County enters agreement with City to pave roads

By LPR Staff

Editor/POST-REGISTER

During a brief meeting of the Caldwell County Commissioners Court on Monday, the County agreed to enter a contract with the City of Lockhart to pave several roads in the Lockhart area.

The request, spurred by a growing need within the City of Lockhart to pave certain streets, requires Lockhart to provide th

e material, including liquid asphalt and coating materials, and to prepare the roads for paving.

Unit Road Supervisor Dwight Jeffrey said that it would take between 15 and 21 days to complete the paving, and that his crews should be ready to start the projects within the next two weeks, after they complete projects they are currently working on inside the county. That timeframe jells with Lockhart’s plans, as City Manager Vance Rodgers said it would take about two weeks to prepare the road for paving.

Because of the materials the county uses, paving can only be done during specific times of the year, and during particular weather patterns. Jeffrey said “paving season” would be ending in late September or early October, depending on the weather, and the Commissioners agreed that if the projects were not completed during this year’s paving season, they would be added to next year’s schedule.

Roads intended for paving include Maple Street, Patton Lane, Old Kelley Road and Horseshoe Road, amassing around 10 miles total of roadway to be paved.

In other business, the Court continued discussing massive renovations that will be taking place at the Luling Annex, and approved the payment of up to $4,500 for review and approval of those renovations through the Texas Department of Licensing registration.

Because the project itself will cost more than $50,000, the county is required to submit plans to the State regarding the work being done to ensure ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance and other inspection requirements.

The cost, Commissioner Buchholtz said, must be paid because the approval by the State must be obtained for the project to move forward.

Asked by other Commissioners, Buchholtz said he does not expect any other additional fees to be added to the project, but admitted that he has not been contacted by the City of Luling with information as to whether their inspection fees will be waived.

In brief news:

County resident Deborah Bissonnet approached the Commissioners demanding answers as to when the Court was aware that Green Group Holdings, LLC, was planning to build a landfill in rural Caldwell County. Because the Court cannot engage in discussion of items not on the agenda, they were unable to answer her question.

They approved a maintenance agreement in the amount of $1,750 for the tower clock in the Caldwell County Courthouse.

They agreed a grant program for Combined Community Action, Inc., to help fund the Texans Feeding Texans Home-Delivered Meal Program (Meals on Wheels).

The County received several sealed bids for paving materials, fuel and lubricants. The Commissioners opened those bids and have instructed Jeffrey and County Auditor Larry Roberson to return to the Court with a recommendation.

The Caldwell County Commissioners Court meets on the second, third and fourth Monday of each month at 9 a.m. in the Conference and Training Room at the LW Scott Annex, 1403 Blackjack St. (FM 20E) in Lockhart. The meetings are open to the public and are webcast at www.co.caldwell.tx.us.