Wood County Commissioners Court
Lake house taken off market, rented;

Courthouse parking lot to be striped
By JOHN SPARKS

 

Meeting Friday, March 7 in regular session, Wood County Commissioners breezed through an agenda of 12 items in a half-hour session.

A new rental policy was adopted for the lake house owned by the county on Lake Quitman. The house, which recently received a new metal roof, central heating and air conditioning system and other improvements has been taken off the real estate market. A new rental fee of $500 per month has been established and the house is rented to a county employee.
 

At the recommendation of Precinct-1 Commissioner Roy Don Shipp, commissioners approved the restriping of the county parking lot on the northwest corner of the Courthouse Square. The work will be done through an interlocal agreement with the City of Quitman or the City of Mineola.
 

A second matter involving use of the county-owned parking areas is being referred to the district attorney’s office. Shipp said one of the candidates in the local election parked a vehicle with campaign signs all day for several days in the lot between the courthouse and the courthouse annex housing the probation department and the driver’s license branch. He said the use of the parking space was denying it to those who had business at the county offices.
 

Commissioners also approved advertising for bids for a used self-propelled soil stabilization mixer. The mixer would be used by Precinct-1. Bids will be opened and presented for award at the April 4 meeting of the court.
 

Commissioner Jerry Galloway, Precinct-4 presented a certificate acknowledging March 7 as “Jim Dax Day” for his work in charting all of the county’s 400+ private roads for use by the county and emergency services personnel.
 

The week of March 16-22, 2008 was proclaimed as “Poison Prevention Week” in Wood County. The proclomation also recognized Parkland Health and Hospital System (Dallas) as the regional poison center serving Wood County citizens.
 

In other action, the Commissioners approved:
- Payment of claims in the amount of $246,491.64.
- Payroll in the amount of $259,148.20.
- Employee/dependent health claims of $13,097.94.
- Constable Precinct-1 acvtivity report.
 

In personnel matters, the court approved:
- Maggie L. Calvert, resignation, jailer, WCSO, $12.82/hour.
- Debbie Stewart, resignation, jailer, WCSO, $12.82/hour.
- Donna Jean Pitts, resignation, jailer, WCSO, $12.82/hour.
- Carol Denson, John Sloan, Eugene Spencer, Barbara Thompson, temporary election workers (Februray 19 through May 30), $9.00/hour.
- Jessica Denise Kennemer, separation, part time, deputy clerk. WCCO, $8.00/hour.
- Sherry Knight, separation, part-time temporary, WCCO, $9.00/hour.
- Justin Scott Glenn, step increase, Laborer II, Pct-1 R&B, from $13.26/hour to $14.15/hour.
 

The next regular meeting of the Wood County Commissioners Court will be Friday, March, 21, 2008 at 10 a.m. A special meeting of the court can be called with 72-hour public notice.