Crockett City Council Gets Quorum, Votes for Grant
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
CROCKETT – Crockett city council met Tuesday, April 25 with all council members present and accounted for. The meeting was the city’s last chance to vote on and seek approval for grants totaling $1 million for city improvements.
Two meetings the week before to vote on the measure could not go forward due to a lack of quorum, leading many to speculate the city had lost the opportunity to get the grant money due to a lack of participation from the city’s council members. The Messenger was aware of a long-planned trip by Councilman Gene Caldwell who is normally present, but as of press time, there was no word on the other council members absent over the course of the two meetings held the week prior.
The council was fully attended at the latest meeting, quickly voting to approve the submission of the Texas Community Development Block Grant (TCDBG) to be awarded by the Texas Department of Agriculture.
After the meeting, Crockett City Administrator John Angerstein explained the grant programs change each time, causing the city to have to plan carefully in order to fulfill the ever-changing minutiae required by each grant. The city has been working with a grant writer, engineers and has held all of the required public forums and a vote by the city council was in fact the ninth step in a total of 12. Had the city council not held the meeting and approved the application, the city would indeed have missed the opportunity.
As it turned out, the public notice that needed to be posted at city hall for five days included weekends, allowing the city to immediately post the notice before submitting the application May 1. The deadline was May 2. It could have been a case of, “a day late, one million dollars short.”
$500,000 of the grant money will be spent on renovations to the city’s sewer system and manhole covers, with the other half going to fund sidewalks downtown, specifically creating sidewalks appropriate for those with disabilities.
The council approved assigning their existing waste contract with Piney Woods Sanitation and transferring it to Live Oak Environmental. The Louisiana based company purchased Piney Woods after their owner became ill and his family was unable to take over the business. Live Oak has operations in various locations throughout Texas and promises the same service residents have received from Piney Woods. The various Live Oak operations could cause a slight expansion in operations within Crockett, possibly leading to the creation of new jobs. The change should happen May 1.
The council then voted to approve various recurring bills from Crockett Economic and Industrial Development Corporation (CEIDC.)
The Messenger has been working on this ongoing story quietly and constantly, recently obtaining CEIDC Executive Director James Gentry’s employment contract. The contract was set to end April 30, but sources tell The Messenger no decisions at CEIDC can be made without the board of directors, which at present, cannot meet. CEIDC business and all salaries will continue to be paid until a board meeting can be held and decisions taken regarding payment of bills and employee matters.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
