Council honors first responders for ‘CPR Saves’

By LPR Staff

Editor/POST-REGISTER

Every year in the United States, emergency service departments receive more than 300,000 calls for patients who need lifesaving measures, up to and including CPR. On average, around 2,400 of those patients survive.

On Tuesday evening, the Lockhart City Council and Lockhart-Caldwell County EMS honored area first-responders who, in les

s that five weeks time, added two names to the list of survivors.

According to Fire Chief and interim EMS Director Jerry Doyle, two area patients, neither of whom were able to attend Tuesday’s ceremony, are alive today in large part due to the efforts expended by members of Lockhart-Caldwell County EMS, the Lockhart Fire Department, the Lockhart Police Department and the McMahan Volunteer Fire Department.

EMS Supervisor Sharyl Lane, who was among those honored and who pinned “CPR Save” badges on eight colleagues, gave a brief synopsis of both calls, one which occurred in April and the other, in May.

Lane said in her professional opinion, neither patient would have survived without the combined, team efforts of the emergency services providers and officers participating in the lifesaving measures.

In addition to Lane, the Council recognized: Paramedics Will Ratliff and Casey McDonald, Fire Captian Chance Bishop, Firefighters Josh Wallace, Harrison Broadhurst and Aaron Sivils, McMahan VFD Chief Chuck Cutshall, and Lockhart Police Department officers Clint Williams, Stephen Parra and John Holliday.

In other business, After a brief presentation from Economic Development Director Sandra Mauldin, the council voted to make changes to a prior resolution regarding a cooperative project with San Antonio-based Advitech, Inc.

Under the original agreement, the City of Lockhart, through the Lockhart Economic Development Corporation, was to construct a building for Advitech within the Lockhart Industrial Park. After a building in the park became available, the agreement changed, and the City committed to a purchase and renovation project on that building, with a cost not to exceed $700,000. The building would then be leased to Advitech.

However, the slogging economy and other difficulties with the project have stalled construction and renovation. The delays have been such that the LEDC determined during a recent meeting that the best course of action was another change to the agreement.

Mauldin said the current agreement only allows the City to negotiate with Advitech regarding the lease or purchase of the building. The change approved on Tuesday evening opened up the agreement to more flexibility, and will allow the LEDC to potentially work with other businesses to consider the lease or purchase of the existing building.

Laura Driver and Austin Bowden, two students from Texas State University made a presentation to the council. As a class project, the pair were involved in a team that designed and planned a disc golf course for the City of Lockhart. The plan, which is designed to be built at Lockhart City Park, would have cost several thousand dollars to have prepared by professionals, according to City Planner Dan Gibson.

The city council has expressed no intention of funding the construction of a disc golf course at this time. However, the proposal, which suggested the course could be built for between $5,000 and $15,000, is something Mayor Ray Sanders said the city may be in the position to consider in the future.

The council approved changes to the sign ordinance, specifically governing the placement of political signs.

A question was raised earlier this year regarding whether it is Constitutional for a city to place limitations on the length of time political signage could be displayed on private property. The issue, according to City Attorney Peter Gruning, is being considered by the United States Supreme Court.

During the discussion, councilmembers asked for clarification on the size of appropriate signs, specifically wondering if the 36-square-foot size limit applied to total signage, or to individual signs. Gruning said the appropriate interpretation of the law allows for 36 square feet per sign, without a limitation on how many signs may be placed on private property.

In brief news:

The council recognized Dr. Charles Laurence, who until recently was the medical director for Lockhart EMS, for his 15 years of service to the city and the patients of Lockhart and northern Caldwell County.

They approved a Request for Proposal from the New Braunfels firm Holtman, Wagner and Company, LLP, to provide auditing services for the City of Lockhart. Under the city’s charter, auditors may only be contracted for five consecutive years, and Finance Director Jeff Hinson said the city was required to make a change prior to their next audit.

Upon the recommendation of the Charter Review Committee, the Construction Board of Appeals and the Electrical Board of Appeals, the council made several substantive changes to the city’s building code.

The changes are intended to streamline the building code, and to add an additional layer of accountability for contractors working within the city limits.

Fire Chief Jerry Doyle announced an upcoming series of town hall meetings that will be held by the Caldwell County Fire Chief’s Association in conjunction with the Texas Forest Service, to discuss a wildfire action plans. Three meetings are currently scheduled next week: the first, on Tuesday, June 14 at the Southside Clubhouse, 1000 S. Magnolia in Luling; the second will be held on Wednesday, June 15 at the McMahan Volunteer Fire Department, 6450 FM 3158 in the McMahan area; and the third, on Thursday, June 16 at Lockhart City Hall, 308 W. San Antonio St., in Lockhart. All meetings are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., and are open to the public.

The Lockhart City Council routinely meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Glosserman Conference Room at Lockhart City Hall. An hourlong worksession precedes each meeting, beginning at 6:30 p.m. All meetings are open to the public and televised on Time Warner Cable Channel 10.