Liberty County Commissioners Court met Tuesday, Dec. 9, with one of the most discussed items involving contracts with several Emergency Services Districts. The Court met in executive session before opening discussion with representatives from ESDs 1 (Kenefick), 2 (Hull-Daisetta), 3 (Westlake), and 7 (Hardin), all of whom attended.
The county is offering each ESD $30,000 a year to help offset mutual aid expenses. ESD 7 Chief Nic Nelson told Bluebonnet News the amount covers only about half to a third of what his agency spends annually on mutual aid calls and falls well short of what cities receive. Cleveland receives about $200,000 for mutual aid, while Liberty and Dayton receive an estimated $100,000 each.
Nelson said he had made repeated attempts to meet with county officials before Tuesday’s meeting but was only able to visit with two commissioners—Pct. 2 Commissioner Greg Arthur and Pct. 4 Commissioner Gerald Kolarik. He also shared his frustration with errors found in the draft contracts, including incorrect legal codes and grammar issues. Kenefick’s Chief Steve Mitchum echoed another concern raised by Nelson: the county’s request to conduct background checks on all firefighters.
The chiefs argued that paid and volunteer firefighters work for their respective departments, not for the county, and that departments should be responsible for their own background checks. County Attorney Matthew Poston proposed that the ESDs follow the criminal history guidelines for certification through the Texas Commission on Fire Protection, and they agreed.
Following a lengthy discussion, commissioners tabled the item until their next meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 16. An agenda for that meeting has not yet been released.
Earlier in the meeting, Liberty County Sheriff Bobby Rader provided an update on the ongoing repair work at the Liberty County Jail, which remains under oversight from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Rader said nearly all restoration from the first jail fire is complete except for a window and two custom-made doors still on order. Because the items must be specially fabricated, it may take up to six months before they arrive. Those windows and doors were damaged during an inmate disturbance that sparked a fire.
Rader said crews were on-site Monday, Dec. 8, working on the HVAC system, and all duct work is expected to be finished by Wednesday, Dec. 17. New door locks arrived last week and are being installed on the jail’s west end. New intercoms and cameras will be installed next. Commissioners accepted the report.
Commissioners also approved new flooring for the county clerk’s office and mail room inside the Cleveland annex. The $2,668.50 project was postponed last year but is now moving forward. They also approved the sale of fireworks for the New Year’s holiday, keeping the same limitations used in past years.
In other action, commissioners approved permits for a wastewater treatment system for a Gemini subdivision in the Splendora area. The project has already met Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) permitting requirements.
A request from Allie Farms Subdivision to waive the required two-year road maintenance period was tabled. Recent inspections by LJA Engineering found that the subdivision’s roads were not built with the correct amount of limestone base, causing sections of the pavement to crack and collapse. The developer will need to correct those issues before the county considers taking the roads into its maintenance program.
Commissioners also approved two payments for the sewer rehabilitation project in Hardin, funded entirely with federal grant dollars through the American Rescue Plan Act. A payment of $354,455.10 was approved for King Solution Services, LLC, along with another payment of $30,984.30.
It was said in a report old and faulty wiring in the jail was the cause of the fire,not inmates.