic of the local surroundings. And we also
[24:06] believe that it will have a longer lifespan than the wooden fence that's
[24:10] proposed in 12.04. So, um,
[24:18] I looked at that.
[24:37] yeah. Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, so if I can explain a little bit about the
[24:41] materials that y'all are, y'all are looking at. So what we did to kind of arrive at, at these
[24:45] plan sets are, um, we took the proposed infrastructure
[24:50] for the facility and then identified all the sensitive
[24:54] receptors, so residences, uh, surrounding the area. Uh, we then traveled to
[24:58] the site, took photos, uh, from the vantage points of the adjacent
[25:02] residences to the proposed facility and did architectural
[25:06] renderings of what that facility would look like, uh, after
[25:11] construction and then overlaid, uh, uh, vegetative screening.
[25:15] um, so a combination of evergreen plantings that
[25:19] would accommodate, um, the, the ordinance in that it would
[25:23] provide, uh, visual screening buffer from the adjacent
[25:27] residences to the solar arrays. Um, and we projected that over
[25:31] a one a five and a 10 year, uh, build out as that vegetation
[25:36] grows and develops. Um, and so that is the
[25:40] proposition that you see in front of you. Those green lines, I believe on the, um, site plan
[25:44] would be those, those vegetative buffers, uh, in place between
[25:48] the nearby, uh, adjacent residences and the proposed facility.
[25:54] okay. So when you put these plants in there, what size? Six,
[25:58] I know evergreens grow very, very slow. They're gonna be six foot after
[26:03] six foot of planting. And what about the other plants you have here? I believe it specifies
[26:07] in the ordinance for two or three feet for the trucks. And what kind
[26:11] of shrubs are they? Is the
[26:16] there? I think it's on, I don't think the species was determined.
[26:21] I apologize. Um, yes, when the development support committee met, the data that
[26:25] was given to us is they were two foot at planting. Our regs require six footer
[26:29] planting, so that was one of the denials. Okay. I just wanna clarify that. Okay. On the structures or the trees?
[26:33] on the, uh, trees. On the trees. Okay, perfect. So we can make
[26:37] a modification, um, six foot in accordance with, uh, the ordinance
[26:42] and then clear that sheet two. So the, the second sheet that you're seeing
[26:46] with the design specifications is, is what we're discussing. So we've got evergreen
[26:50] trees and then we've also got deciduous evergreen shrubs.
[26:55] and so the trees are gonna be six foot and the shrubs are going to be,
[26:59] what is it? Two foot? There's not
[27:03] really a requirement for the trucking as far as they're six feet apart and six
[27:07] foot at the time of planting even for trucks. Okay. So we need six foot trucks as
[27:11] well. Okay. Okay. Now what happens when they, because we know they,
[27:15] they're all gonna lift. So how often do you gonna come by and replace the dead ones?
[27:20] on the maintenance? Yes. Annually. Annually? Yes sir.
[27:25] okay. And our ordinance caused for a wood fence, is that what you're saying? Wood steel,
[27:29] wood iron. That would be a solid iron.
[27:33] is that what you're saying? Or, or was it, what about the chain link fence with
[27:38] the slats in it? I mean, six foot tall, is that not an option? Yeah,
[27:42] because we're looking at wood, fences are gonna rot. Yeah, exactly.
[27:46] you look at shrubs gonna die. I mean, the, the trees might not
[27:50] take to that soil type. So it's like, instead of wasting money and time
[27:54] with I, I, I would suggest doing a six foot fence with slats in
[27:58] it. I mean, but six in one fence is the standard for code compliance, um, for solar
[28:02] farms. We do have a photo of chain fence
[28:06] with slats. Do you? We're happy to accommodate. Do you have one with you? Yes, we do.
[28:13] I know a lot of issues too is a lot of these fence companies will only put the
[28:17] post in about 18 inches. That won't work. We won't be building that
[28:21] way. We'll make sure that they're grounded, um, because the wind's gonna catch it, it's
[28:26] all black dirt, it's gonna move and it's on the ground. Well, it'll have to be a commercial type
[28:30] fence. Yes, sir. I mean, it'll have to be, you know, your, your line post and everything
[28:34] else have to be commercial grade and probably even closer spacing
[28:38] because you're gonna have a lot of wind. I mean, I do agree with the,
[28:42] what tommy said. I might have a fence company for 32 years. The wood,
[28:46] the wood will hold up for a long time. It's just the abuse of the wind and
[28:51] the soil and the shifting, you know? So I, I
[28:55] just think that's kind of a, I guess maintenance one would be unreal.
[28:59] yes, sir. Uh, as far as the shrubs and stuff, I, the pictures
[29:03] that I saw, the big trees were just too far apart.
[29:08] and, and, and I know it takes time for all that stuff to grow. I
[29:12] personally, I, I would, I would 20 inches prefer that it be
[29:18] vegetation over a fence as far as the aesthetics to me.
[29:23] but there's just too much gap and too much view to accomplish what you
[29:27] want to accomplish or what the, the guidelines are requesting.
[29:32] so there is an issue with, uh, procurement of that many
[29:36] trees for 18 mile fence. Uh, yeah. So
[29:40] that's, it's part of the reason we had 15. Well, now if you had native cedar
[29:44] trees, like well we've got here, you can probably find 'em everywhere.
[29:48] . That's true. But, uh, you know, it's just, they're a nuisance for
[29:53] the most part for us. But, well, I agree the, the fence would probably last longer, but it,
[29:58] if I live there and I look at that other fence every day, I, I would not
[30:02] be excited about them. Yeah. If you had trees in
[30:06] front of the fence, give it some little character
[30:11] or break the monotony of just a chain link fence like you see
[30:15] around here, of course with, uh, long star, you know, the gas plants. That's
[30:19] such a look. Not even big as this room with the chain link like this, eh. Okay.
[30:23] but that much is really, I would not
[30:27] want to see. Well, I know the, the one we have currently now at warsaw,
[30:31] I, oh, I drove through there a few months ago. It is just an eyesore.
[30:36] it's like driving through west texas. Yeah. Caman county's
[30:40] too pretty for that. I, I think, and it's a shame that this got by
[30:44] and I mean, y'all looking at it, well, you know, they saved some money.
[30:49] I don't understand that. But you know, they were the first one. So before
[30:53] we saw what we got, and it's just an eye storm when you drive by
[30:57] and you but it, I just think that as
[31:01] part of the clarification, what we would like to specify, we're, we're hoping to entertaining,
[31:05] um, you know, planting the trees and the shrubs, um, trying to understand if we need to do
[31:09] the entire perimeter. Um, or if the court would like us to do
[31:13] the slats as well. We're, we're happy to accommodate the eight foot privacy. Um,
[31:18] and then also the, you know, one foot three strand barbed wire on top. Um,
[31:22] but just looking for clarity on the . Let me ask you, do, do you really need the security to have the barbed
[31:26] wire on top? We do for code compliance. Oh, you do? Okay. Okay. Unless
[31:30] you know you really have jurisdiction. Uh, we'll allow us, um, as long
[31:34] as allows us to remove the barb wire, but it come back with a
[31:38] county. Okay. Not you guys would allow us to the, I would like,
[31:43] I would like to slide it fence, but like shrubs in front of it. That's just me.
[31:47] where, where is this located? It's in there off 1895 uhhuh.
[31:51] it's, uh, the attorney's property, uh, calabria place to
[31:55] go property. So it's on your precinct? Mm-hmm. Got this sign. Some of it goes into yours just
[31:59] a tiny bit. Yeah, I but most of it's mike's and I just wanna explain, explain what the
[32:03] committee looked at to make a decision. So what we got was two foot
[32:08] plantings, which we were like, okay, that's gonna take, and then we saw a 10 year rendering
[32:12] where they weren't very tall after 10 years. So it was not really providing screening
[32:16] according to the committee. The, um, second concern was
[32:21] they don't want to screen the entire perimeter. So because they want to
[32:25] screen where there are already residential homes. The committee said that as
[32:29] fast as kaufman is growing and the amount of development we have, there will be homes there in
[32:33] three months. And so what are we supposed to do? Call them and tell them you need to go out and screen it.
[32:37] you need to go out and screen it. So the committee did not want to take on that, um,
[32:42] for lack of a better word, babysitting as homes go in.
[32:46] so the committee was not in favor of not screening the property in
[32:50] its entirety. So I just wanted to give you why the committee denied. We as the committee
[32:54] do not give suggestions on that. That would be up to you, you guys, whether you
[32:59] want to make alternate suggestions when they come for the variance, we can't provide any
[33:03] feedback on sure. What other options would be, um, you know,
[33:07] good for the project. We leave that for them to come here, we're gonna go strictly buy this
[33:11] and this does say mason, uh, that you can use shrubbery and stuff. So it's just
[33:16] a matter of, um, the committee didn't see, they saw the two foot plantings. Yeah. And
[33:20] it just seemed like it would take too long to provide necessary screening. I just wanna
[33:24] give you the committee's overall conversation. Is this the purchased or leased
[33:28] by? Purchased? I just purchased. Yeah.
[33:34] well, I've given you my recommendation or suggestion, whatever you wanna call it.
[33:38] so what's your feelings? Well, you know, if you have to have the security. Security,
[33:42] so you gotta have a fence. Yes sir. Yeah. And then, uh, between the two fences
[33:46] types, the chain link with the slats I think would probably serve y'alls purpose
[33:51] better economically or, you know. Yes sir. Physically prudent
[33:55] more than the wood. Oh yeah. And then I breaking it up with shrubbery
[34:00] and stuff, you know, do you want to hide the whole fence or you just want something
[34:04] to kind of break it up? Like what they have the rendering here. Yeah. I don't think you'd
[34:08] want to bear one like this. Yeah, no, because it's one
[34:12] thing too. And start looking down after the evergreens will break
[34:16] some of the wind. Get the fence out there. 'cause I mean
[34:20] we have a lot of wind comes up. We have the six foot privacy fence. We're hitting
[34:25] the spirit of the ordinance and then we add the shrubbery to
[34:29] that. Also have to be six feet or can that be at a different height being that we've already met
[34:33] the six foot requirement? You talking about initially? Or they'll grow eventually
[34:38] they'll grow. This what he's talking about. Yes. Initially I think if fence is in
[34:42] place, my personal opinion, they, they've met that requirement. If it's a six foot
[34:46] fence with latch, I, to me destroy wouldn't matter at that point. Now if it was
[34:50] just gonna be shrubbery only, no offense, then I'd have issue that, but
[34:54] then that's my opinion. It's whatever you guys think on that. But I mean, they're meeting the
[34:58] statue on that. But, well, we gotta remember the residents that we support
[35:02] and who, who we take care of. They have to see it every day.
[35:06] we we're not gonna get to see it every day. They are.
[35:11] so I would like, like, I like some shrubbery depending on how far and how
[35:15] tall is negotiable. But just the bear ugly
[35:20] slanted chain link fence. I would not, yeah. I get, I I would not vote for that. I get the bear ugly
[35:24] if somebody's already there. Yeah. If somebody's already there. I I get
[35:29] that. You know, you don't want something like, you know, we're making
[35:33] a decision. Put something in somebody's backyard. Yeah. We put the solar
[35:37] plant there, . Yep. We already made that decision. Well, we didn't get this
[35:41] approved. That's somebody in colorado. You're not allowed to.
[35:46] you'd have to cover it up every, you know, they don't even let a cell cell tower be seen up there.
[35:50] you know, they mm-hmm. . It's build 'em like a tree. So let's come to a consensus.
[35:54] yeah. I think their question is, is if we do a six foot fence,
[35:59] are you going to cross put six foot foot fence foot trees or can we put a two foot tree that'll
[36:03] eventually grow six foot? Is that the correct? And if you, that you're asking really clear
[36:07] so that we know how to direct them . Yeah. We can need to, the
[36:11] stru y'all are recommending you planted at four foot, was
[36:15] it, did you say four foot? So on the shrubs, and there might have been some miscommunication, so we
[36:19] apologize on that. Our intent was the trees were gonna be at six foot for the
[36:23] ordinance. Yeah. Um, as you alluded to, our preference would be the 80 foot fence,
[36:28] the privacy fence without the shrub were around. Um, but if we do have
[36:32] to do shrubs and the eight foot fence, um, we can definitely accommodate,
[36:36] um, the clarity that we need is at time of planting, do we
[36:40] have to do trees and shrubs or can we go in with shrubs that will grow up to
[36:44] six foot? Um, because there's and you plan 'em and you plan 'em at four foot.
[36:49] yes. Correct. Um, there's the question of spacing as you alluded to on the
[36:53] visual sense. Um, over time, depending on spacing, depending
[36:57] on the type of plant that we put in place, it may not provide
[37:01] the shading that the county is looking for. Yeah. So your
[37:05] recommendation would be what we're, I think we're all together on the,
[37:09] the fencing, the sink with slats. The fencing meets the code. The fencing is fine. Yes. Now
[37:13] what about the shrubbery? The shrubbery is, um, in some of the, if
[37:18] they were doing wrought iron or masonry, they would require the shrubbery, but they're doing the fencing
[37:22] so they don't, so it would be a courtesy that they were providing any kind of growing
[37:26] or, or, or I like make it like wrigley field put
[37:30] vy on it. . Well, I think,
[37:34] I think it'd be they can come get it off my house. It just be a confuses to get off. It'd be neighbor
[37:38] if, if if they did some kind of landscaping around the fence. Yeah. There's no question
[37:42] about it. I don't know that you have to put a six foot tree in there. You put a
[37:46] two or four foot. It wouldn't matter to me. It was going grow obviously. But some native
[37:50] vegetation. But especially where there's houses that are already there,
[37:55] you know, where there's not something there. Right. You're building and you know what you're looking at.
[38:00] you shouldn't complain about it. It's like people that build around the airport and then grip about the noise.
[38:04] come on. You know, that's I agree. Yeah. And the vegetation, I mean, that's
[38:08] where I am. You know, if I've lived somewhere 40 years and you all of a sudden you stick something behind
[38:12] me, that's just awful. That's not right. So, I mean, I,
[38:17] I think, I think some kind of beautification for, uh, where
[38:21] there's houses should be established. I would, I would system
[38:25] residents. I would recommend that
[38:29] we take the evergreens down to forefoot and the other plants to forefoot. Yep. And
[38:33] then let them grow. 'cause that's gonna save a lot of money on buying something that tall because
[38:38] you buy it by the diameter. Uh,
[38:42] I don't think the, I'm looking out also where we can make you doing
[38:46] what we can't make you do. Okay. So the statue clearly says
[38:50] one to the other and we done have the fence. Or especially with
[38:54] security and the wires. 'cause there's lithium there as well. The batteries and all that
[38:58] stuff for the solar plant. So the security there is very important to me on that part.
[39:02] and the beautification would be just an addition that you guys would be
[39:07] saying, you know what, for goodwill, we're going to do this. My next question gonna be is right
[39:11] now they're, they're saying yes, that'd be something they might look at doing, but just for what
[39:15] they're proposed. So, which is just the fencing that's facing houses right now.
[39:19] so it'll require them to go all the way around to beautify it towards where
[39:24] there's no residence right now. I think that's something that we ought to be fair to you about
[39:28] as well. So. Well that's true. But there has to be a timeline and is it one
[39:32] house or is it 10 houses? Yeah. Before they continue to decide that. Yeah.
[39:36] so they will know, hey, we've gotta go out and
[39:40] do whatever we need to do. Yeah. I just said around where the houses are. I'm
[39:44] not, I'm, you know, where it's vacant land that's not bothering me. I'm sorry.
[39:49] the green lines indicates every adjoining property owner that is a
[39:54] resident, how many miles does that you think? Currently? Yep. Cool. Um, I
[39:58] see the green lines. I don't know the exact linear footage. Okay. It's drastically less than
[40:02] the 18 miles. Oh yeah. On the entire oh yeah. Yeah. But we focus on
[40:06] the existing. Okay. I think, but I think I understand. What,
[40:10] are you gonna do the fence all the way around the beginning or sir. Alright. I would think so. They're putting the fence
[40:14] all the way around. They're just saying now to address what skeets saying.
[40:18] they ought be good neighbors to people there. But when the developer comes in and develops property and
[40:22] they see this eyesore just like they do with developments
[40:27] in, they got, they gotta cover up. They'll build a, a brick wall, concrete wall or
[40:31] whatever to that's right off the roadways. But you know, if you're, if you're there, I
[40:35] mean, I've been a victim of that stuff coming in after you've already been there for 15, 20
[40:39] years and it's not pretty. But we have no way to control that
[40:44] unfortunately. You know, the only way we could do it is upfront at the beginning
[40:48] so that both parties know what to expect. Yeah. Yeah. But if it's
[40:52] for all land, it's for all land and, and you know, the next person comes in
[40:56] has to, you know, you, you are buying what you know is there.
[41:01] you know, my dad always just say, you don't want a neighbor, you better buy the land next to you.
[41:05] right. I mean that's just the way it is. Alright, let's get to a decision so we can
[41:09] move on. You. Okay. I wanna chain link. Yep.
[41:14] fence. No problem. The slats. The slats with the slats. Eight foot.
[41:18] eight foot and with the three strands of barb wire on top, you have to do okay.
[41:23] as far as the shrubbery, sir? Yes. I think where the,
[41:27] yes. I just wanted to make sure by following the statute that that fencing is all the
[41:31] way, way around. They are. It is. They are, yes. Yeah, they are
[41:35] miles. Yes. Yes. Yeah. They're doing that for security. I just wanna make sure that
[41:39] that's in our record. And I think y'all required to do that anyway. Yes. Yes.
[41:43] they're required for the panels around the arrays. It won't be in the easement
[41:47] off of county roads or state roads. It'll be around the arrays
[41:52] on the property boundary. Right. And as far as shrubbery, I think where they have the green
[41:57] lines here to begin with, they need to be greenery there.
[42:01] uh, and I would go with the four
[42:05] foot on both of those to the specs that they had in their original drawings.
[42:10] if it's possible not to have a footed restriction, that'll give us more options
[42:14] with the vegetation, I'd say no less than three feet.
[42:20] okay. That'll help you with, with the cost in finding plants. Yes
[42:24] sir. And, and one thing, this is just to ask, there's no way,
[42:28] but put yourself in the people that live in these homes
[42:32] that this is coming in behind 'em. If they had no control over what you wanna look
[42:36] at outta your back door sitting on your patio or sitting at the pool.
[42:41] yes sir. It's just a courtesy. A courtesy that I'm asking.
[42:45] yeah. Okay. Everyone
[42:49] good with that? Y'all okay with that? Mm-hmm. . Now
[42:53] at some point in time when developments do come in around it, we would expect the
[42:57] same type of greenery to be planted in those areas. Yeah. No less than three foot.
[43:01] well I, I I can't, we won't be here.
[43:06] I'm with skied on that. I, I the developer that deal with that. Well it's something
[43:10] that I don't wanna make a point of. So, 'cause I'm trying to be fair to you guys too. Okay.
[43:14] the statute says one or the other, all the greenery is them doing good.
[43:18] I understand. Understand. So it's not right. That's why I'm not as particular on as
[43:22] long as it's nice, you know what I mean? It's actually, well they could build
[43:27] a fence and walk away and not do it. Then there's something we could do about it because they could pertain. So I
[43:31] wanna make sure it's a goodwill though, that we're being fair to them as so in,
[43:35] in the green areas. Okay. Well I just to clarify, there is no chain link in
[43:39] our wrecks. We would have to
[43:43] variance, let, let me clarify. There is no chain link in our regs.
[43:48] we, the variance, it says rock iron fencing the variance, brickstone variance. So I wanna make sure
[43:52] you know that that is a variance as well. I wanna make sure we're clear saying that's why they're
[43:56] volunteering the trees. Correct. So I just wanted to make sure. Sure. We were all on the same page. Okay.
[44:00] we would make 'em stick to the correct. I mean that's,
[44:05] I mean brick wall around 18 miles. That should be your answer. That's too right? As you're talking about, I mean
[44:09] we're alright, we good? Is everybody good? Is everyone clear? Mm-hmm. Good.
[44:14] perfectly clear. Yes. Sorry, I just wanna make sure we're all
[44:18] okay. I'm not beating anybody up that they're building in a pasture and there's
[44:22] nothing around them. Right? Right. But if there's a house there and there's people there, then
[44:27] for land's sake, let's be good neighbors. That's, that's what this is about.
[44:32] that's, that's the end of the story. It's not that, you know, it's wrote in stone somewhere,
[44:36] but it it should be that way. Yeah. You, you're just being fair to them.
[44:41] okay, so to be perfectly clear, ,
[44:46] last time, last time, last time, it's on record recording. We have
[44:50] slatted fencing ballbar on top, which is required.
[44:55] we have shrubbery where the green line is on
[44:59] your map that you did. Mm-hmm. With three to four foot plants.
[45:03] the trees plus whatever the evergreen shrub is. Mm-hmm.
[45:07] and those green areas. Mm-hmm. . Okay. Anything further?
[45:12] that's a lot of green areas on there. A lot of and the spirit
[45:16] of being good neighbors. We did uh, try to employ the best that we've done. Okay. Um,
[45:20] throughout texas and other states. Um, to be cognizant of the neighbors, we do take
[45:25] that to heart. Sure. And we appreciate that. Yes sir. Alright. And we'll, we'll follow
[45:29] it up, right? Yes. Okay. Then once a year come in and
[45:33] replace what trees or shrubs are dead to like you would before. Okay.
[45:37] and just so you know, the enforcement on that is if they don't maintain the screening.
[45:41] mm-hmm then when they go for their annual co with the fire marshal, it will not be
[45:45] renewed. Okay. That is the enforcement. Okay. Good deal. Okay. Okay.
[45:49] we have a motion. I made a motion. We have a second. I'll second. There you go. Mr. Moore
[45:53] second. All favor say aye. Aye. Motion carries. Thank you gentlemen. Thank you guys lady,
[45:57] thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you for your time.
[46:09] number nine. That's mine. Consider and
[46:14] approve the county motor fuel exemption tax resolution from kauffman
[46:18] county. Have y'all seen this in the uh,
[46:22] countywide news uh, magazine? A lot of counties have
[46:26] already sent this resolution to the representatives. I made
[46:30] a copy of it. It's in your folder. Yep. There's no thing
[46:34] how much money it would save the county if we were able to
[46:39] use the same fuel exemption. 'cause right now it's
[46:43] federal agencies, volunteer fire departments, nonprofits,
[46:47] ambulance service, electric cooperatives and schools.
[46:52] so they left counties out. So that would definitely help our budget if we could
[46:57] get this exempted. I talked to keith, he was in the office yesterday.
[47:01] he said uh, send it to him along with all the representatives
[47:05] are put putting theirs in to get this done. So any
[47:10] questions? Is this something y'all are interested in? Absolutely. I think it'll
[47:14] save the county money. So I need a motion to approve this.
[47:18] I'll make that motion. Mr. Barber makes the motion to have a second. I'll second
[47:23] mr. Hunt. Make a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Motion carries.
[47:28] sign this. And y'all sign it
[47:33] ms. Lorena, you're up. Next. Discuss considering
[47:37] approve ordering one concrete box cover for road bridge precinct four,
[47:42] utilizing crawford county bid. 24 dash 14 annual contract
[47:46] concrete box covers and miscellaneous concrete work. Yes ma'am. Good morning judge commissioners
[47:52] the box covert specif specifications aligned with bid 24 14
[47:57] and it meets all procurement requirements. The total price is 99,120.
[48:01] I recommend to purchase commissioner moore. This is gonna be, we're
[48:05] having texas bit redo 40 37 right now. They're going to asphalt it. That
[48:10] culvert system that's there now is pushing out. So this will be the best benefit long term.
[48:14] mm-hmm. Plus we're billing it a little bit bigger for future growth there. So, uh,
[48:18] good. I'd like to make a motion to approve that. Have a motion. Commissioner moore to have a second.
[48:23] I'll second. Mr.
[48:27] second here. Seconded it mean come on. You didn't need to see my
[48:31] name fellas. Okay. Excuse philip.
[48:35] second. All in favor say a aye. Motion carried. Thank you. Thank you lorena.
[48:40] ms. Auditor. Good morning.
[48:45] good morning. We're going to discuss line item and budget transfers.
[48:49] we have one this week. Um, wow. , that's good. Yes.
[48:54] uh, we ask for your approval. Okay. Any questions? No.
[48:58] any comments? Not need a motion to approve. I'll make a motion.
[49:03] mr. Phillips makes a motion to have a second. I'll second. Mr. Moore
[49:07] makes a second. All all in favor say aye. A motion carries number 12
[49:11] in honor to once again claims for payment or financial information is
[49:16] needed. So this week we have accounts payable
[49:20] invoices totaling $2,115,231
[49:24] and 88 cents. Most of that is made up of your road bond, um, expenditures.
[49:29] we also have jury checks of $8,220 and we have
[49:33] a payroll of $2,135,504
[49:37] and 68 cents for a total payout of $4,258,956
[49:45] and 56 cents. And we ask for your approval to pay any questions?
[49:49] need a motion to approve? I'll make a motion. Mr. Barb
[49:53] makes a motion to have a second. I'll second. Mr. Hunt makes a second. All in favor say aye.
[49:58] aye. Motion carried. I will say one thing about the jury checks.
[50:02] this yesterday was one of the biggest days I've seen at the courthouse
[50:06] with jurors showing up. They were packed. .
[50:10] oh man it was something else. And it's good to see that so many of our citizens are showing up
[50:15] to serve, which is really encouraging. It definitely has increased over the past
[50:19] year. The amount. Mm-hmm. . And we have another court. Yes. So keeps
[50:24] you going. Okay. Number 13, discuss considered exit
[50:28] regular meeting and enter to an executive session pursuant to government code 5 5 1 0.071
[50:34] the commissioner's court will meet and closed sessions to consult with counsel regarding kaman county's
[50:38] contemplated litigation arising from the construction of the kauffman
[50:42] county pet adoption center, the kaman county justice center
[50:46] and the kalin county justice center. Expansion buildings against but
[50:50] not limited to the following entities. And there's a bunch right there.
[50:55] so at this time I need a motion to exit, break the meeting and enter
[50:59] into an executive session. I'll make motion. Mr. Phis makes the motion to have
[51:03] a second. I second. Mr. Bar makes a second. All in favors say aye. Aye.
[51:07] motion carried. Thank you.
[51:12] oh o. Okay, we'll enter back. I need a motion. Enter back
[51:16] into regular meeting. I'll make that motion for mr. Phelps. Makes motion enter back to regular meeting.
[51:20] do I have a second? I second. Mr. Barber. Thank a second.
[51:24] all in favor say aye. Aye. Okay. As a result of our executive session,
[51:30] I need to know if is there a motion for the county to proceed with litigation
[51:35] arising from the construction of the kaufman county pet adoption center,
[51:39] the kaufman county justice center and the kaman county justice center
[51:43] expansion buildings against these companies.
[51:50] helmuth, oda and ca bomb. Hok architect,
[51:55] m-e-p-c-e-h-o-k sub consultant for the mechanical, electric
[51:59] and plumbing scopes. Jq
[52:03] hks sub-consultant for the structural and civil engineering texas
[52:08] general mechanical prime contractor for mep and hvac.
[52:13] supervisor systems. Tgm subcontractor for supervisors
[52:17] proprietary plumbing system, liberty mutual insurance company,
[52:21] the surety for the bond for the tmg. Tgm.
[52:26] I'm sorry, gallagher. Construction services construction management
[52:30] agent. Quorum architects quorum architect for the pet adoption
[52:35] center. Baird, hampton and brown quorum. Subcontractor
[52:39] for mep scopes. Kimley-horn associates quorum subcontractor
[52:44] for civil engineering. Frank and neil associates inc.
[52:48] quorum subcontractor for structural engineering and any other
[52:52] and all other potential responsibility entities. They might
[52:56] be involved in construction of these three properties. Do I have
[53:00] a motion? I'll make a motion for you. Motion
[53:04] for commissioner phipps to have a second. I'll second. Mr. Bar makes second. All
[53:08] in favor say aye. A. Aye. Aye. Motion carries.
[53:13] uh, I need a motion to adjourn the meeting. I'll make a motion. Adjourn the meeting. May
[53:17] mr. Phillips makes the motion to have a second. I'll second mr. Barber,
[53:21] make a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Motion carrie. Thank you. Thank.