County bans outdoor burning

On Monday, Cameron Fire Chief Henry Horelica, president of the Milam County Fire Chiefs Association, requested that the Milam County Commissioners Court approve a county-wide burn ban to take effect immediately.

He mentioned that the spring rains had caused lots of grass and weeds to grow and that the July dry spell had dried all of that forage into highly-volatile material – and that all of the Milam County fire department chiefs had agreed that a burn ban was needed.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Donald Shuffield’s motion to approve the burn ban was approved by a unanimous vote. The burn ban will continue until further notice and prohibits outdoor burning in the unincorporated areas of Milam County.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Richard Watkins requested the court’s approval of an inter-governmental agreement between the City of Buckholts and Milam County which allows Watkins to use Precinct 1’s equipment and manpower to grade Buckhlolts streets. In return, the City of Buckholts will pay Milam County an annual fee of $1,500, provide or pay for all material, and reimburse Milam County for all labor costs associated with the work. The agreement was approved by a unanimous vote.
The commissioners court also approved a Memorandum of Understanding in which R&H Reefer Trailer and Repair of Temple agreed to rent “refrigerated trailers for the cold storage of mass fatalities when the number of dead exceeds the community storage resources.” The memorandum was unanimously approved by the court.
Two citizens made public comments: 1) Franklin Stewart alerted the commissioners court of the new Davilla Fire Station’s dedication scheduled for Aug. 29 at 10 a.m.; and 2) Wayne Horkheimer questioned if the county’s personnel policy allowed Precinct 2 and the Tax Office to have hours other than 8 to 5 with a lunch hour off.
In other business, the commissioners court:
• Made no changes to the Milam County 2016 budget that is posted on the county’s website;
• Announced that the public hearings at which the public can request changes to the 2016 county budget are scheduled for Aug. 24 and Sept. 2 – both at 9 a.m. at the Milam County Courthouse;
• Tabled a request to name a new private road “Private Road 407” until Watkins met with the requestor.; and
• Approved some housekeeping revisions to an already-approved tax abatement agreement with Bush’s Chicken including the date of completion being changed to Dec. 31.