Ector County Commissioners unanimously approved Tuesday to extend the county’s burn ban for another 90 days.
The burn ban was originally put in effect in March.
Commissioners previously unanimously voted in April to extend a local declaration of local disaster related to wildfires.
The Odessa American previously reported Ector County Judge Debi Hays said the declaration doesn’t have an end date. She explained the commissioners will have to vote again to end the declaration, but she said that won’t happen until after the wildfire season is over.
Additionally, commissioners heard a lengthy presentation from Julia Prince, director of strategy and operations at the Ivy Group, about the Ector County Library.
After the presentation from Prince, Hays asked about the next step for the library.
Odessa Arts Executive Director Randy Ham said the next step is to settle on a location. Most current library patrons and stakeholders expressed that they want for the new library to stay downtown.
“Downtown is a very broad area,” Ham said during the meeting. “The inventory of available property is maybe a little less available than it used to be. There’s a lot of new development going on, so we need to be very mindful of staying within the downtown footprint, but finding the right property.
“The other question is what is going to cost. We don’t know and we won’t know until we know where it’s going to go, how many floors it’s going to have and how much staff it’s going to have to be able to service the community.”
Ector County Library board member and former city councilmember Peggy Dean spoke to the commissioners about the report from the Ivy Group and she said it shows where the library needs to go in the future, but also what can be done in the present to make the library better.
“A really wonderful byproduct of this study and they were able to provide us with comments and lists of all kinds of things that other libraries do that don’t cost anything to implement,” Dean said. “… We got a lot more for our money than just the report.”
Commissioners approved an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement between Ector County and Burnet County for jail services. There was also approval for an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement between Kerr County and Ector County for jail services.
Sheriff Mike Griffis reiterated to the Odessa American on Tuesday after the meeting that none of Ector County’s inmates were housed in Burnet or Kerr counties, but the agreement is a safety net just in case inmates need to be housed there.
As of Tuesday morning, Griffis said Ector County currently has 37 inmates housed in other counties. Griffis said those inmates are in Hudspeth, Scurry, Lynn and Garza counties.
Griffis said 37 is about average. He said the number of inmates housed in other counties usually range between 35 and 40.
Mike Gardner, commissioner for Precinct 1, voted to take the agenda items of “Consider, discuss, and take any necessary action to approve a one year contract between Ector County and Odessa Concessions Inc., a Texas Corporation” and “Consider, discuss, and take any necessary action to approve a one year contract between Ector County and Jackalopes Holding LLC” into executive session.
After the executive session, commissioners approved both agenda items 3-2. The two dissenting votes came from Hays and Armando Rodriguez, the commissioner for Precinct 4.
Hays spoke with the Odessa American after the meeting and conveyed the reason why she voted no on both agenda items.
“In the actual contract for the Jackalopes, it allows the Jackalopes to bring in four outsiders into the coliseum,” Hays said. “For example, let’s say Kenny Chesney had a concert. The Jackalopes could bring that event to our county, but yet, they only have to pay us $3,600 to rent the venue and they get all proceeds, plus 100% of the concession sales.
“I believe that should be the coliseum director’s position to find those said events to the coliseum to make it profitable, not the Jackalopes,” Hays continued. “For me, that’s not fair to the taxpayers. The contract didn’t allow for any late fees. It needs to have late fees in it.”
The court also:
>> Approved a $110,000 donation from Bustin for Badges for the Ector County Sheriff’s Office.
>> Approved the bid for Tire Disposal.
>> Approved the solid waste grant awarded to Ector County by the PBRPC in the amount of $22,959 and to approve the Permian Basin Regional Planning Commission Solid Waste Interlocal Agreement between Permian Basin Regional Planning Commission and Ector County.
>> Approved a Proposed Ector County MHRC Development to serve 6521 N Sierra Avenue 0.5831 acre tract located in Chaparral Estates 5th Subdivision, Block 13, Lot 2, Ector County, Texas (Precinct 1).
>> Approved the following proposed Consent Agenda: Approve a line item transfer to General Fund, Library, Postage, 001-690-5193 from Contract Services, 001-690-5309 for $2,800. Approved a line item transfer to General Fund, Justice of the Peace Precinct One, Educational Travel, 001-201-5161 from Postage, 001-201-5193 for $320.
>> Approved a budget amendment to General Fund, Sheriff, Special Department Equipment, 001-360-5507 for $80,000, to FMH Foundation Grant, 001-4035 for $60,000 and to Donated Revenues, 001-4171 for $20,000.
>> Approved a budget amendment to Sales Tax Fund, Animal Control, New Building, 005-361-5503 and to Sales Tax Revenues, 005-4006 for $100,000.
>> Approved the Accounts Payable Fund Requirements Report for June 28, 2022 to review County financial statements and reports.
