County shifts gears in road plan

COLDSPRING — An issue of underbudgeted roadwork led San Jacinto County Commissioners to rearrange the scope of road projects that are funded by federal grant funds.

At a public hearing on Wednesday, County Judge Fritz Faulkner said funds for the roadwork scheduled for Donahoe Road will be moved to other projects, citing rising costs.

The work was part of a $14 million grant award from the Government Land Office to repair damage from Hurricane Harvey.

Faulkner said each Precinct has road projects included in the grant that come to $8,912,789.77.

Originally planned for Precinct 2 includes portions of Blackberry Lane and Rocky Creek Road; projects in Precinct 4 include Lakeview Estates Drive, Mount Zion Road, Surrey Road, Stagecoach Road, Horseshoe Way Loop and Counts Road; in Precinct 1, Camilla Lake Road, Robin Creek Road and Dabney Bottom Road; and in Precinct 3, South Lilly Jager Loop.

In other business, commissioners:

• reappointed Nettuno and Faulkner to the DETCOG board;
• approved the necessary documents relating to a GLO Development Block Grant;
• approved installation of VoIP communications for the DPS office;
• tabled a discussion on the closure of the Shepherd tax office;
• approved a request to read the Bible aloud on the Courthouse Lawn from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. July 12;
• approved a variance to help settle a land dispute;
• tabled a preliminary plat for the Pine Trail subdivision;
• tabled approval on the final plat for Whitetail Ranch subdivision;
• approved a memorandum of understanding with Gov Deals for online auctions, with a change to include all county departments; and
• approved a letter to be sent out seeking donations toward a community park.