Final steps of county’s communications upgrades fall into place

While the elements were essentially the same for both places, Motorola’s plan to add satellite dishes and other components to Moulton’s only water tower met with far more amicable arrangements than the group found just a few miles south over in Shiner last month.

Moulton signed off on the plan handily during its Tuesday, July 19 meeting, and had both the Motorola reps and County Judge Mark Myers out the door and back on the road home in no time flat.

After all, when that new system goes live on Sept. 1, it should be the first time—ever in the county’s history—that all dead spots will finally go away, whether you’re out in Speaks, at deer camp in Ezzell or simply slow driving the backroads into Gonzales County and points beyond. It’s a system long overdue most first responders agree, especially in a day and age when communications have never been more crucial to what first responders do.

It was breeze getting it approved in Moulton, in fact, all of it going up on the city’s one and only water tower. Part of them had to be vexed the entire ride back, constantly wondering, did that really just happen? Because it went nowhere near as smooth in Shiner, even everyone thought it fairly painless up to then.

The city embarked on an all-new infrastructure improvement project, one that would end up with a far taller tower that the city had ever before known. And since you’re in the middle of building it anyway, is there any wat we could bolster these supports here and maybe here, too, so can add these nifty new and antennas up top? Absolutely, came the city’s reply, with bells on, as they say.

City leaders even opted to splurge just a tad and decorate its newest tower with a paintjob. It was, after all, a very prominent feature right beside the town’s public school, looming monolithic right beside the school’s tradition-filled stadium.

That both the local public school’s football team and the Catholic school’s team call the place their home field certainly didn’t hinder their cause, nor that both schools were returned as defending state champs in their respective leagues.

So, they dolled it up a little. Nothing too outlandish, both team mascots, way up high, along with a written message that boomed their city pride. “Home of champions,” it read. Yep, times were good.

Until, that is, it’s very first meeting last month, when the city discovered that all of it, the modifications made to the innovative new lining this structure had those others did not, even that fancy paintjob—all of it—might be scrapped because plans had changed drastically, and nobody told Shiner a thing.

If that weren’t bad enough, Motorola opted for the bull in China shop approach with the Shiner folks, insisting they just go on ahead sign it because cost them more in the long run—roughly $10,000 a lick by their estimation, and there were at least three of those coming real soon.

That didn’t set too well with our friends in Shiner. Thankfully, all was eventually smoothed over between the two and no one’s bank accounts got pillaged. All goes well, we should have best system ever in place by month end, and it’s an improvement that Judge Myers has stayed close to from the onset.

Even better, the more than $2 million system upgrade is funded almost entirely by the federal government as part of relief packages tossed the county’s way in the wake of the pandemic relief efforts. Call it a fitting legacy left by a fellow who got his start with the county working in those very communications each night.

In other business:

• Council approved sending out engagement letters to hire the outside firm of Paul B. Holm & Co. to perform once again the city’s 2021-22 financial audit.

• The city approved a division order for Rose Resources, updating old records on actions already approved, years back.

• The city made use of its hotel occupancy tax funding to help promote last weekend’s Jamboree festivities.

• A review of safety ordinances, revising the formal police chief’s job description to update it some and the plan to advertise for said post were all tabled, as all involved items City Attorney Eddie Escobar was to address and he was not attendance that day, a week delayed from, the city’s usual schedule.