Tom Green Co. Elections Administrator Vona Hudson told the Commissioners Court about some necessary changes to precinct lines the county would need to make in order to be fully compliant with the Texas Election Code last week.
“We are talking about the Code that requires the Commissioners Court to review our voting precincts for compliance for certain things; one of them is whether any elected officials have moved outside their precincts, and the second is if any of our voting precincts have more than 5,000 active registered voters in them — and we actually do have one of those in Commissioners Precinct 2 — and a third thing is whether we have any incorporated and unincorporated territory in the same voting precinct, and we do have that with one voting box in Commissioner Nanny’s precinct.” (Precinct 4)
Hudson briefly discussed her plan to remedy the situation, noting that nothing could be done before the May 3 elections are finalized, which would be after any June runoffs.
Commissioner Bacon, who did most of the work on the last local redistricting of Commissioners Court precincts, said the move would reconfigure his and Comm. Nanny’s precincts a little, somewhere along College Hills Boulevard, and he mentioned that Allison, Bass & Assoc. did excellent work on that project.
Bacon recommended that Hudson consult with them to make sure the county is in full compliance, and get some new maps. He also made a motion to approve the changes, which would take effect July 1. The motion carried.
Land acquisition could widen western end of Walling Pecan Rd.
Commissioners Farmer and Nanny presented a proposal to widen the western portion of Walling Pecan Road’s right-of-way by purchasing a strip of Washington County School land lying on the north side of the roadway.
According to Appraisal District records, the school’s parcel consists of 2,396 acres.
Pct. 2 Commissioner Sammy Farmer told the Court he thinks they may never get another opportunity like this, and thinks it would be a smart move, since there is plenty of room out there for more subdivisions in the future, adding that a buffer between the fence and pavement there would improve safety.
He said there was a verbal agreement by the owners to sell the strip of land for the appraised value, but they would need to get a survey and an appraisal.
Pct. 4 Commissioner Shawn Nanny knows the Washington Co. school land liaison, and the folks who lease the land, and he said they were talking about purchasing a 50-foot strip along a 3-mile stretch of the road.
He said the fence almost reaches the pavement currently, and this would provide for a better buffer zone.
Nanny said he had negotiated an appraisal by Alan Drennan for $7,500 and survey by SKG Engineering for $12,500. He said he was seeking that amount in order to get the ball rolling.
Tom Green County Judge Lane Carter told attendees that the idea came up because of the run-down fence on that side of the road that the owners needed to replace, and Comm. Nanny said part of the negotiation involves the county’s crews clearing the new right-of-way and disposing of the old fence.
The Court approved the measure 5-0.
Other Business
The Court acknowledged Pct. 3 Commissioner Rick Bacon, Brian McGuire and Nate Southard will serve as the Evaluation and Negotiation Committee for Request-for-Statement-of-Qualifications 25-006: Elevator Engineering Services. The committee’s aim is to save the county time and money on the overhaul-and-refit project for the Keyes Building elevator, which has been in service for many decades
The Court issued Request-for-Proposals 25-005: Goodfellow AFB DEAAG Visitor Control Center, with an opening date of June 4, and approved the evaluation committee.
