County takes step forward on Rita homes
By SHARON KERR

Jasper County commissioners took several giant strides Monday, Feb. 12, towards replacing homes destroyed by Hurricane Rita.

With the aide of Michael Hunter of Hunter and Hunter, Jasper County has secured two Texas State grants to assist lowincome homeowners in replacing homes hardest hit by the storm.

After a lengthy review and planning process, the list is narrowed to not less than six and not more than 17 applicants. Due to time constraints, rather than site-built homes, it looks like the county will replace all with manufactured housing. The bidding process will open as soon as the specifications are written.

All homes must meet handicap accessibility standards, including a wheelchair ramp, door sizes and hall width, and height of electric switches and plugs.

Hunter informed the commissioners that the state has also increased the allotment per home to $60,000 (from $55,000). As much as 12 percent of that sum may be used for "soft costs" such as surveying and appraisals. What remains for hard costs, actual construction, will allow for a two-or-three bedroom 1170 square-foot manufactured home, whereas it would only afford an 880 square-foot site-built home.

The court gave County Judge Mark Allen the authority to accept and enter into a contract with the winning bidder(s) for the manufactured homes, and for the survey and appraisals required by the grants.

On Hunter's recommendation, the court also approved that Allen request an extension on the original grant for six months.

In other business, grant writer David Waxman reported to the court that the long-awaited federal funding from the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) for disaster recovery was finally at hand and the county could expect to receive the money shortly. Waxman also received permission from the court to pursue up to $5 million from the second round of funding.

"The thrust of this will be for drainage projects. The county needs to be working to develop where to do these projects to mit- igate flooding problems," according to Waxman.

Emergency management coordinator Billy Ted Smith requested and was granted approval for the Hazard Mitigation Action Plan for Jasper County, which he said was "the last step in the process for approval by FEMA."

Karen Kipp of the Jasper Learning Center requested and was granted a resolution of support and in-kind services to expand the campus with another building (see related story, page 1).

Constables and the D.A.'s office

The commissioners approved appointing deputy constables to assist constables, to back up officers and to help process papers in Precincts 4 and 6. These are non-salaried positions filled by certified peace officers who want to maintain their ratings.

Allen said he will serve as one of the deputy constables on the recommendation of District Attorney Steve Hollis, to avoid any conflict of interest by working directly in law enforcement.

Hollis also requested and was granted several budget re-allocations. Instead of using $31,000 to hire another investigator, the D.A.'s office will purchase a vehicle through the fleet program for $19,000 for investigator Mike Wilson, and hire a part-time person to assist with boxes of files and paper work left incomplete.

"There are forms that the sheriff's office fills out when someone goes to jail that (the D.A.'s office) needs to file with DPS in Austin. I found 76 forms in one box that were never sent in," Hollis said, "And there are many more of those boxes."

Insurance

County insurance agent Wayne Sanderson reported that the county's liability insurance will not cover resident Eugene Bland, whose property was also damaged when the Precinct 4 barn burned down.

"Liability is designed to pay in the case of negligence or the policy holder's error," Sanderson said. "In this case, the county made no error and was operating in good faith."

Commissioners are awaiting results of the ongoing investigation before discussing reimbursement of Bland. Precinct 4 Commissioner Vance Moss said that Bland had always been a good neighbor, helped out when he could, and watched over the property for the county.

Moss also reported that several employees had lost their personal tools, and asked the county to consider their losses.

The matter was tabled until the next meeting, Feb. 22.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Willie Stark asked Sanderson who was paying for the extra security at the site. ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) who are in charge of the scene requested 24-hour security to protect the integrity of the investigation.

Sanderson said he would have to ask the insurance company since this was not a normal expense.

As soon as specifications are written, the county will seek bids to rebuild the barn.

Sanderson also introduced Robert Hoehen, representative for Paul Davis Restoration Company that is handling several of the county buildings damaged by Hurricane Rita. Hoehen reported on the status of several projects.

Considering the deterioration following roof damage, Davis Restoration is recommending demolishing the Jasper SHARE building. It will be less costly than repair. This recommendation takes into account the roof, damage to the structure, subsequent mold, and the asbestos problem that existed pre-Rita.

Smith said he would contact FEMA, who had originally appraised the damaged building for repairs, to change the scope of the work to demolition.

Davis Restoration is also recommending the replacement, rather than repair, of the standing-seam roof at the courthouse in Buna.

Sanderson said he would look at amending claims to the insurance company to cover additional costs.

"I think they will look at that favorably," Sanderson said.

Sanderson pointed out to the court that the insurance carrier has already paid the county $300,000, enough for deposits so that Davis Restoration can begin work. The court authorized Allen to sign contracts for various crews to begin work.

Other business

Rick Reynolds of Amsoil presented a proposal to the commissioners to enter into a contract for all sheriff's deputy vehicles to switch to a product that "could save the county $2,000 a year in expenses on the sheriff's 20 vehicles."

Reynolds said State patrol cars, the city and Sabine County already use Amsoil and have not had any lubrication related failures.

Deputies would have to take their vehicles to Carpenter's in Kirbyville, but Chief Deputy Jack Jett save overall it would save time since vehicles would require an oil change once every 20,000 miles instead of every 3,000 miles.

County Auditor Dru Miller pointed out that, as oil and labor are billed separately in the proposed contract, they would have to put it out for bids or reword the contract as a service that includes materials. The court tabled a decision until the oil purchase and bid process are clarified.

Jasper County death investigator Phil Denney reported 30 deaths in January.

Liz Street, representing the Jasper/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, requested and was approved for use of the courthouse facilities for the Azalea Fest, March 16-17, Fall Fest, Oct. 5-6, and the bike ride, Oct. 27.

Mike Love requested and was granted permission for the air show at the County airport the last weekend on March.

Ralph Day's request for hangar space at Bell Field was approved pending a survey. Precinct 1 Commissioner Charles Shofner recommended the court consider creating a plat map. It would require surveying potential sites in advance, so that when the county agrees to lease land to build a hanger, the construction would not be delayed. Shofner said there are five requests right now for hangar space.

Wilbert Barnett of CASA (Court Appointed Advocates for Children) requested office space from the commissioners, but the court had no space to offer.

JEDCO executive director Tom McClurg spoke to the court regarding bids that were never placed for a cost efficient wireless access. He said they would close next week on the Mobil Medical deal for the old Explorer hanger, and that access was a condition of the contract.

McClurg also emphasized that many corporate clients need wireless access for their laptaps at the terminal, and a wireless access at the Precinct 2 county barn would also be a benefit.

The court unanimously agreed to consult the airport engineer, to consider using the existing beacon tower if feasible, and to get bid specs written and checked by the county attorney before advertising them.

Mayor Giles Horn of Kirbyville reported that the city has acquired the Market Basket property in anticipation of moving city hall and many city services to the 13,900 square foot building.

Horn said the city has outgrown its 2,000 square foot building and needed more parking as well. The larger building is big enough to accommodate city hall, the sub-courthouse annex, tax office, police department, and elections.

Horn requested commissioners consider taking about half the space and having the county courtroom double as the city hall meeting room. While several commissioners endorsed the idea in theory, they requested an expense analysis.

Allen said, "It would be nice (for Kirbyville) to have a central location for all these services... I like the idea, but we want to see a feasibility study first."

Points quickly approved by the commissioners include:

Poling places for the November general election were changed in accordance with recommendations by County Clerk Debbie Miller, and dollar amounts for cities and schools leasing election equipment was set.

Quantum Geophysical was approved for a seismic survey at Kirbyville airport.

The county auditor will begin advertising for bids for the purchase of fuel, road and bridge material, tires and tubes, and pipe and culverts.