County Commissioners receive costs for FM 145 Project
The Parmer County Commissioners Court met in regular session on Monday, April 8th at 10:00 a.m. in the County Courtroom of the Parmer County Courthouse in Farwell, Texas. The meeting began with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag and the Texas Flag.
The first item of business was determining the County’s costs involved in the rerouting of FM 145. The Court had previously approved paying 10% of the cost in moving the right-of-away and 10% of the cost in moving the utilities. The final cost of the FM 145 Project came in at just over $1.2 million. Parmer County’s share was determined to be $126,147.00. The right-of-way relocation cost was $8,417.00 and the utility work cost was $117,730.00. The Commissioners approved an option to pay $42,049.00 per year for 3 years with no interest and no prepayment fees.
Next, the Court was informed that additional court costs could be recovered in cases that involved certain convictions. A $100 fee could be collected in cases involving felony child sexual assault convictions and a $15 video fee could be collected in cases with felony DWI convictions. More information was needed to determine if the $15 video fee could be collected on misdemeanor DWI convictions.
Commissioners did not approve a request for office cleaning for the Friona Probation Office. They agreed that the request should be made during the budgeting process later in the year.
The Minutes from the previous meeting were read and approved. Approval was given for payment of the accounts payables as presented by County Treasurer Sharon May. The Commissioners also reviewed the Treasurer’s Report and approved the calculated payroll and disbursement for all county employees and elected officials.
Commissioners gave approval to the District Attorney’s Office to destroy any of its old and unusable computer and audio/video equipment. They also gave approval to the Parmer County Appraisal District to sell the property located at 708 Ave. E., Farwell, Texas. The property had been foreclosed on and was not purchased at auction on the courthouse steps. A offer of $26,000 had been made to the Parmer CAD.
The Court approved the purchase of a motor grader for use in Precinct 3. The cost of the new grader from Warren Caterpillar of Lubbock was $270,500. The county will trade in an old grader valued at $100,000, so $170,500 will be the final cost to the county.
Commissioners gave approval to purchase of new “transport” vehicle for the Sheriff’s Office. A 2019 Chevy Traverse will be purchased from Stevens 5-Star of Hereford. After a trade-in of a 2011 Dodge Durango, $25,647.20 will be the final cost. Also, the Court renewed the contract with the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office involving the transfer of high risk and violent inmates. Sheriff Geries said that he was currently housing 27 inmates.
Other news
As of March 18, 2019, the National Park Service has listed the Parmer County Courthouse in the National Register of Historic Places. As the nation’s official list of historically significant properties, the National Register listing denotes that the Courthouse is especially worthy of preservation. The news of the listing was sent to Judge Trey Ellis from Mark Wolfe who is a State Historic Preservation Officer.
Construction will begin soon on Highway 60 starting in Bovina and going west for approximately 6 miles. Later in the summer, construction should also begin on the remaining 6 miles west to the state line.
All meetings are open to the public. The Commissioners Court reserves the right to go into Executive session at any time. Go to parmercounty.org to find meeting agendas. Information in this article is only a summary. Any questions concerning specific actions should be directed to the Court.
