REGULAR MEETING JULY 12, 2021  Be it remembered on the 12th day ofJuly 2021 at 10:01 o'clock A.M., there was Begun and Holden a Regular Meeting of the Commissioner's Courti in the Courthouse, in the town of Farwell, with the following members present,  To-wit:  Kirk Frye Kenny White Charles Wilkins Casey Russell Trey Ellis Sharon May Susie Spring  Commissioner Pct. #1 Commissioner Pct. #3 Commissioner Pct. #2 Commissioner Pct. #4 Judge County Treasurer County Clerk  Also present:  Rob Pomper, State Line Tribune Stephen Campbell, Campbell Electric Danny Campbell, Campbell Electric Nikolas Baucom, Friona EMS Ricky White, Mayor, Friona Sharon White Kitty Gallman  Leander Davila, City Manager, Friona  When the following was had and done, To-wit:  Call to Order 1. Prayer  Judge Ellis led the Court in prayer to begin the meeting. 2. Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag and the Texas Flag The Court pledged their allegiance to the flags of the United States of America and the State ofTexas.  3. Open Forum for Public Comments  No members of the public had comments.    4. Discuss and/or Consider Assisting Friona EMS  Leander Davila, City Manager began by discussing the staffing issues for the Friona EMS and presented a breakdown of employee costs for EMS employees. He stated that the City is proposing to hire full time employees. At issue is the fact that Friona EMS is required to keep a full crew available 24/7 to respond to 911 calls. This does not enable them to do transfers for the Hospital at their current staffing level. It also does not allow them to collect the revenue that could be made from those transfers. YTD this revenue could have been as much as $200,000. As a result, the City is asking for an additional $20,000 yearly funding Judge Ellis stated that all EMS providers in the County ask for more money and he feels the problem is not the County's or City's fault but rather the fault of the State for the requirements they place on ambulance services. He stated he felt that throwing money at the problem was not necessarily going to help the situation.  from the County.  Leander stated that they had recently done a survey of salaries in rural counties and found Friona was lower than most. The City did a salary increase and were able to add staffing SO he felt the money would help The Judge stated that he felt Friona should apply for and get some Rescue America funds and that perhaps could be utilized. He stated that the County had gotten half of their anticipated funding but did not want to commit those monies until guidelines were available for the use of those funds. Although he felt certain that first responders would be eligible. He also stated that the County is working through the budgeting process and wanted that process to be complete before committing to any Leander stated the City simply wanted their request considered during the budgeting process. Mayor White thanked the Commissioners and Judge for entertaining the possibility. Judge Ellis stated that he felt this had been a good discussion but also wanted to wait until the Parmer County Hospital District responded to this need as well. Judge Ellis made the motion to table this issue until the official tax numbers come in from the Appraisal District, the Hospital District responds and the budget process is more complete. Commissioner Wilkins seconded and the motion passed.  attract more interest from qualified individuals.  funding.  2    5. Consider Surplus Generator  Stephen Campbell informed the Court in regard to moving the surplus generator to the Courthouse. He stated that due to the fact the generator ist the wrong voltage, the hook up is on the roof as well as on the side of the building, the need for a transformer and the cost of wiring that the County would be considering at least a $30,000 project. He also stated the generator would not have the capacity to run everything in the Court Judge Ellis made a motion to rescind the previous motion to reuse the generator and to place the surplus generator up for sale. Commissioner  house including the AC and elevator.  White seconded and the motion passed.  6. Read and Approve Minutes from the Previous Meeting.  Upon motion to approve the minutes by Russell, seconded by Wilkins,  the motion passed.  7. Consider Approval and Payment of the Accounts Payable - Sharon May  Sharon May reported the Accounts Payable List for July 2nd and 12th Motion by Frye, seconded by White to approve payment of the Accounts  Payables as presented. Motion carried. See attached.  8. Consider Treasurer's Payroll Report-Sharon May  Motion by White, seconded by Russell to approve the Treasurer's Payroll  Report for June 30, 2021. Motion carried. See attached.  9.1 Discussion Regarding Voting Precincts  County Clerk, Susie Spring requested that the law firm assessing the census results and redristricting for Parmer County also look at election precincts. She stated that we have three precincts with very small numbers of voters. These precincts could be absorbed into the larger precincts. It would decrease the number of polling places required and thus help in the recruitment of poll workers as not as many would be needed. No change is requested at this time, just a study as to what is After discussion it was agreed that this could be researched by the law  feasible.  firm in their redristricting process.  3    10. Consider Water Line Under County Road  Henry Clark has requested to place a water line approximately 100 ft. After a motion from Commissioner White, seconded by Commissioner Russell, to approve the placement of the line, the motion passed. See  west of Hwy 214 on County Road R.  attached.  11. Consider Use of the Courthouse Lawn for Bordertown Days  Rob Pomper requested the utilization of the Courthouse lawn for Boardertown Day on July 31, 2021. Upon a motion from Commissioner Frye to allow the usage of the lawn, seconded by Commissioner White,  the motion passed.  12. Consider COVID 19 Administrative Leave Policy  This policy was originally approved for the first and second quarters of this year, it is now time to consider it for the third quarter July-  September.  Upon motion by Frye, seconded by Wilkins to renew the policy for the  quarter, the motion passed. Enforcement Center.  13. Consider Any and All Matters Concerning the Parmer County Law  Sheriff Geries reported 24 inmates as of today. He reported that Jury Trials would be held July 20th and 27th. The Farwell Community Center will be utilized for voir dire due to COVID restrictions by the Supreme He reported the water leak issue has been resolved and that Judge Green once again has water in his chambers. Since this process involved removing the water fountain, he is looking into a way to offer water He stated the Sheriff Department would be holding it's annual Night Out He reported continued plumbing problems due to our hard water mineral issue in this area. He again wanted to discuss obtaining a soft water system this year instead of waiting till next budget year. After discussion, itwas suggested to wait until the Court learned of the restrictions of the funding for the Rescue America act before approving this project.  court of the State of Texas.  bottles in a vending format for visitors and juries.  on October 5th this year.  4    The Sheriff then discussed his need for an in-car video for the new unit being custom outfitted at present. He said presently he could obtain body camera for about $800 and an in-car video for $5,000 but wanted to consider a state of the art system for $15,000 per year for body cameras and $17,000 per year for in-car video. These contracts would be for 10 years and 5 years respectively and would include tasers. He stated he had requested this in his budget for next year but since the car was being outfitted at the moment if he could go ahead and obtain Once again the discussion was of the Recovery America money. Judge Ellis stated that if the Sheriff had money in the budget now that he could shift to these expenses that he could go ahead but, otherwise would have to wait for the budget process or answers on the Recovery America  these items now.  regulations for spending the funds.  With no further business to come before the court, Commissioner White moved to adjourn. Commissioner Russell seconded and adjournment was called at  12:43 o'clock P.M.  County Clerk SSP6  8  S  A  ER  3