There are several items of interest right now that the Commissioners’ Court is dealing with. I thought I would spend some time today discussing a few of these to let everyone know where we are on certain items.
First, let’s discuss the Emergency Services District’s Board of Directors. Currently, two of these spots expire at the end of the year. The positions are currently held by Kimberly Knapek and Rebecca Gerren, both of which will put their names in the hat to remain on the board. We are also taking applications for these two positions to allow folks who want to serve on the board the opportunity to interview for the positions.
In order to accommodate folks, there will be two special sessions of the Commissioners Court convened to interview all of the applicants. Following the lessons learned after last year’s single interview meeting, and in order to accommodate those who might work shiftwork, this year’s interview meetings will be held over two days on Nov. 12 and 13 at 2 p.m. at the Courthouse. Following all of the interviews, the Commissioners Court will vote on whom the two individuals to serve on the board will be. This should allow everyone who wants to apply the opportunity to interview and be considered for appointment to the ESD Board of Directors.
Secondly, during the October 15 Commissioners Court meeting, we will be interviewing applicants for the newly created position of Milam County Fire Marshal. This position has become necessary due to the growth in the county, the future construction to be done throughout the unincorporated areas of the county as well as the Sandow Lakes Ranch facility, and the development of the new subdivision regulations that we are looking to have in place later this year.
To apply for the position, please go to milamcounty. net and check the job listing on the county website’s HR page. If you qualify for the position, then please feel free to fill out an application and submit it. Our hope is to be able to appoint a qualified candidate to that position during our October 15 meeting. This addition will give us better regulatory authority over the unincorporated areas of the county and help to better protect our Milam County folks.
Speaking of regulatory powers, recently, our office has had several calls, emails and visits of concern over a proposed crypto-currency facility just outside of Thorndale. Several folks have expressed their concern in letting us know about this facility. Currently, we have not received any permit applications on this nor has the TCEQ. Our understanding is that the property acquired for this project is in the Brushy Creek flood plain and as such could create significant issues with flooding and the direction of water flow in an area already impacted by the growth in Williamson County.
Since taking office last January, this Commissioners Court has worked to strengthen the county’s regulatory authority on these issues to the maximum extent permitted by law. State law greatly limits how a county government can regulate individuals or companies on how they utilize the property they own. We are going through the process in the manner we are authorized to by state law, and we are working with the TCEQ as well as other state agencies to manage these developments.
Prior to us taking office in January of 2023, there were 27 various solar-related projects and three cryptocurrency projects that came before the Commissioners Court. Since we have taken office, there have been no new solar projects like these and only a few crypto-currency projects that have even approached Milam County. This can be directly attributed to the fact that we have worked to institute new and stricter policies to ensure that if these companies want to come to Milam County, they will be as well-regulated at the local level as allowed by state and federal law. I can’t promise that we will always be successful, but we are not afraid to step in and take these companies on either as we have shown many times since January 2023.
Prior to taking office and during the campaign, one of the main things that we discussed was preparing for the future now so that we have the infrastructure in place to handle the growth that comes and to place controls on that growth. While many of our predecessors on the Commissioners Court failed to acknowledge the coming growth, this current Commissioners Court understands that the growth is already upon us, and we will continue work to prepare our infrastructure and manage that growth as much as legally and humanly possible to help keep Milam County the place we all love.
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