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COLUMBUS – The May 13 Commissioners Court meeting saw the county accept a few awards from the Texas Association of Counties Risk Management Pool and accept other items regarding the county jail and county emergency medical services.
The TAC RMP sent several representatives to present the commissioners with two awards: the Safety Achievement Award and the 50th anniversary plaque. The former is a recognition given to counties that reach a standard of safety and risk mitigation with their law enforcement agencies. Only about 13% of the 245 counties in Texas qualify each year.
The 50th anniversary plaque is a recognition delivered to the founding member counties who have employed TAC RMP’s services.
The county is prepared to accept one of the bids they have received for roof repairs and waterproofing of critical areas that have suffered from leaking. The proposed project will replace the current roof and seal the front walls and windows that allow water into the building. Part of the project will also include a canopy covering the recreation yard that will not be fully enclosed to allow fresh air to blow through.
The project is expected to begin within three weeks, and operations at the jail are to be unchanged throughout its duration.
In other county jail news, the county agreed to reallocate funds from an unfilled jailer position to the Secretary Salary Fund to help with the hiring of a new administrative assistant.
The county denied a motion to provide fully remote accessible balloting for disabled and impaired voters using OmniBallot. The program would, in part, be a reader for blind voters and other accommodations for other disabilities to allow for more voter independence for disabled participants. As it stands, election workers help these voters with their participation.
On a similar note, the Federal Justice Department released a statement in 2023 imploring several counties including Colorado County to “resolve the identified civil rights violations” on the county elections website regarding its inaccessibility to blindness or manual disabilities. The Elections Office has tried to accommodate for these voters with in-person voting.
The next Commissioners Court meeting will be at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 28 at 400 Spring St.
