Crockett Council Moves Forward on Certificates of Obligation

Funding to be Used for Water Lines Project

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – The Crockett City Council voted to move forward with the issuance of certificates of obligation in connection with the receipt of financial assistance from the Texas Water Development Board during the council’s first meeting of the New Year, held on Monday, Jan. 10.

City Administrator John Angerstein opened the discussion and said, “We have spoken on this a couple of times. TxDOT has two streets running through our town – Hwy. 7 and Hwy. 21 – that are in really bad need of repairs. They are not going to make these repairs until we fix the water lines underneath the streets. After going back-and-forth and looking at different mechanisms to fund this, the Water Development Board has a program for fixing theses water lines and we it was recently confirmed we did receive a grant.”

Angerstein explained the grant was for 50 percent of the cost of the $3.4 million project and the other half would be funded through a zero percent interest loan.

“This leads us to the next step of securing the loan portion of the funding so we can move forward on getting the money and starting this project,” he said.

Ben Rosenberg, with US Capital Advisors, was on hand during the meeting and he informed the council the project had been started in 2019 but because of COVID-19 “… it took about a year longer that it normally would have. We were invited to apply in March 2021. We were here in July of 2021 to submit the application and it took them until October of that year to make the funding determination, like John mentioned, of $1.7 million in free money – or what they call principal forgiveness – and $1.7 million on a zero-interest loan. Their board (Texas Water Development Board) approved that in their December meeting.”

Rosenberg went on to say the financing instrument which had been chosen were the certificates of obligation.

“This allows you to pay through taxes or other revenues. It is a 30-year commitment so it gives you the option to use both. The requirements of the statutes require us to post a notice of intent to issue certificates of obligation, put a notice in the paper for two consecutive weeks and wait for 46 days before the loan can actually be approved,” he said.

Following a brief discussion, a resolution of intention to issue certificates of obligation was approved by the council.

Prior to the certificates of obligation discussion, Crockett Mayor Dr. Ianthia Fisher announced, “It is a pleasure to recognize the new appointments to the Crockett Housing Authority (CHA). We know that all the positions on the different boards are voluntary and we know how hard it is to get good volunteers. You can get good help when you’re paying for it, but you can get good volunteers who just have a heart for the people.”

Dr. Fisher then indicated Pam Wells and Brenda Ervin had been appointed to the CHA board. They were sworn in to their positions by City Administrator John Angerstein.

Judy Scott, the Director of the JH Wooters Crockett Public Library followed the mayor and provided a report on the library. Scott recognized several of the major donors to the library and said they make it possible “… for us to have all the great things going on.”

In other matters brought before the council:

Minutes from the Dec. 6, 2021 meeting were approved.
Crockett Police Chief Clayton Smith reported the police department received 428 calls for service during the month of November which resulted in 37 arrests. There were 161 traffic citations issued and 84 police reports filed. In the month of December, the Police Chief reported the police department received 512 calls for service during the month of December which resulted in 31 arrests. There were 130 traffic citations issued and 77 police reports filed.
Crockett Fire Chief Jason Frizzell was unable to attend the meeting so City Administrator John Angerstein provided the monthly fire department report. Angerstein reported the fire department responded to 41 total calls during the month of November. Of the 41 calls, the city administrator reported 24 were in the city of Crockett while 17 were in the county. There was one structure fire in the city and four in the county during November. In the month of December, Angerstein reported the department responded to 34 calls, with 27 in Crockett and seven in the county. There were two structure fires in the city and none in the county during the previous month.
A resolution/proclamation recognizing the month of January as School Board Appreciation Month was read by Dr. Fisher.
Warren Taylor was appointed to the Crockett Economic and Industrial Development Corporation (CEIDC) Board of Directors.
Chris von Doenhoff was presented with a plaque for his years of service with the CEIDC.
The council approved the purchase of Peacemaker Wireless Tablets.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].