Secretary of State plans disabled voter workshop
By BUD CHAMBERS   Brenham Banner Press   February 22, 2005 1:41 PM CST 
  
  

It wouldn't be that much of a stretch to say this morning's meeting of Washington County commissioners court was tabled.

There was good reason for each of three actions tabled, the foremost being that Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams is coming for an 11 a.m. Wednesday workshop concerning the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funding that is being administered through his office.

Commissioners were considering a resolution on funding from the office of the secretary of state for a $66,000 grant from federal sources toward the purchase of 22 voting machines designed for the disabled.

Williams is expected to give a pertinent relative to allocating HAVA-designated resources, and other valuable HAVA-related insights, as pertains to implementation of HAVA mandates by Jan. 1, 2006.

Now it is expected commissioners court, after Wednesday's program by Williams, will have a better handle on HAVA's complexities before taking further action.

Room 105 of the courthouse - the court's usual meeting place - is the location of this 11 a.m. Wednesday workshop.

A single bid - from the one current geological lease holder on Tom Green School Lands near San Angelo - was opened today by the court, but County Judge Dorothy Morgan felt that the detail is complex enough to require further study before final consideration.

Thus, the school lands energy exploration matter was also tabled for either one or likely no more than two weeks.

Meanwhile, treasurer Norman Draehn said the person with whom he's working on several specific details for putting a new health care provider network into serving the county's employees, starting April 1, has been out of pocket several recent days and he requesting tabling of final action.

"I want to get these (exceptions) in writing before you act," he said.

The single action item, other than approval of accounts payable as recommended by Draehn, was the unanimous approval for a water line crossing by Northeast Washington County Water Supply on Sam Houston Road in Precinct One.

The court accepted Draehn's January financial report as well as the monthly reports from all four constables and a special "racial profiling report" from Precinct Two constable Carroll "Butch" Faske.

Morgan then asked if Faske's precinct - because his staff is larger, employing a deputy constable - is the only one requiring this report on racial profiling, and Sheriff J.W. Jankowski informed the court that every county constable's office must file such a report for 2004.

Headlining other county department reports presented, tax assessor/collector Candy Arth filed a January 2005 monthly report as well as highlighting her full 2004 report with a brief presentation.