Crockett Sets May Election, Prepares Water and Street Improvements

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – The Crockett City Council met Monday, Feb. 6 to set voting locations and races for the May 6 election for the city and the Crockett Independent School District (CISD). The council also discussed upcoming road and water improvements they warned could cause some traffic headaches to some areas of the city in the name of progress and improvement.

Three positions will be on the ballot for the May election, including the position of mayor, currently held by Dr. Ianthia Fisher, Precinct One, currently held by Councilman Gene Caldwell and Precinct Two, currently held by Councilman Darryl Jay Jones. There is still no information as to which of the incumbents will seek reelection or if any of them will face a challenger. The Messenger will update this information as it becomes available.

The city also approved an agreement with CISD to hold a joint election for CISD open school board positions at the same time and at the same voting locations. There was an important change to voting locations this year, with the Crockett Fire Department facilities ruled out as a voting place given the work the firefighters do and considering the election process might interfere with their duties.

The council announced the election for the open city council and school district positions will be held Saturday, May 6 from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at these locations:

PRECINCT #1 – All Saints Episcopal Church Annex – 1301 E. Houston Ave.
PRECINCT #2 – St Francis Parish Hall – 609 N. 4th Street
PRECINCT #3 – Crockett High School – 1600 S.W. Loop 304
PRECINCT #4 – Crockett Administration Building – 1400 W. Austin
PRECINCT #5 – Sr. Citizens Center – 716 Wells Street

City Administrator John Angerstein updated the council on the upcoming construction projects – some already under way – approved by the council. Some of the biggest will be along East Houston and East Goliad where water mains are set to be replaced. The current four inch cast iron mains will be replaced by eight inch mains which should vastly improve the flow of water to those areas. The project will, he warned, cause some minor headaches to residents in those areas and the mains will be replaced several feet at a time which will cause those roadways to be closed down to one lane at certain times or closed altogether with traffic rerouted around the work areas. Angerstein said there will be intermittent loss of water but notices will be posted and the workers try and cause as few traffic slowdowns as possible.

South Fifth Street remains closed from Texas Ave. to Loop 304 after the failures in the road surface made the road unsafe. City engineers have been testing the soil and sending the samples to laboratories to see what could be causing the road to fail. It is believed there may be sulphur under the surface and reacting to the road but until the city knows for sure – and what materials will work better with that soil – they cannot fix the issue.

Angerstein also reported the plans for a city swimming pool have been redesigned to decrease the cost and sent out for rebids with local businesses getting the opportunity to out-bid some of the higher bids received from businesses from other areas of the state.

It was also announced the South Pine Animal Hospital will leave their current location March 1, allowing the city to survey the location on South 4th Street recently purchased by the city and develop their plans to open an animal shelter.

The council studied bids for several projects, awarding contracts based on which businesses gave the best price, warranty and most importantly and wherever possible – to local businesses.

The Crockett library gutter system was found to be too small with some gutters not attached correctly to the building. This bid was won by Shoemake Welding and Roofing.
The bid to replace the roof and gutter system at the city hall building was also awarded to Shoemake Welding and Roofing since they offered a 10-year warranty.
Lucas Roofing and Gutters won the bid to repair the roof at the Crockett Civic Center after owner James Lucas came up with an innovative solution to bypass the leaky internal gutter system and solve the leaks – saving the city thousands of dollars in the process.

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]