Celebrating 126 Years of Serving the communities of Devine, Natalia, Lytle, Bigfoot, and Moore in Medina, Frio, and Atascosa Counties
Category: City & County Politics
Information you need to know about the City of Devine, Medina County Commissioner’s Court, City of Natalia, City of Lytle, and our local Emergency Service Districts.
City of Devine- Vote at City Hall Vote For or Against Bond Election- $18 Million for drainage and flood control Everyone can vote in the Bond election Everyone can vote in mayoral race. Mayor- Cory Thompson (i) and Butch Cook District 2 and 4 get to vote in their races as well Council Dist.2- Angela Pichardo (i) and Michael Hernandez Dist 4 – Debbie Randall
Devine ISD- Vote at County Building Vote For or Against Proposition A- 31.5 Million for Safety and Renovations of Schools, Band Hall Proposition B- 1.5 Million – for 4 New Tennis Courts
Medina County- Vote at County Building (across from Tractor Supply) Medina County ESD 2 (Devine Fire area)- add 1.25 % to sales tax Medina County ESD 5- (Natalia Fire area) add 1.25% to sales tax Medina County ESD 4- (EMS Devine/Natalia areas – add .50% to sales tax ESD4 overlaps both fire districts (2&5), since EMS can bill for services they are asking for only .25 from each district, so .25+.25= .5% sales tax *Note: 8.25% is the maximum any city or county in Texas can charge for sales tax. Medina County is at 6.75% currently, so that leaves 1.5% open.
Lyle ISD- cancelled election, no contested races City of Lytle- cancelled election- no contested races Natalia City/Schools- no elections LaCoste City- no elections
By Anton Riecher The Lytle City Council voted 4-0 Monday to approve a $771,147 engineering services contract for water system improvements estimated at more than $5.5 million. On a motion by District 5 Alderman Charles Cate, the council voted to hire TRC Engineering for the water improvement project including a 250,000 gallon elevated tank on the town’s south side, a 12-inch water line extending from Interstate 35 to Railroad Street and a new pump for the city’s booster station. Cate questioned whether an even larger elevated tank might be beneficial in the long run. “Coming back in 10 years from now if we have to build another elevated tank it’s probably going to be triple what it is right now,” Cate said. For full video coverage of the meeting visit the Devine News YouTube channel at youtu.be/0b6XaSzAXM0. Craig Bell, representing TRC, said he could prepare estimates on a larger tank for consideration at a future council meeting. The figures presented Monday were already updated from a presentation several years ago. “Costs aren’t going down, you’re right about that,” Bell told the council. Financing for the water improvements is covered under $8.5 million in certificates of obligation approved by the council last year. The elevated tank, to be located in the Rosewood Estates subdivision, will consist of a concrete pedestal supporting a steel bowl. More than 5,800 linear feet of new 12-inch PVC distribution pipe will replace existing six-line pipe as part of the city’s water main loop. “The longer we wait the more it is going to cost,” Cate said. “If we put this off and don’t pull the trigger in the next six months we are looking at spending even more next year.” In other action, on motion of District 4 Alderman Michael Rodriguez the council authorized city staff to move forward with a financial cost evaluation for an amendment to the Lytle Farms subdivision public improvement district calling for a substantial increase to $20 million over the next 30 years. A PID is created under the state’s local government code to provide specific types of improvements or maintenance such as landscaping, sidewalk construction, roads, security, street lighting and water facilities. The Lytle Farms subdivision will consist of nearly 200 homes of which 99 will be duplexes. Also related to Lytle Farms, the council scheduled a workshop for 6:30 p.m. March 21 on establishing a consistent policy on providing street lights. The workshop comes after the council voted 3-2 in February to take no action on a request by Lytle Farms that the city take responsibility for the monthly electricity to power 14 street lights. City Administrator Matthew Dear reported a favorable reception from Texas Department of Transportation officials regarding two sidewalk projects proposed by the city. He said TxDOT is looking for “turnkey projects” without a lot of engineering involved. One project calls for sidewalks along Main Street near the city hall and post office. Dear said TxDOT recommended extending the project even further to reach Somerset Street with a six-foot-wide sidewalk on one side and a 10-foot-wide pathway on the other. That project might well qualify for 100 percent funding by the federal government, TxDOT told Dear. The second sidewalk project would extend from McDonald Street to city hall with pedestrian bridges across Interstate 35. TxDOT objected to the pedestrian bridges, Dear said, and recommended amending the project to eliminate sidewalks already included in the frontage street improvements underway. With regard to the I35 frontage road project, Mayor Ruben Gonzalez said that TxDOT is nearly two weeks behind schedule with the northbound road being opened to two-way traffic still needing curbs and sidewalks. He promised a complete update at the next council meeting. District 3 Alderman David Emery was absent from the Monday night meeting.
By Anton Riecher Charges that voting machines used in Medina County are not properly certified under state regulations is the latest in a series of allegations alleging election irregularities made to county commissioners. Jarrett Woodward, plaintiff in several lawsuits charging voter irregularities in Bexar County, addressed the commissioners March 9 during the public comment portion of the regular session agenda. “The (Texas) secretary of state, in my opinion, has committed fraud upon the county by presenting uncertified voting systems as certified and trying to allow you to use them,” Woodward said. Those speaking during the public comment period are limited to three minutes under the rules. However, Woodward’s time at the podium was extended when others scheduled to speak ceded their time to him. For complete video coverage of the commissioners court session visit the Devine News YouTube channel at youtu.be/i7lxdZE-5ug. Precinct 3 Commissioner David Lynch, presiding over the meeting in the absence of County Judge Keith Lutz, later told the audience that he had been informed that speakers were not allowed to surrender their time to others. “Consider this a freebie,” Lynch said. “It will not happen again.” Woodward said that in Texas voting machines must be certified for use by a “nationally recognized test laboratory” chosen from a list provided by the state. However, he found at least two important items on the certificate for the voting system used in Medina County to be missing or incorrect. The certificate of accreditation is not signed by the chair of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) as required, Woodward said. Also, the administrative code requires that it must have an expiration date that cannot exceed more than two years, he said. Medina County uses the Hart InterCivic Verity 2.5 voting system. The certificate for that system carries an expiration date of three years, not two. “I’m not up here accusing anyone of any intentional wrong doing,” Woodward said. “I think that the secretary of state is kind of where your focus needs to be going to rectify this.” Woodward said that the courts had found he lacked legal standing to file action in Bexar County regarding these issues. “Because I’m a normal citizen the courts find that I don’t have standing – as a voter – so the whole concept of one person, one vote is great outside of court but it doesn’t work in the courtroom,” Woodward said. Medina County commissioners should be concerned that if the certification question becomes a legal issue in the future ultimate responsibility for whether the system was properly accredited could fall on them, Woodward said. “I think that you guys have a good opportunity in front of you to show the rest of Texas that voter integrity is a top priority in Medina County,” he said. Whitney Riley and Mona Wolters, two of the scheduled speakers who ceded their time to Woodward have made allegations of voting irregularities during previous commissioners court sessions. Riley served as the Republican county election judge and Wolters served as a Republican precinct election judge during the November 2022 general election. Like Riley and Wolters, Woodward urged the commissioners to consider a return to hand-marked, hand counted paper ballots. In response the concerns brought up in recent meetings, the Medina Democratic Chair Sandy Young, wrote to the News: “Just want to make a slight correction to the article on the Commissioners Court meeting about the LATs. It was not only Lupe Torres, the Election Administrator and I, as stated in the article, who worked on finding the errors they made intentionally or otherwise. The Republican Chair, Julie Clark also worked on it with us and it took the 3 of us 14 hours working closely together to identify the errors and make the corrections. Contrary to their assertion that their sabotage proves that the Hart Machines are faulty, because of the cross checking ability we had with the Hart machines newly added paper backup, the LATs actually proved how well they work. Thank you for reporting these things. Hope that it’s helpful.”
SUBDIVISIONS The following three items were approved by the commissioners on motions by Precinct 1 Commissioner Timothy Neuman, seconded by Precinct 2 Commissioner Larry Sittre: Preliminary approval to vacate and replat a tract of the Mi Terra subdivision, unit one, into two tracts each slightly more than five acres. The tracts provide 16.36 feet of frontage on County Road 340 in Precinct 1. Final approval of El Tejano Ranch subdivision consisting of four lots with approval for water and electric service. The subdivision is located in Precinct 1 at the intersection of CR4401 and CR442. Preliminary approval of Freundlicher Bauernhof (Friendly Farm) subdivision in Precinct 1 off FM 2676. The subdivision consists of five lots with the Texas Department of Transportation scheduled of start on entrances soon. On a motion by Precinct 4 Commissioner Daniel Lawler, seconded by Sittre, the commissioners approved action on approval of an exemption to subdivision rules regarding the division of a tract of Nockenut Woods subdivision into two 6.5 acre tracts without street entrances. Lawler explained that the owner wish to use the tracts as a “cushion” between their property and the new subdivision. On a motion by Lynch, seconded by Lawler, the commissioners gave preliminary approval for Canal Verde subdivision, a 32-acre property in Precinct 3 at the intersection of CR672 and CR6712. The proposal involved dividing the property into 11 lots, the smallest of which would be 1.74 acres. On a motion by Lynch, also seconded by Lawler, the commissioners gave preliminary approval for Medina Meadows West subdivision in Precinct 3 at the intersection of CR512 and CR515. The subdivision consists of 13 lots.
FINANCES In a report from County Auditor Eduardo Lopez, Medina County showed a beginning balance of $34.3 million in March with $21.4 million in the general fund. Lopez said the amount was high due to a large amount of tax revenue received in February. By comparison, the February beginning balance was $21.3 million with $13.4 million in the general fund. A report by County Treasurer Debbie Southwell showed the county with $22.7 million in January against $25 million in debt owed. Accounts payable totaled $687,170 and was approved by the commissioners. Also approved was a line-item transfer of $5,400 to purchase uniforms and cover other juvenile youth services expenses.
GRANTS On a recommendation by county officials business management consultant Grantworks was awarded the contract as services provider for the 2023-2024 Texas Department of Agriculture Community Development Block Grant application. To serve as engineering firm for the application, the commissioners chose RESPEC Engineering which scored a 98 in an assessment by a technical committee established by the county. The competing firm scored 89 in the assessment. On a motion by Neuman, seconded by Sittre, the commissioners approved a resolution to submit an application for a 2023-2024 Texas Community Development Block Grant in support of an East Medina County Special Utility District project in the CR5710 area. EMCSUD Superintendent Bruce Alexander said the project was repeat of an application that was previously turned down. “The grant was originally $350,000 but I’ve been told it might go as high as $500,000 to help cover some of the increased cost,” Alexander said. The annual grant application is generally rotated among the various county water systems, he said.
PURCHASE Commissioners approved an equipment and training purchase totaling $51,834 for a miniature X-ray machine to be used by the sheriff’s office for traffic stops. Deputy Chief Gilbert Ramirez said the machine would be used to check for narcotics concealed inside tires or hidden compartments. “It can be done on the roadway instead of taking it to a shop to be disassembled,” Ramirez said. First Assistant County Auditor Rubi Cline said the purchase would be cover from grant funds.
LEASE On a motion by Neuman, seconded by Lynch, a leasing agreement for more than 40 copiers was approved with Toshiba at a monthly cost of $7,319, more than $2,500 less than the nearest bid out of four submitted. Some overlap is expected as the current lease with Xerox is phased out, Cline said. Issues had developed with the Xerox contract, she said, particularly with regard to the sheriff’s office. “They are the office that has to be running 24/4,” she said. “We have to keep them going.”
The City of Devine will hold two Public Hearings on the on the $15.02 Million Dollar Bond proposed for drainage and flood control improvements. The voters will have the chance of voting for or against the bond during the May 6, 2023 elections at city hall. The council and mayor want the voters a choice to decide if they feel the need for the drainage projects with the understanding it will increase taxes and max out the tax rate and ability to borrow money for the next 20 years. One drainage project starts on Libold near the golf course and ends near the funeral home with changes to Burnt Boot Creek to accommodate the extra flow. The other drainage project that will also feed into Burnt Book Creek is to alleviate issues on Crouch Street.
You are invited to the public meetings which will be on Tuesday, March 14th at 6:00 p.m. and Tuesday, March 28th at 6:00 p.m. in the George S. Woods Community Center, 200 E. Hondo Avenue beside the library. The hearings will be in relation to the $15.02 Million Dollar Bond for drainage work which will be paid for with the levying of a tax increase. All interested parties, individuals or groups are encouraged to attend the hearing and participate in the discussion about the city’s bond election and ask questions. For additional information, please call the city at 830-663-2804.
Voting Early voting starts on April 24 and run to May 2 from 8am to 5 pm. Earl and late voting hours 7am-7pm on May 1 & 2. And one Saturday voting day Saturday, April 29 from 9am to 2pm. All at city hall. Election Day is Saturday, May 6 from 7am to 7pm. The City of Devine early voting and election day voting will all take place at city hall.
By Anton Riecher and Kathleen Calame As of the Februrary 21st Devine Council meeting, there had still been no word from the Texas Water Development Board on payments. Raul Garcia, Jr. of Garcia and Wright Consulting Engineers updated the council on the status of negotiations with the TWD Board with regard to a $9.9 million loan to the city to replace aging asbestos-laden cement water lines, the lines that provide drinking water to the entire city. Although some work is still continuing on the lines, the contractor will be asking for more payments soon. The TWDB is refusing to fund the portion of the project that involves actual removal of the cement lines being replaced.However, not a penny has been spent on removal of the asbestos lines to date, Garcia said. “We’ve made that very clear to the TWDB on multiple occasions,” he said. The council had submitted a change order to the project that involves leaving the cement pipe in the ground, he said. However, no further developments have been forthcoming from the TWDB, Garcia said. “Crickets is all we hear” said Garcia referring to the lack of communication from the Texas Water Development Board. “We have given them everything they have asked for.” A 13 page breakdown of all the emails sent to the water board over the last 4-5 years since the start of the 2018 project was handed to the council during this discussion from Interim City Administrator Dora Rodriguez, noting she has given them everything asked for multiple times. Councilman Josh Ritchey had asked where the city was on the funds, and how much was left out of the $1million emergency loan (borrowed last month, onJanuary 20, to pay the contractor 4 months of back pay). The question was never answered, only discussion about emails and no further communication. AIRPORT HANGARS In resolution of a long standing airport issue the council approved an $885,000 settlement agreement to acquire more than 21,800 square feet of hangar space. Three hangers (17,090 sq feet, 2,482 sq feet and one 2,284 sq feet) all currently owned by David Ehlinger, President of Aviation Fuels, Inc. Cate told the council that based on advice from an outside firm hired by the city “this is the best course of action.” “We were told by (Texas Department of Transportation) Aviation that we need to get control of the airport, we need to stop allowing people to have non-aviation activities there,” Cate said. “This is part of it.” Devine sent Aviation Fuels an offer to purchase the hangers for $845,000 on November 2, 2022. Aviation Fuels agreed to Devine’s offer on November 4. Aviation Fuels shall vacate the hangars and relocate to another location by February 28, 2023, the relocation deadline. Devine had signed a lease with Aviation Fuels on January 1, 2010 regarding the hangars. The final settlement also includes nearly $40,000 in relocation funds for Aviation Fuels, Inc. Money to fund the purchase is from certificates of obligation issued in September 2021. The council approved the agreement on a motion by Randall, seconded by Espinosa. Cate also reported that two other hangars at the airport are up for sale. SHAVER STREET PAVING PROJECT Later, during consideration of awarding bids for the 2022 Shaver Project including street, water and sewer improvements Pichardo thanked Garcia. “Thank you for your work,” Pichardo said. “We truly appreciate it. I did speak with you after the last meeting. Thank you so much. Again, we want what is in the best interest of the citizens so I appreciate the great work that you’ve done.” On a motion by Randall, the council approved the $99,771 bid submitted by Aetos Construction, LLC from San Antonio for the Shaver project. The motion was seconded by Espinosa. The Aetos bid was the lowest of three submitted, ONO Contracting, Inc bid $108,001 and American Underground, LLC bid $162,064. The project includes street excavation, compacted base, asphalt paving, 8-inch PVC sanitary sewer lines, manholes, 6-inch PVC water lines and six gate valves. The Shaver Street Improvements are from Davis Street to Kempf Street using 100% local funds. It was noted that the new city water lines have not been installed in the area of the Shaver Project yet. City Administrator HW Tension again surfaced between Devine City Council members on efforts to recruit applications for a permanent city administrator. After bringing down the gavel to end a clash over dropping previous experience requirements from city administrator applicants Mayor Cory Thompson made his position clear. “This is a great example of why they don’t want to come here,” Thompson said. “I’ve brought this up before. Anytime you put out negative we’re going to have trouble attracting people.” The council voted in November to advertise in professional publications for a new city administrator. After less than four months in office, previous city administrator John Vidaurri resigned in October 2021, leaving city secretary Dora Rodriguez to once again serve on an interim basis as she had following the termination of Joe Ramos in June 2016 who had been there for six months. Specifically, the city is asking for candidates with three to five years of experience as a city administrator or manager who also holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration, management or business. District 4 Council Member Josh Ritchey made a motion Feb. 21 suggesting to drop the experience requirement. Interim City Admin Dora Rodriguez asked, “Who is going to train them?” To which Ritchey replied, “The person doing the job right now”. The motion, seconded by District 2 Council Member Angela Pichardo, failed in a 2-2 tie vote broken by Thompson in the absence of District 1 Council Member Rufino Vega. To date, the city has received less than a dozen applicants for the position whereas previously the opening drew as many as 20 to 30 at one time. “All of the other cities advertising at the same time have already found one, “ said Council Member Debbie Randall. Rodriguez specifically faulted the Internet live streaming of council meetings as discouraging interest in the job. Applicants who do their homework review these recordings before declaring their interest, she said. Pending further applications, action on the search for a candidate was postponed for a future council session. District 3 Council Member David Espinosa added that in future “we need to conduct ourselves more professionally at the table.” District 2 Council Member Angela Pichardo said she was in agreement with Espinosa’s statement. “Thank you, sir,” she said. A letter, read by the Mayor, submitted by Raul Garcia, Jr. of Garcia and Wright Consulting Engineers referred to remarks during the council’s Feb. 13 regular meeting on issues related to a $15 million bond election to fund a new massive drainage project that had just been brought to council that day and put to a vote. “I got the impression that some council members were doubting my engineering abilities and those of my late father who was very passionate about his work with the City of Devine for much of the last 30 years,” Garcia wrote. Garcia’s letter listed his qualifications from being a 1986 Texas A&M University graduate with bachelor’s degree in civil engineering to becoming a registered professional engineer in 1992, working for clients such as the City of San Antonio and San Antonio Water System. “I do ask that if you, council, have any questions or concerns regarding the engineering design of any of the project I am working on for the City of Devine please let me know privately rather than in a council meeting setting,” Garcia said. TEC Also related to public works, Rodriguez reported that city workers lost nearly half a day dealing with a complaint filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality charging that city water had been contaminated during repairs to ground storage. However, the only repair work being done was at another site – the Bain well that draws from the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer. Regardless, the TCEQ ordered samples for testing drawn from all elevated tanks. Those samples tested as clean, Rodriguez said. Wastewater service rejected Council members voted to reject a request by Southwest Engineers, Inc., a civil engineering firm, to provide wastewater service to the proposed Agape Oaks residential development, located at the former site of the old Morales Feed Lot on I35 in Medina County. Thompson noted that the entire development was miles beyond the city limits and well outside the established service area for city sewer. City Attorney Thomas Cate told the council that the request was a necessary step before the developer could pursue other funding. Artist to paint Mural on CC Wall On a motion by Ritchey seconded by Pichardo, the council voted to provide $1,500 for a mural on the rear of the city hall building. The council had approved the project at an earlier date but did not allocate funds for the work. “I think this would be a long-term investment in promoting Devine,” Pichardo said. Mayor Thompson said it had to be completed by April 1 so it would be available for the Art Walk. Cindy Morales explained she had done as asked and found local artists interested but felt it was the city obligation to pay not the chamber since it was their wall. She agreed to contact the professional artist, Kirsten Schneider, and see if she could get the sketches of the mural to the council for approval, plus asked if Kirsten could meet the deadline set by the mayor. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Devine Chamber of Commerce President Cindy Morales was on hand also to present the results of another project to promote the city. The Chamber’s “Think Devine” logo has been expanded to read “Think, Shop, Dine Devine: Support the businesses that support your community.” “We really wanted that in there because we have a really giving, wonderful community that gives and gives and gives to all our school districts and to our local organizations such as the non-profits,” Morales said. Morales also presented new chamber vice president Liza Hill and secretary Brittany Sullivan-Ott to the council. Bain Well property bid rejected Fred and Regina Morales submitted a bid for $10,000 to buy the old Bain well property that the city wants to sell. Since the city had set the rules of the bid to a minimum of $24,000 the appraised value of the land at the recommendation of Councilman Randall, Attorney Cate confirmed they could not legally accept the bid. Complete video coverage of the meeting is available on the Devine News YouTube channel at youtube/ridaiEj03VM. Most council meetings are also on cityofdevine.org on the live council meeting tab at the top of their website.
The Mayor of Devine seat will be on the ballot this year, as well as two council seats, including District 2 currently held by Angela Pichardo and District 5 currently held by Debbie Randall. The filing deadline is February 17, 2023. The deadline for write-in candidates is February 21, 2023. The City of Devine located at 303 South Teel Drive in Devine, Texas 78016. Office hours are 8-5 Monday-Friday. Contact info: Phone: 830-663-2804 or email: citysec@cityofdevine.com As of Tuesday, business man and former coucilman Butch Cook has filed for election in the Mayor’s race. Incumbent Angela Pichardo re-filed in District 2, and Debbie Randall re-filed in District 5.
Council members voted to call a general election for May 6 with council seats for district one, two and three on the ballot. Those seats are held by incumbents Joseph Morrow, Sam Cortez and David Emery. Candidates who have filed thus far are: Richard Hughes for District 2, and incumbent David Emery for District 3. No one had filed for the District 1 seat as of Tuesday afternoon. Normally, the city tries to enter into election agreements with the county or other entities to share the costs of elections, Dear said. However, the May election in Lytle will fall to the city alone to manage this year. The deadline to file is this Friday, February 17 by 5pm at City Hall.
By ANTON RIECHER A Republican election official alleges her concerns that an inaccurate final tabulation of Medina County votes may have been submitted to state officials in the November general election. This article includes Whitney Riley’s concerns which she presented at Commissioner’s Court as well as a response from Medina County Elections Administrator who says the descrepancies were rectified. Whitney Riley, who served as Republican presiding judge for the election, told the Medina County Commissioners Court on Feb. 9 about problems both in testing and during the actual election getting the vote totals to reconcile with the number of ballots cast. “I would like to bring election integrity to the minds of all the commissioners here this morning,” Riley said. During the first logic and accuracy test conducted of the county election system it took hours to get the totals to reconcile correctly, she said. Even after correcting an erroneous equipment setting, election officials still found discrepancies after a second test. “Even in this controlled environment both tests produced results different from the actual ballots that were tabulated,” Riley said. “Reconciliation for hours was needed to even get close to the actual ballots cast.” On hand for at central counting on election night, Riley said she saw voting machines being returned with security seals broken and thumb drives removed. “Machines were returned without being properly shut down,” she said. “Tally sheets did not clearly state the number of voter’s spoiled ballots.” Riley made her statement during the public comment portion of the commissioners court agenda.
RESPONSE FROM ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR: Elections Administrator Lupe Torres responded to the allegations that were made, and assures the community that the discrepancies were rectified. Every year, a logic and accuracy test is done before elections begin and errors made during this process are corrected prior to the election commencing, Torres explained. “During the Logic and Accuracy Testing for the November 2022 Election, the Logic and Accuracy Testing was conducted, however individuals who were assisting with this process, failed to follow instructions, causing the results not to match the desired outcome,” Torres said. “After reviewing the test deck vs the voted print records, we found out where the discrepancies were and we were able to correct them,” Torres said. “It did take several hours because we had to go through it manually and cross reference. When the numbers were finalized, the Central Counting Station Judges, who were hand chosen by the Party Chairs, signed off on the successful completion of the Logic and Accuracy Testing.” Torres stated that “we had a lot of new poll workers this year that were hand-chosen by the Party Chairs, many of whom were poll judges for the first time and were not familiar with the process,” Torres said. Nothing like this has ever occurred in Medina County during his tenure. According to Torres who added that “This election was more difficult than previous elections.” In response the allegation about voting machine seals, Torres stated, “When all the voting machines are returned from the polling locations by the Poll Judges, they do not have seals, however are locked. The election media/usb drives are then removed by me (Elections Administrator) personally and placed in a envelope, which is then forwarded to the Central Counting Station personnel.” “As for the statement that some machines being returned without being properly shut down and that some Tally Sheets were inaccurately returned….This is accurate, however, this was due to the inexperience of some of the Poll Judges that were hand chosen by the Party Chairs. For some, this was the first election that they had participated as a poll Judge/worker,” Torres said.
SECOND AMENDMENT In other business, Katelyn Thacker of Hondo High School repeated her second place finish presentation in the American Legion District Oratorical Contest. She stressed that exercising the first amendment of the Constitution guaranteeing free speech was the best way to protect the second amendment to bear arms. “By supporting our second amendment by using our first amendment we are showing not only our government that we can stand independent as citizens,” Thacker said. FOSTER CARE Commissioners also heard from a representative of SJRC Texas, formerly St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. Belong, a division of SJRC Texas, a 502 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, is now the lead provider for community-based foster care in Medina County. As of Feb. 2, Medina County had 63 children in foster care. Only 18 of those children were placed in homes in Medina County. In 2021, the Legislature passed sweeping reforms to the state’s foster care system, hoping to address issues raised in a 2011 federal lawsuit that found Texas violated the constitutional rights of foster children. One aspect of that change is moving foster care placement from the state Department of Family and Protective Services to nonprofit organizations such as SJRC Texas. STORM READY Paul Yura, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service, recognized Medina County as “going above and beyond” in weather preparedness by designated the county as “Storm Ready.” The certificate and official sign acknowledges the accomplishments and preparations to enhance community safety and improve preparedness for hazardous weather. In particular, the sheriff’s office manages a 24-hour Warning Point (dispatch) and maintains multiple sources to receive NWS warnings and the capabilities to quickly disseminate emergency messages to the public. SUBDIVISIONS Commissioners voted to give final approval to Sky View Ranch subdivision. Located in precinct 3 off FM 1796, Phase 1 of the 499-acre subdivision consists of 37 lots averaging about 10 acres each. The subdivision includes gated private roads and a 30,000 gallons storage tank dedicated to firefighting. Seventeen lots have been sold to date, a representative for Matkin Hoover reported. Precinct 3 Commissioner David Lynch made the motion to support final approval which passed unanimously. Likewise, the commissioners gave final approval for the Medina Verde subdivision located in precinct 3 off County Road 5715, four miles north of Natalia. The subdivision includes 1,000 feet of private roadway maintained by the property owners association and available for public use.
TREASURER’S REPORT County Treasurer Debbie Southwell reported that the county has a cash balance from combined funds of $24,370,620 with a debt owed of $26,840,427. The commissioners approved disbursement of funds to pay $31,772 in utilities. The commissioners also approved $31,000 in additional items added to the remodel and expansion of the precinct 1 barn.
Shortly before press time, Chief Communications Officer for the Texas Water Development Board, Lauren Munguia, gave the following update on The City of Devine’s $9.9 million dollar loan that is currently under review:
