Most of Brown County received measurable rain over the weekend, which prompted Brown County Commissioner’s Court to discuss whether or not to consider extending the current burn ban, ultimately leading to its repeal.
Monday morning being thankful for the weekend rain, commissioners spoke briefly of extending the burn ban, which was to expire on May 7th. All commissioners reported their precincts had received some of the rain over the weekend.
After referring to the Keetch Byram Drought Index map, it was noted that the area’s drought index remains the same, with some areas of the county being less severe. According to Commissioner Joel Kelton of Precinct 2, the May area has received about 5 inches in the past couple of weeks.
Commissioner Richard Gist of Precinct 3 expressed his concern in lifting the ban; however, he also acknowledged this week to be a good week for burning due to the wet ground.
“With conditions the way they are, for today it looks like we’re in good shape, but ever how quickly it can change,” stated Commissioner Gist. “We have had more wind this year, I think, than we have ever had and there is still a lot of dead grass out there. There are a lot of areas that need to burn.”
County Judge Ray West clarified that a burn ban can be imposed and it can always be suspend if the court wanted to lift the ban since some of the precincts had citizens requesting to burn trash. With this in mind, consideration for another burn ban could be placed on the agenda for May 9th.
Commissioner Steve Adams of Precinct 1 pointed out that the current burn ban had been in place for approximately 6 months and some people needed to burn. Being a volunteer firefighter, Adams requested that all citizens please call their local fire department to let them know before burning.
“It would be a big help, because when you lift a ban, as long as we have had it imposed, there’s going to be, I think, a lot of people tomorrow who will burn, and that will probably be the best day to burn,” stated Adams. “Dispatch has been getting a lot of calls of smoke, after this long of time not having anyone burn, when they see smoke they are calling these fires in. If they know about a fire, then they won’t send 4 or 5 trucks out there. With conditions that we have now, I think it would warrant making that phone call.”
“If it does dry out during the end of the week, and it looks it’s going to by the looks of the winds and stuff like that, one of the critical things is that fire trucks are going out there at this point in time are going to be getting stuck,” Adams said. “I certainly think we ought to have it back on the agenda on Monday.”
Adams went on to say that local volunteer fire departments are “worn out” right now and have used up some of their resources, such as equipment that has broken down and tires that have been worn out. So people really need to be careful.
The fire in Zephyr last week that endangered several homes was spoken of by Gist who explained it was possibly started by a tossed cigarette. A few other fires also could have been avoided according to Gist.
“Common sense has to be used and people have to be careful,” said Gist.
In other matters on the agenda:
*Commissioners unanimously approved request by Elections Administrator Suzy Young to appoint Larry Franks as tabulations supervisor. Franks has worked for the elections office a number of years and in the polls. He also has had some classes in Elections Return Management. Franks will receive a flat fee of $75 for each election, which is allowed by the Elections Statutes, section 127.003. Part of his position’s responsibility is to check that election ballots are being counted correctly and match the machine count.
*Precinct 2 received approval to purchase a Broce power broom through a state surplus sale.
*Funding appropriation agreement between Brownwood Public Library and Brown County. This allocation consists of $27,000 annually paid monthly in $2250 installments during the fiscal year of 2011. This amount is budgeted in the current FY budget.
*Tax resale deed was granted to Eugene and Sherry Thomas for lots 379 and 380 of Thunderbird Bay Subdivision, Section II, which are neighboring lots. The bid amount was for the appraised value of $2700. Total amounts due including judgment and fees were $4355.
*Commissioners visited about the possibility of doing some resodding and tree trimming around the Brown County Courthouse. A bid for sodding the lawn and replacing shrubs that have died has been received. A bid for the court house is pending.
*Judge West received a letter verifying that Brown County does not have to take official action on redistricting. Commissioners agreed that due to the county not being required to redistrict, it would be best to save the county the substantial cost of this process. Commissioner Adams stated that the savings would be between $10,000-15,000.
