By Libby Cluett
lcluett@mineralwellsindex.com
PALO PINTO – Summer is prime time to consider whetting one’s whistle, especially in a county that is partly dry.
On Monday, Palo Pinto County commissioners accepted the filing of two petitions for local option elections on Nov. 6 aimed at making the county a little less dry.
The first petition accepted was for an election for off-premise beer sales in the City of Gordon. If passed this fall, this policy change would let Gordon stores sell beer for off-premise drinking.
The second filing is for on-premise beer consumption in the jurisdiction of Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace. This will allow restaurants in this precinct – which includes Graford, Peadenville, Oran and Salesville – to serve beer, for on-premise consumption only.
Until either of these passes in the fall election, some county residents must venture elsewhere to quench their thirst for a cold beer with their barbeque.
In other business, commissioners:
• Approved advertisement for sealed bids for the sale of Precinct 2 Commissioner Ed Laney’s truck, a 2004 Ford F150 XLT with 60,000 miles. Bids for the truck must exceed $10,000 and be submitted prior to the Sept. 10 commissioner’s court meeting.
• Approved a re-plat of Sportsman’s World, subdivision Section 1, block 2, lots 13-17, 18 and 19.
• Approved a final plat of Dobbs Parc addition, a division of approximately 10 acres on Dobbs Valley Road.
• Approved the purchase of a “tint meter” from the Justice of Peace Precinct 1 Todd Baker’s Technology Fund. Tint meters measure the level of tinting in car windows.
Baker explained that officers will be able to use the tint meter while cars are stopped at a traffic signal and issue a ticket on those vehicles where the tinting does not have enough transparency.
Texas statute states it is a misdemeanor offense “if a person operates a vehicle that has an object or material that is placed on or attached to the windshield or side or rear window and that obstructs or reduces the operator’s clear view.”
• Approved a Child Welfare Services contract with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
• Authorized submission of a Texas Community Development Block Grant application to the office of rural community affairs for the STEP program. The application will be for $350,000 in grant funds “to carry out first-time sewer service and sewer system improvements.”
A resolution cited that Palo Pinto County commissioner’s court, “desires to develop a viable urban community, including decent housing and a suitable living environment and expanding economic opportunities principally for persons of low/moderate income.”
The resolution also cited “certain conditions exist which represent a threat to the public health and safety; and … it is necessary and in the best interests of the county … to apply for funding under the STEP Program.
• Approved rescheduling commissioner’s court regular session from Sept. 24 to Sept. 21.
• Approved a request to bore Grassy Ridge Road in Precinct 2 by Targa North Texas LP.
