County receives $348,000 grant

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

Caldwell County has received an award letter for $348,000 to repair damage from last fall”s flooding.
The announcement came during the Commissioners Court meeting on Monday morning. Between $9,000 and $11,000 will be awarded to the City of Luling for the removal of trees that are threatening bridges. The rest will be us

ed to repair the hundreds of Caldwell County roads that sustained varying levels of damage as a result of flooding between October and December of last year. According to Bill Alexander, the Caldwell County Unit Road manager, the work will be contracted and divided among all areas of the county.
After a long process, the owner of the Fentress Air Park Subdivision received approval for the final plat on the 14-lot subdivision on Highway 80.
Plans for the subdivision were initiated more than three years ago, but the developer experienced delays in receiving approval from the Texas Department of Transportation, because the subdivision has frontage on the state highway. According to a letter from the engineers, the subdivision now meets all county requirements to have the final plat approved.
The Commissioners discussed the plans for more than $250,000 that has been assigned to Caldwell County as part of a Homeland Security Interoperability Funding grant. The funds, intended to make it easier for separate emergency departments to communicate in the event of a major emergency, were divided between 10 counties, including Caldwell, Travis, Hays and Bastrop.
According to Commissioner Tom Bonn, most of the funds from the 2005 grant will be used to upgrade the dispatch point in Caldwell County, perhaps moving toward merging the dispatching stations in the future.
Bonn also said that additional grant funds would likely be available in the future.
In brief Court news:
The Commissioners granted contracts to David Johnson Septic Services and Trey Smith Septic for installation of septic systems under the House Preservation Program Septic Tank System Installation Program. The grant program has purchased septic systems for several county residents, and has been extended until September. The commissioners hope that the additional time will allow for more systems to be installed with the remaining funds.
Justice Precinct 3 asked the Court to approve a budget amendment for the purchase of two new computers. The funds will come from the budget already assigned to JP3.
Constable Precinct 1 requested a budget amendment for repairs to a patrol car. Again, the funds will come from the existing budget, but will be reassigned from other departments within the precinct.
The Court approved the treasurer”s report for the month of March.
The county paid bills in the amount of $57,578.80.