Anderson opposes ESD 2

ANDERSON – Anderson Town Council heard arguments for and against ESD 2, a second proposed Emergency Services District that would service Grimes County, during their monthly meeting Thursday, July 14.

During public comments, Richard Gremillion took the floor and stated that he, his wife, and their friend form a Grassroots committee that’s petitioning Grimes County Commissioners Court to hold an election to determine whether the people of Grimes County want to form another Emergency Service District. The purpose of this, Gremillion claims, is to create a sustainable, stable and scalable financial source for emergency services in Grimes County. They are currently collecting signatures from now through September and will then present it to Commissioners Court. From there all of the municipalities in Grimes County have 60 days to opt-in on the ESD, and the default is opt-out.

Grimes County Commissioner Precinct 2 elect, David Tullos, states his opposition to the formation of ESD 2. He points to the already successful Volunteer Fire Departments within Grimes county. Furthermore, he claims the formation of an ESD, “is not a step forward, it’s a step back.”

Tullos called this forma tion another level of county-wide bureaucracy along with the burden of taxes upon taxpayers. Prior to speaking, Tullos mentioned having met with various members of the Volunteer Fire Department, the representatives of the Board of Directors of the fire department, and all of the municipalities of Grimes county Commissioners Court Precinct 2. He said every person he met are opposed to ESD 2.

Alderman later unanimously approved Resolution #95-22, an opposition to the organization and formation to the proposed Grimes County ESD 2. Alderman Harold Minor was absent from the meeting.

Salvage yard compliance

Council reviewed a compliance proposal for property at 353 Main Street, owned by Jerome Pasket. Town ordinance requires an 8-foot fence around the perimeter of a salvage yard, but Pasket constructed a 6-foot tall fence around the perimeter of the property.

The proposal stated Every 8-foot fence Pasket found for a salvage yard is made of metal, which is not as aesthetically pleasing as the fence he constructed. Pasket did not attend the meeting, so council voted to table the proposal.

ARPA Funds bank account

Council approved the opening of a bank account for the American Rescue Plan Act funds, as designated by the U.S. government for COVID-19 relief. This account will be specifically designated for ARPA funds and will hold the amount of $28,984.60.

ARPA Engineer selected

Council unanimously approved the hiring of Bleyl Engineering to complete work on the Anderson Sewage System which will be funded by ARPA funds.

Bleyl Engineering and TLC Engineering were both considered for the project. Bleyl outscored TLC Engineering, 288-278, in a point-based system of previously completed projects.

TPWD Grant Application

Alderman Marc Benton made a motion to approve the hiring of GrantWorks to write a grant application to submit to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for a proposed park. The motion died for lack of a second.

Other action

• Tabled a bid to replace the roof of the Town Hall.

• Denied the proposed rate change requested in Entergy Texas, Inc.’s Statement of Intent filed with Anderson on July 31.

• Tabled agenda item 15, “Consider and take action to prioritize and begin abatement procedures on vacant properties around town.” The item will be placed on the August agenda.

• Tabled agenda item to consider and take action on adding solar panel permit.

Other discussion

The Juneteenth parade and the Freedom Fest were reported to have a great turn-out with lots of positive feedback on the events. The Council thanked everyone that came out to these events.

There was an assessment done of Anderson’s sewage system. A few violations were found, but most have been corrected. The only violation that still poses an issue is the tree surrounding a pond. This has not been corrected due to a budget issue.

The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Thursday, Aug. 11.