County moves foward on new Precinct 4 barn
By SHARON KERR Staff Writer

On Monday the Jasper County Commissioners Court opened sealed bids to replace the Precinct 4 equipment barn and office that burned in January.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Vance Moss said the investigation, which included agents from the federal government, the county's insurance company and Ford, the parent company of the New Holland backhoe, finally concluded that the fire of unknown origin began in a storage room, but it was not caused by the backhoe.

Moss said he has cleared the site of charred debris and "is ready to get going" and get out of the temporary building they are currently using as a base of operations.

Four sealed bids were received, but each bidder interpreted the specifications differently.

Whirlwind Steel Buildings bid a base price of $32,840 for basic materials and shipping, and then noted that a number of things were not included, such as anchor bolts.

Bulldog Buildings of Jasper bid $36,125 and then included a list of recommended upgrades.

Mueller Inc. bid $47,038, but their bid included heavier gauge steel, a trim package, ridge vents, and other upgrades.

Simms Construction of Kirbyville was the highest bidder at $48,575, but their bid included additional items and foundation drawings, which the other bids will require before completion.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Charles Shofner recommended that a committee study the specifications.

Moss said, "We're going to need to look at all these. It's not going to be decided today."

Moss, Shofner and County Auditor Dru Miller will go over bids, compare features, and make a recommendation to the court, perhaps as soon as next week.

Jasper County Sheriff Ronnie McBride and Chief Deputy Jack Jett presented a request for a vehicle and additional personnel to transport prisoners to Justice the Peace (JP) Courts during the week for arraignment.

McBride said the van the county uses has more than 250,000 miles on it and is unreliable.

Precinct 1 JP Ronnie Billingsley and Precinct 2 JP Freddie Miller explained that people who are arrested must be arraigned within 48 hours.

Billingsley, who has service since 1995, said all the judges used to take rotations. In recent years, the load has gotten heavier since Jasper closed its city jail and the county jail also gets all of the Kirbyville's arrests.

"We magistrate for everyone," Billinglsey said. "When we go, we pretty much clean the jail out."

Currently the six JP's serve alternate weekends, but Monday through Thursday the three northern JP's are carrying the load to come and magistrate at the sheriff's office.

McBride said, "We have no choice. By law we have to get these prisoners arraigned. If we have to transport prisoners to get that done, we need a vehicle and officers to do it."

After some discussion, the court moved to reimburse JPs for additional incounty mileage for weekday rotations at the sheriff's office. The court also authorized the sheriff and JPs to look into using technology funds in a pilot program to magistrate using computers, cameras and a fax line.

McBride said his jail staff would be the ones to work with JPs on remote arraignment, but reminded the court, "We're getting desperate on the van, spending major money on something that needs to be replaced."

Jasper Economic Development director Tom McClurg requested approval from the court to establish a Texas Enterprise Zone. It is a state program to encourage job creation and capital investment in areas of economic distress such as Jasper. McClurg requested that the court nominate the new Tiger Truck plant for the tax advantages the zone creates.

The next step in the process is to hold a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 18, for public comment.

Also on April 18, commissioners will hold another in a series of hearings on the official adoption of county roads.

The court approved the current map in the judge's office for more than 630 miles of roads, knowing there will likely be amendments as hearing progress. All homeowners received notice of which roads the county has been maintaining; owners have two years to protest the county designations.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Willie Stark said they've had people on both sides, some who want their roads included in the county system, and some declaring their roads are private. Stark said it hinges on whether the county has been maintaining roads prior to 1981. Roads that have been deeded to the county are not in question.

Commissioners considered bids for the purchase of road and bridge material, pipe and culverts, tires and tubes, fuel and oil products. In a lengthy process, commissioners selected vendors to supply road materials.

Part of their deliberations included that costs of hauling was sometimes as much as the cost of the material, due to weight and rising fuel costs. In many cases, dual vendors were selected depending on how close each precinct was to the source of the materials.

Paul Davis Restoration representative Robert Hoehn reported that the roof repairs for the Buna subcourthouse and the demolition and asbestos abatement for the SHARE building are completed. He also presented new estimates for additional repairs to the courthouse, and said he has met with insurance adjustors who will consider the amended estimates but need time to perform due diligence on the claims.

County insurance agent Wayne Sanderson said the claims amount to approximately $140,000 in supplemental payments. He said the insurance companies understand that there is no way to pinpoint losses accurately during the immediate aftermath of an event like Hurricane Rita.

In other business:

The court annexed the Humphrey Family Pavilion as part of the Jasper County Development District #1. This will allow the district to collect and keep an extra ? cent sales tax on all sales generated at the Pavilion, and use it for development of the district.

The court extended the tax-exempt status of Masonic lodges in Jasper, Kirbyville, Buna and Evadale for another five years in recognition of the community service they perform.

The court approved declaring May "Elder Abuse Prevention Month," in accordance with a request from Terry Johnson, representative of Adult Protective Services.

The court approved Shofner and Allen as the county's representatives on the DETCOG board.

The court adopted a resolution naming April 20 as Beaumont Coca Cola Day in recognition of their 100th anniversary. Scott Burton, president of the Jasper Lions Club, reported that Coca Cola will partner with the Lion's Club Rodeo that day for opening the ticket sales booth in the parking lot adjacent to Baskins.

The court unanimously approved applying for a training grant program through Workforce Solutions that will reimburse the county for up to $10,000 in training for its employees.

The court endorsed extending the Keep Jasper Beautiful campaign to include all of Jasper County, on the request of chairperson Patty Shaw

The court also heard from Mary Ann Guillory, representative of National Family Care Insurance, who requested that the court authorize a payroll deduction plan for county employees who want to enroll in the supplementary insurance. The court advised that when she has 51 percent enrollment, the county will automatically make that available.