Court approves phases of the 700/800 MHz Tex Warn System
The Lavaca County Commissioners’ Court met in a regular meeting Monday morning and approved the Telecommunications’ committee recommendation to move forward with phases 1 and 2 of the 700/800 Mega Hertz (MHz) Tex Warn System.
Lavaca County EMS director, Michael Furrh, presented a power point presentation explaining that the Tex Warn System is a regional radio system that has 800 Mhz for communication between all first responder agencies.
He said the current system has the problem with the current system as well as what Tex Warn System entails.
Furrh said the public network system, that has 150 MHz VHF has been failing for the last two years.
Furrh said the committee had engineers come in to conduct a study and a three-site location was implemented. However, the system continued to experience problems with communication across the county
He said an improvement to 800 MHz would encompass approximately 28 counties and is run from two cores located in Tomball and Houston.
Furrh said the plan calls for moving two towers, one in Moulton to CR 247 and one in Shiner to CR 335.
Moving the tower sites would increase the elevation for signals. The CR 247 would cause an elevation from 567 feet to 765 feet and the CR 335 would cause an elevation from 523 feet to 627 feet.
Furrh said raising the elevations would make it more in line with the Rabb Switch tower that is at 633 feet.
“The problem we have to deal with is the terrain,” Furrh said. “The current towers in Shiner and Moulton kind of sit in a bowl and we are trying to transmit that frequency up and over the bowl is just not really working. We have to elevate the system so we can broadcast further.”
Furrh said the entire cost of the system amounts to slightly over $3 million with an initial down payment primarily one-third of the amount. He said Motorola offers financing on a three, five, or seven year term.In addition, the county has $1,694,693 from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and has to be spent by the end of 2024.
The court unanimously voted to go forward with phases 1 and 2 of the project and approved using the ARPA funds to pay the initial payment. It also voted finance the remaining balance through Motorola on a five-year term.
EMS Billing Schedule
Furrh informed the court of the need for updating the EMS fee schedule with Emergicon.
Furrh said due to SB 2476, which became law this past Sept. 1, when a local government approves the fees that will be covered by insurance, the amount approved would be paid.
Currently, insurance will pay $1,200 and $17 per mile and was updated to $1,600 and $24 per mile.
Another matter concerning the EMS, the court approved accepting a grant from the Johnson Foundation to the EMS department for $40,500.
Furrh said the grant would go toward purchasing camera systems for all the ambulances.
Road Materials
The court approved the guidelines for the purchase of road materials including all bids to be received in the Lavaca County Auditor’s office by 10:15 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 30.
The court also approved that bids will be opened and read aloud by County Judge Keith Mudd, or his designee, in the Commissioners’ Courtroom on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 10:30 a.m.
The bids will be discussed and/or awarded at 10 a.m. during the Commissioners’ Court regular meeting on Monday, Dec. 11.
Road materials advertised for bidding and purchasing include:
• Level up-patch material – premix type D, hot mix cold/ lay type D.
• Purchase of HMAC Regular D Hot Mix asphalt;
• Cover stone material – Pre coated grade 3 and grade 4 and uncoated grade 3 and 4;
• Soil stabilizer – Quicklime-pebble bulk/powder lime;
• AC-5, AC-10, MC-30, CRS-1P and CRS-2;
• Limestone – 3/4 inch to dust, one inch and down to one and a half inch road base;
• Vegetation management services;
• Purchase and delivery of various pit run gravel and screened grave, one and a half inch and down;
• Gasoline and diesel fuel for all precincts, Sheriff ’s department, Senior Citizens Center (Hallettsville and Yoakum), Lavaca County EMS (Hallettsville, Shiner and Moulton), Emergency Management and Maintenance.
• Labor and equipment for road construction services.
Miscellaneous
The court approved transfer of duties of local registration and consolidation of birth and death certificate records between the City of Yoakum and the Lavaca County Clerk.
Sheriff Micah Harmon was reappointed to the Gulf Bend Center Board of Trustees from August 2023 to August 2025.
A certificate of exemption from subdivision requirements for the Estate of Janie Sitka was approved by the court.
The court approved the 2024 Texas Association of Counties Cybersecurity Course enrollment for Lavaca County.
County Auditor Shana Opela, said all county employees, elected officials and appointed officials who have access to a local government computer system or database and use a computer to perform at least 25%of their duties are required to complete an annual cybersecurity training.
Opela said TAC is offering the course and is available to counties for an annual fee of $5 per user.
In other action taken by the court:
• Approved utilizing money from the contingency fund for Pct. 3 to hire an employee.
• Approved the purchase of a 2022 Bomag Recycler from BuyBoard for Precincts 1 and 3.
• Discussed purchasing road equipment that would be for paving county roads in all four precincts.
• Declared items from the JP Pct. 1 office and Sheriff ’s office as surplus property
• Acknowledged the receipt from Operation Lone Star grant.
• Approved bonds for the interim election administrator and elections chief deputy
• Discussed a letter from the General Land Office regarding CDBGT-MIT funding.
County Judge Keith Mudd presided over the meeting with commissioners Edward Pustka, Wayne Faircloth, Kenny Siegel and Dennis W. Kocian present for the meeting.