The biggest takeaway from a discussion of the county’s certificate pay policy during the Nov. 26 regular meeting of the Polk County Commissioners Court was to read your emails and respond appropriately.
“Per policy, qualified county employees may earn certificate pay for advanced or master certification for TCOLE-certified peace officers. It is awarded annually during the budget process and must be submitted during the budget process,” County Judge Sydney Murphy said.
Precinct 4 Constable Darwon Evans, who just completed his first four-year term in office, did not request certificate pay during his first term. Although he did request certificate pay during the most recent budget process and did provide copies of his certificates, he did not include it on his budget request, nor did he read or respond to an email from the county judge’s office that was sent to all elected officials and department heads clarifying their salaries and budget requests. As a result, his certificate pay was not included, and he is unhappy and feels that the county owes him $8,000.
The Court approved advertising for bids for pickup trucks for Precinct 3 Road and Bridge, to be paid from American Rescue Plan Act funds and the Precinct 3 operating budget, which must be committed by the end of 2024.
Also approved was the appointment of a scoring committee to evaluate the proposals for pre-employment psychological exams. Due Dec. 4, the proposals will be on the Dec. 10 agenda.
An amendment to the agreement with Serenity House Counseling to increase the number of contractual hours for the Polk County Jail for fiscal year 2025 was discussed.
“In August 2024, Serenity House submitted a request for changes to the agreement. They requested a 50% increase in the number of hours allotted for the contract, from 600 to 900, and a 5% increase in the hourly rate, from $80 to $84,” Murphy said. While there was not enough documentation submitted to change the hourly rate, the Court did approve the proposed amendment increasing the number of hours.
The Court discussed and approved change orders to the agreement with McWilliams & Sons Inc. for tunnel drain repairs at the Polk County Jail. An additional 40 feet of tunneling is necessary due to the route of the drains not being consistent with the proposed route and will cost an additional $20,464. Additionally, it was discovered that when the new jail was built, the new lines were connected to the old lines and the old pipe is now collapsing and will cost an additional $33,765 to replace.
Action regarding the settlement terms with Kroger and authorizing the county judge to execute the settlement participation and release forms regarding statewide settlement offers in the matter of Texas statewide opioid multi-district litigation for the county in the matter of In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL No. 1:17-MD-022804 was approved.
“On Dec. 12, 2017, the Court retained Haley & Olsen and Herb Bristow has been working on our case and they have reached another settlement,” Murphy said.
Several items related to Phase 5 of Midway Acres Subdivision located in Precinct 4 were addressed. Two requests for variance from Polk County subdivision regulation design standards were presented. Section 7.17, plat requirements, requires that plats for developments of this size be prepared at a scale no smaller than one-inch equaling 200 feet and the developers requested one-inch to 300 feet. Additionally, Section 9.D, requires that no more than one single family detached dwelling shall be located on each lot. Both requests for variances were approved, with the developers being exempt from the second one because the lots are larger than five acres.
Based on the recommendation of the county’s engineer, the Court gave conditional approval to the subdivision, upon providing security associated with construction and/or a warranty of Blackjack Road drainage and electrical infrastructure.
The Court approved a request from Debra Nelson to close CCC Forestry Camp Road located in the southeast corner of the J.J. Ownes Survey: A-465 in Precinct 4 on her property. While the road is listed in a 1935 plat, it is not on the county’s master street address guide and does not have a name.
Action was approved to host a county employee appreciation barbecue luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 11 at the Dunbar Gym at a cost of no more than $7,500.
Tina Crichfield presented the annual report on the Piney Wood Lakes Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists.
“We are sponsored by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and Texas A&M AgriLife. It was a very successful year for us with 50 of our volunteers contributing roughly 4,000 hours of service to the community through public outreach booths and educational support in schools with presentations. We set a goal to have pollinator gardens at every school in our four-county service area which includes Polk, Trinity, Tyler and San Jacinto counties. We had our first ever conservation expo and reached over 200 members of the surrounding communities and have several new partnerships this year, including Houston Audubon and Wildlife Habitat Federation. We also have a new partnership with the TSUS Polk County Center to have our training there, as well as our workshops for the community,” Crichfield reported.
In personnel matters, the Court approved personnel action forms submitted by department heads since the last meeting and reviewed authorized emergency hires which included one in maintenance.
Fiscal year 2024 budget revisions and amendments as presented by the county auditor’s office were approved.
In old business, the Court conditionally approved High Ridge Ranch Subdivision in Precinct 3.
Items on the consent agenda included:
Pastor Sean Ferry with Pine Forest Baptist Church opened the meeting with prayer.
