From recovering money for damaged county roads to strengthening drainage regulations and preparing for a major overhaul of the county website, Liberty County commissioners handled a wide range of business during their Tuesday, Aug. 11, meeting.
One of the more significant actions involved a $250,000 settlement with Enterprise Ethane Pipeline, LLC, for damages to roads in Precinct 1.
County Attorney Matthew Poston explained that Enterprise previously deposited $500,000 with the county under a road-use agreement. Following negotiations, the county agreed to retain $250,000 to compensate Pct. 1 for road repairs already performed, with the remaining $250,000 to be returned to the company.
Pct. 1 Commissioner Bruce Karbowski indicated that the settlement represents only a portion of the damages caused by the company’s activities but said the $250,000 covers work his precinct has already performed on the affected roads.
“We did negotiate with them strongly,” Karbowski said.
Commissioners unanimously approved the agreement.
Liberty County working with Harris County on flood mitigation
The court also approved revisions to Liberty County’s flood prevention ordinance, a move officials said could improve the county’s ability to participate with Harris County in regional flood mitigation projects.
Anna Chamberlain with LJA Engineering explained that the revisions incorporate five minimum requirements sought by Harris County for neighboring counties interested in participating in regional flood mitigation partnerships.
“Much of this stems from wanting to improve the resiliency of Liberty County communities,” Chamberlain said. “Right now, Liberty County is not eligible for regional flood mitigation partnership programs with Harris County that would be so beneficial for streams that drain from Liberty County into Harris County. Making these specific changes would allow Liberty County to then be eligible for regional flood mitigation efforts.”
Chamberlain noted that some of the changes will simply formalize practices Liberty County already follows.
“A lot of the language that is required from Harris County is actually not a change from the current Liberty County standards,” she said.
One example is the use of Atlas 14 rainfall data to determine stormwater infrastructure needs.
“The five minimum requirements that they’ve made us change is adopting Atlas 14 rainfall for stormwater sizing,” Chamberlain said. “That’s actually already the Liberty County criteria, and we just are making it very explicitly clear in the regulations that that is what the requirement is already and will be moving forward.”
Another provision establishes a minimum detention rate for developments. Chamberlain described it as a safeguard to make sure the detention calculations submitted by engineers are reasonable.
“They should be doing actual calculations to determine their necessary detention sizing for their development, but this is just a check that the value that they are coming up with is reasonable,” she said. “If they’re coming up with a number less than the minimum required rate, they would need to increase it to that minimum rate.”
The county also will prohibit the use of hydrograph timing as a substitute for detention. Chamberlain said she has seen only one instance in Liberty County, several years ago, in which a developer or engineer attempted to use that approach.
She explained that the argument essentially is that runoff from a smaller development can be released quickly enough to reach a stream before the stream reaches its peak, eliminating the need for detention.
“You might be able to successfully argue that for one development, but if everybody were to do the exact same thing, then all development would be getting approved with no detention and the eventual peak of that stream would be higher,” Chamberlain said.
The changes are particularly significant for Precincts 1 and 4 because both share boundaries with Harris County and are affected by watersheds that cross county lines.
County Judge Jay Knight said Liberty County has been focused heavily on drainage issues for more than a decade and expressed optimism about the progress being made. He said working with neighboring counties could help address drainage problems involving waterways that do not stop at county lines.
Chamberlain said that regional approach is precisely what Harris County is trying to accomplish, noting that a substantial amount of the water draining into Harris County watersheds originates outside its boundaries.
Officials also discussed ongoing studies involving the Tarkington and Luce Bayou watersheds, with additional information from those efforts expected to become available in the future.
Changes coming to county’s website
Commissioners also approved moving forward with an overhaul of Liberty County’s website through the Texas Association of Counties’ County Information Resources Agency.
IT Director Nick Dennis said the county’s existing website is dated and needs to be brought into compliance with federal web accessibility requirements. The updated platform will include tools designed to improve access for people with disabilities as well as modernized features for county departments and the public.
Dennis said the county currently pays approximately $1,550 annually for website hosting, with that amount increasing to approximately $9,550 annually. The county also faces a one-time migration cost of approximately $25,400 if the project is completed in 2026. Waiting until 2027 would increase the migration cost to more than $33,000.
Dennis told commissioners he has enough money in his current budget to cover the one-time migration expense.
Commissioners unanimously approved proceeding with the project.
Jail repairs still underway
The court received another update on continuing repairs and improvements at the Liberty County Jail.
Officials reported that work on the smoke purge fan system is progressing, with installation of fans and associated equipment continuing in the east and west halls. Electrical work and testing are expected to follow.
HVAC work was reported to be approximately 90 percent complete, although problems were discovered with dampers on four air handlers. Approximately 140 security cameras have been installed, with additional work dependent in part on ceiling replacement in several areas of the jail.
The county is also waiting on replacement doors associated with fire restoration work, with those doors expected later this year. Other security and communications improvements, including key-card access, locks and intercom equipment, are continuing.
Sheriff Bobby Rader’s office also reported that the Texas Commission on Jail Standards had recently received an update on the county’s progress and was pleased with the work being performed.
In another Sheriff’s Office matter, commissioners tabled a proposed five-year renewal with Motorola Solutions for body-worn cameras and cloud storage.
The proposed contract would provide 85 new body cameras along with cloud storage for body-camera and in-car video at an annual cost of $94,880.
The Sheriff’s Office currently has approximately 60 body cameras and is seeking additional units to provide cameras to more personnel who need them. Commissioners were told the new agreement would cost approximately $15,000 more annually than the previous contract.
After questions were raised about portions of the agreement, commissioners opted to table the matter and bring it back for consideration at a future meeting.
In other business, commissioners also approved final plats for Sections 5, 6 and 7 of the Sterling Traditions subdivision. The development will feature curb-and-gutter construction, reinforced concrete roads and water and sewer service rather than septic systems.
Officials noted that the development is ultimately expected to include a roadway connection between SH 146 and FM 1409, which could provide another transportation route in the Dayton area.
The court also approved the use of remaining Senate Bill 22 Rural Law Enforcement and Prosecutor Assistance Grant funding to provide salary increases for several employees in the Liberty County District Attorney’s Office. The money comes from the state and had to be used before the end of the current funding period or returned.
Following an executive session, commissioners authorized the Liberty County Attorney’s Office to represent the county in litigation filed by Dolcefino Communications, LLC, and others in the 253rd Judicial District Court. This pertains to a request from Wayne Dolcefino on behalf of the family of the late Sherry Novosad. Dolcefino is requesting bodycam videos worn by deputies responding to Novosad’s home on the day of her alleged suicide.
Commissioners also tabled a proposed road-use and master road-repair agreement with Grand Prix Pipeline, Inc., along with the company’s related request for a road-use permit involving road cutting along various county roads.
Precinct 3 Commissioner David Whitmire was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.
Hmmm…what about Precinct 9? Pipeline came right through on Davis Hill Rd and the roads are trash now. Also cannot get anyone from the Commissioners office to respond or return calls.
PCT 9? Isn’t that PCT 2 if it is wait till next year for the new Commissioner. This one was voted out and it was about time, but he did vote a big raise and vehicle pay.
Liberty County can’t even fix the road correctly after replacing culverts. The don’t replace the asphalt and the road over the new culvert is humped up like a speed bump.
Also, I don’t understand why they dump some asphalt on a lowboy trailer, have 3 employees drive around, shovel the asphalt into a hole, and then stomp on it to pack it down.
If they don’t have anything to do, have them clock out and go home. Maybe the cost savings can be used to increase the budget for proper road maintenance.
Where’s our tax money going Liberty County?
Go to the County tax collector’s website and check out the taxes not paid. I would guess County wide maybe close to half million maybe more.