Heat Not Limited to Outside the Courthouse

Commissioners Court Meeting Testy At Times Between County Employees

Fayette County Emergency Management Chief Craig Moreau took some heat at last Thursday’s Commissioners Court meeting.

The grilling began with Pct. 4 Commissioner Drew Brossmann criticizing Moreau for responding to the Dry Rice Fire in Colorado County last Monday while a hazardous material spill happened in Schulenburg.

“While you were there in Colorado County assisting or whatever you were doing, we had a haz-mat spill in Schulenburg, which is in Fayette County,” Brossmann said. “I would think that takes priority.”

Brossmann, who serves as an assistant fire chief for the Schulenburg Volunteer Fire Department, said he was part of a grass truck crew that went to Colorado County to assist with the fire. Brossmann said the call about the haz-mat spill in Schulenburg came over the radio about the time they reached the fire near Columbus.

Moreau said he left as soon as the Schulenburg call came over the radio. Brossmann disputed Moreau’s account. After the meeting on Thursday, Brossmann told the Record that Moreau stayed in Columbus for about 45 minutes before departing for Schulenburg.

“I understand we have to help our neighbors,” Brossmann said at the meeting. “We were there. There were plenty of people assisting. Whenever something goes down in Fayette County, I think we need to put our stuff on the front burner.”

County Judge Joe Weber encouraged everyone to learn from the situation.

“When you get a request from another county and a lot of things are happening, you respond,” Weber said. “If we made some mistakes and did something wrong, we do a ‘hot wash’ and learn from them.”

Officials called for an evacuation in Schulenburg during the spill while waiting for a haz-mat team to respond. The haz-mat team came from Hays County and took about two hours to arrive. Weber asked whether Fayette County needs to purchase air monitoring equipment for similar emergencies in the future. Such equipment might help local officials better understand threats while waiting for a hazmat team to arrive.

“Who would have the monitoring equipment?” Brossmann asked. “Would it be the fire departments who are first on scene and they could use them immediately?

“There’s no need for your office to have it,” Brossmann told Moreau. “Because if you’re all the way over there and something happens in Schulenburg, or if you’re not working that day and you’re gone, then no one could use it.”

“Let’s solve that after we find out what we need,” Weber said. Weber asked Moreau to research air monitoring equipment for possible purchase by the County. Later in the meeting, Commissioners considered a request from Moreau to purchase a new pickup for his office. Last year, the Commissioners had authorized $35,000 in this year’s budget for Moreau to purchase a new ½ ton pickup. Moreau said he could not find a ½ ton pickup for sale. Instead, he asked Commissioners to approve the purchase of a new ¾ ton Dodge pickup from a dealership in Brenham. The price was $48,968 – about $14,000 over budget.

“We’ve been struggling to find any truck at all, all over the state,” Moreau said.

Moreau said Pct. 2 Commissioner Luke Sternadel helped him locate the truck in Brenham.

“It will help me do my job very well,” Moreau said. “A ¾ ton has a lot of advantages. We pull trailers fairly often. We move water and different things, a lot of stuff a half-ton cannot. The fact of the matter is, it’s available by the end of the budget year and almost nothing else is. We looked at a whole lot of options, and it was difficult to find.”

Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff told Moreau he waited too long to order his truck.

“If you would have ordered the truck when we budgeted it, I don’t think you would have had any problems,” Berckenhoff said. “You waited too long for it. That’s not my problem. My problem is it’s $14,000 more than what we budgeted for the truck. You could have easily bought a half-ton back then for under $35,000. I paid $32,000 for mine.

“Three-quarter ton is a big truck,” Berckenhoff added. “Most of the stuff you do, you’re going to scenes. Hauling water? I can haul water in my wife’s little vehicle. I don’t see why you need a three-quarter ton just to haul some water around. I can pull trailers with a half-ton. We’re supposed to be a conservative commissioners court.”

Sternadel said the current market for new vehicles could force the county to spend even more if it waits longer to purchase a pickup for Moreau.

“I’m not saying he shouldn’t have ordered it back then, I’m not disputing that at all,” Sternadel said. “But the difference between a ½ and ¾ ton isn’t that much. If you don’t get this one, what’s it going to cost next time?”

Sternadel said a ¾ ton truck might serve the County better.

“The ¾ tons get a little older and a few more miles on them, and to me, they’re more durable,” he said.

Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom said he knew of a ½ ton truck priced at $39,000 that a local dealer had reserved for the County. He said the County was not obligated to purchase the truck, but the dealer had ordered the truck and would offer it for sale to the public if the County did not want it. While still slightly over budget, it fit the specifications Commissioners approved last year for this purchase. Weber asked Moreau to explain how a ¾ ton would better serve his needs.

“A ¾ ton sits up higher,” Moreau said. “I can hold a lot more in the bed and can pull more. I do a lot of different things. One of the things I do a lot of is pull trailers, and I hope to do more of that in the future.” Moreau said he would like to eventually purchase a command trailer for his office.

“I’m glad to have anything,” Moreau said. “Having a county truck is a blessing. I really appreciate having it. I do think a ¾ ton fits my needs a little better.”

Moreau’s current countyissued truck is a ¾ ton with over 200,000 miles that was previously used by the Sheriff’s Office. Moreau said he used it to pull trailers full of supplies back and forth from Austin during the COVID pandemic. Moreau said he also used the truck to pull trailers with supplies during last year’s February freeze.

“I always get complaints from people about buying outside of the County,” McBroom said. “I think we need to try and buy from our local people.”

“The thing is, we make a budget for a year,” Berckenhoff said. “I understand things happen, emergencies happen, and we have to go over budget … I’m sorry, but you need to wait until the budget next year. We budgeted $35,000.”

Sternadel eventually moved to approve the request. Weber asked for a second, and when no one else offered one, he seconded the motion. Moreau’s request failed 2-3, with McBroom, Berckenhoff and Brossmann voting against it.

McBroom gave Moreau information about the ½ truck he found locally for $39,000. He advised Moreau to submit a purchase order for it and to return at the next Commissioners Court meeting for possible approval.