Having recently been notified that to continue receiving federal funding everything has to be ADA-compliant – not just physical structures but digital infrastructure as well – the Polk County Commissioners Court approved a proposal from CivicPlus for county web services during its regular meeting Tuesday.
“The county clerk’s office has transitioned to CivicPlus which they’re happy with,” County Judge Sydney Murphy said, adding that CivicPlus specializes in governmental entities.
“The other aspect we’re having to deal with is social media which is subject to freedom of information (FOI) requests. There are at least 12 Facebook pages operated by various departments in the county. CivicPlus will compile an archive and make that information available. That provides us with compliance for FOI laws,” Murphy said, remarking on the vast number of FOI requests that are received, taking people away from their jobs in order to fulfill.
“Moving to this I think would be more efficient,” Murphy said.
The Court approved an amendment to the agreement with Komatsu Architecture to extend the period of performance for the courthouse restoration project. Modifications to the water, sewer and electrical at the city’s request resulted in a 220-day extension which necessitated amending the contract with Komatsu.
An order granting an exemption from the competitive bid requirements for the purchase of real property at an April 9 public auction held by Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers was approved.
A public hearing to receive public comment on a petition to abandon Old Blanchard Loop, also known as the Blanchard and Onalaska highway, located in Precinct 2, was held. The petition came from Thomas Timber Investments and other landowners on both sides to close the non-existent road that is not currently on the 911 map. The Court approved the request to abandon it.
Although no action was required, the Court did approve the fiscal year 2026 budget adopted by the Polk Central Appraisal District on March 25. The budget reflects an increase of $63,229, which is a 3.1% increase.
In personnel matters, the Court approved personnel action form requests submitted by department heads since the last meeting and approved a request from the district attorney to utilize unspent salary funds to create a temporary part-time position.
Fiscal year 2025 budget revisions and amendments as presented by the county auditor’s office were approved.
The presented proclamations declaring the following: April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, April 6-12 as Crime Victims’ Rights Week in Polk County and April 13-19 as Public Safety Telecommunications Week in Polk County.
Items on the consent agenda included:
Pastor Gary Forrest with First Baptist Church Corrigan opened the meeting with prayer.
