Commissioners Knock Out a Bunch of Pre-Thanksgiving Business

The Fayette County Commissioners Court met last Wednesday, Nov. 22. The agenda included a wide-ranging slate of business.

The court approved three property subdivision requests.

Donna and Peter Schwarz requested a division of 14.64 acres off Schuster Rd. near Nechanitz into six tracts ranging from two to 3.5 acres in size for the purpose of residential development.

Jay Goldberg requested a division of 18.5 acres off Nassau Rd. near Round Top into two tracts of six acres and 12.5 acres. In the subdivision application, Goldberg said he plans on selling one of the tracts to raise funds to build a home on the remaining tract.

The Thomas Jasek family requested the division of 117.348 acres off Knesek Rd. near Praha into nine tracts ranging in size from 12 acres to 13.15 acres. The subdivision application states that the Jasek family wishes to split the property among family members.

Commissioners voted to approve the requests with Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff abstaining. Berckenhoff said he recused himself from the vote because his wife is related to the Jasek family.

The court also voted to undo a previously approved subdivision, known as Jack’s Creek Oaks off Hackemack Rd. near Round Top. The 89acre subdivision had included plans for several residential lots with a new county road.

“The owners are no longer pursuing this project,” said County Inspector Clint Sternadel.

The land will now be divided into two tracts of approximately 22 acres and 67 acres. Commissioners unanimously approved the re-plat.

Commissioners also approved speed limit change for Skillet Rd. in the Hostyn area. Berckenhoff recommended setting the speed limit at 35 miles per hour after receiving a petition from a property owner on the road concerned about the safety of his grandchildren.

Texas state law sets the default speed limit - known as the “prima facie” speed limit - at 75 miles per hour. That applies even to county roads. If a county wishes to lower the speed limit on a section of road, the Commissioners Court must hold a public hearing and then make a finding and determination that the prima facie speed limit is unsafe before signs can be posted and enforced. Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the change.

The Court approved new agreements between the Fayette County Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office and three private businesses that offer remote vehicle registrations for County residents: Bubela Insurance Partners in Schulenburg, Round Top Mercantile in Round Top, and Flatonia General Store (NAPA Auto Parts) in Flatonia.

“We have had these distributors for many years, even before I came to work in the office,” said Tax Assessor-Collector Sylvia Mendoza. “But there has never been an agreement in place … to tie the County to their offices.”

The agreement stipulates that the businesses will retain one dollar from the processing and handling fees associated with each vehicle registration renewal. The County will pay them one additional dollar for each renewal after receiving documentation from the businesses at the end of each month.

The new agreement also requires the three businesses to post a $25,000 bond payable to Mendoza’s office to cover the registration stickers that the County provides to them. Commissioners unanimously approved the new agreements.

The County signed a resolution allowing the Fayette County Elections Office to conduct the March Primary Elections for the local Republican and Democratic parties and the possible runoffs in May.

Fayette County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Castleberry presented a monthly report from the Sheriff’s Office. Castleberry said the Sheriff’s Office made 21 arrests in October. Sixteen of those were felony cases and five were misdemeanors. Deputies conducted 361 traffic stops during the month and responded to 983 calls for service. They served 35 civil process papers. Deputies logged 53,687 miles on their vehicles. The county jail processed 64 inmates in October, and eight inmates were transported to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to serve prison sentences. The Fayette County Communications Center, which answers 911 calls for the County along with the Cities of La Grange, Schulenburg and Flatonia, processed 2,446 emergency calls.

The Court also accepted a gift of 0.3429 acres along Barton’s Creek Rd. near Kirtley from Gusland Properties LLC for the purposes of building a new bridge. The bridge will be built by Texas Department of Transportation through a match program that comes at no financial cost to the County.

“They are giving us a small patch of property and we will work with them to rebuild the fence line along the new boundary line,” said Assistant County Attorney Blake Watson.

“I’m very thankful for the people who are gifting this to us,” said Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom.