Milam County Judge Steve Young got a surprise at the end of Monday’s Commissioners Court meeting. Unbeknownst to him, several people wanted to honor him for the work he has done for Milam County with a standing- room-only turnout of supporters, family and friends.
Jim Huguenard and Bernard Johnson from the law firm Fisher, Johnson and Huguenard, who were instrumental in getting Luminant to pay millions in taxes without charging a fee, presented young with a plaque for his service.
Central Texas Council of Governments Executive Director Jim Reed spoke about Young’s involvement in the organization which brought over $2 million in grants to Milam County.
Milam County Historical Commission President Geri Burnett presented Young with a plaque bestowing on him the Lifetime Preservation Partner honor.
For a list of county accomplishments during his leadership.
As I finish my term as County Judge, I am happy to report that the future of Milam County is bright! After losing Alcoa, Luminant and the hospitals, we now have new jobs and new county revenue to replace what was lost. There is hope and excitement for what lies ahead instead of fear for the next failure.
We started the term with the idea that we needed new business to provide jobs and tax revenue. We received a grant from the Central Texas Council of Government to hire our first ever county economic director. We used the position to bring awareness to our plight and what could be done to improve. We held the first ever economic summit in the county and did four more in 2019. We held the first ever Rockdale/ Cameron football banquet, just to quiet the “river” issue and bring a spirit of cooperation to these two towns.
We helped bring “Bitcoin” to the county. Now Milam County is the home of the largest bitcoin mining operation in North America, with over 200 full time employees and an estimated $2 billion investment. We helped bring solar to the county, which is predicted to produce over 10,000 construction jobs, a $20 billion investment and over $100 million in county revenue and $200 million in school tax revenue. We have helped bring battery storage facilities to the county which will produce another $2 billion investment in the county. Of course, there is Samsung in Taylor that is hiring every day and the SLR purchase of the former Alcoa property will produce a generation of construction and other new jobs for all of Central Texas.
We cleaned up the courthouse, replaced the roof and installed the first ever security device and a security officer. We acquired the former 8.5-acre hospital complex in Cameron and renovated the old hospital building with the aid of a $4.7 million grant from the Economic Development Administration to provide one stop shopping for all county services. County offices now have new hardware/software and fiber optics to provide efficient county services. Many of the vacant buildings in downtown Cameron have now been restored and are housing new businesses, which brings life, jobs and excitement to downtown.
We began cleaning up the county by enacting the first ever enforcement procedures to the State Health & Safety Code. We cleaned up the former Thrasher property in Rockdale and many other smaller cleanup projects throughout the county. We held two “old tire” cleanup and a “hazardous waste cleanup day”, paid for with grant money. We enacted our first ever mobile home park regulations, to ensure that future parks are neat and clean.
A lot of our progress was halted by the pandemic. But we did not turn a blind idea to this horrible nightmare. Instead of saying, get your shots somewhere else, we bought test kits and began providing free testing and began our own vaccination clinics. We did not have the money, help or a place to vaccinate, but we found volunteers and places and persistently insisted that the State give us the needed vaccine. To date we have vaccinated over 46% of those eligible in Milam County, accounting for 13,162 vaccinations. Vaccinations continue to be administered by the Health Department every week in this county. We requested and were provided with an infusion clinic, which started operation in October of 2021. The vaccinations and clinics saved countless lives, hospital stays, medical dollars, lost revenue and heartaches. In addition, we provided a $1 million grant program to aid small businesses in the county adversely affected by the pandemic.
In terms of medical care, we now have the most modern, one-of-a-kind, telehealth station in the country, which is free! We have the first ever free air ambulance care, which is provided for by the county. We now have our first ever “quick response vehicle” which aids our ambulance services in the county, paid for by Texas Title and some of the solar companies. We now have our first ever mental health office in Rockdale and a new office in a new building for services, adjacent to the Annex in Cameron. Next year the Health Department will move to its newly renovated offices at the Annex, which will include a vaccination clinic. About 65% of the estimated $3 million cost of renovation will be paid for with grant funding.
We have embraced our friends at the Central Texas County of Government (COG), Workforce Solutions, Central County Services, Hill County Community Action and Transit and Temple College. The COG has been a huge help in providing grants and other assistance to the county. We have the best Workforce office in Central Texas run by Julia Cordona. Hill Country pays for our senior congregate meals in Rockdale and at Bea’s Kitchen in Cameron and provides free transportation. Temple College continues to provide great educational opportunities for us and is working to provide college courses here in Milam County.
We h a v e k ept you informed by working with KMIL and KRXT to provide a weekly County Judge show. To date we have conducted over 200 shows with 178 guests. We have worked with the Cameron Herald and the Rockdale Reporter to provide a weekly update of county affairs, with more than 150 articles. We provided over 200 “ENEWS” blasts that was regularly sent to over 3,000 subscribers. All of this to keep you informed and up to date with our activities.
It has been an honor and privilege to serve each and every resident of Milam County as we worked hard to “Move Milam Forward.” There is no doubt we made a lot of progress in a short period time. The stage is set, and the future is bright for Milam County. God Bless Milam County!
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.