February 21, 2023 - The Shelby County Commissioners sought to move forward with a roofing project on the Juvenile Probation building during their meeting on February 8, 2023.
The Juvenile Probation building, located at 305 Nacogdoches Street in Center, has had several repairs to its roof in the past and the commissioners carried a motion to approve a bid from S Goodwin Roof Service, LLC in the amount of $26,733.
With the cost of fuel remaining in a high range, the commissioners were presented with a potential increase in the standard mileage rate for 2023. The IRS issued the optional standard mileage rates for 2023 in December 2022, which included the increase to 65.5 cents per mile driven for business use.
A motion carried by the commissioners to approve the increase from 62.5 cents per mile driven to 65.5 cents per mile driven.
Shelby County District Attorney Karren Price sought the approval of the commissioners to extend a part-time position in her office, held by Whitley Williams, into a permanent part-time position. Price explained Williams has been overseeing the Pretrial Diversion program, and funds gained from that program which help pay her salary are not expected to fund that position alone.
DA Price stated that Williams single-handedly, in the previous two years built up, that fund to around $25,000.
“That’s covered her so far, it’s probably about to run out,” said Price.
Price explained she would like Williams to focus on forfeiture cases for the District Attorney’s office, which up until recently were handled by Paul Robbins who has recently become the District Attorney in San Augustine County.
“I believe there’s about 100 to 120 of those old cases pending, I think I’ve only filed one since I’ve been in office,” said Price. “There is a substantial sum of money pending out there and the treasurer can speak to that.”
Once forfeitures have been accumulated from those cases Price says she is looking toward the future, even beyond herself, Price has a desire for Williams to further her duties and education into cyber forensics and hopefully in the future receive training from the Secret Service in dealing with more computer related investigations, which are an everyday issue and will more than likely continue to have a growing need for attention.
“We have an absolute black hole in Shelby County, Sabine County and San Augustine County, and Panola County frankly in the area of forensic science,” said Price.
She explained computer science is the future of policing and the future is here.
A motion carried by the commissioners to approve extension of the part-time help for the District Attorney’s office until the end of the budget year to revisit at that time. That way the finances can be budgeted for that position.
ETEX Telephone Cooperative, Inc. (ETEX) requested an easement on County property in connection with broadband system for the City of Center and John Price, County Attorney, drafted an easement which he stated has been approved by ETEX. He explained the provisions and terms he included in the document were agreed to by ETEX.
“The easement involved the parking lot in this area behind the courthouse, we’ve discussed this previously, where these portable buildings are the provisions that I have added to the easement they originally proposed, which I was not accepting of, are that that will be broadband will be placed by boring under those lots, there is a provision I’ve included that if for any reason they have to disturb the surface they’ll be responsible for repair and damages replacement, whatever it might take,” said Price.
He also included in the easement provisions for the potential of the county to use that surface in the future for more permanent structure that they inform ETEX first so they may examine the situation in the event they may need to move lines, or make adjustments as a result.
A motion carried by the commissioners to move forward with the easement.
The meeting adjourned into executive session at 10:14am and returned to open session at 10:47am with no action taken on anything discussed in executive session. The meeting adjourned at 10:48am.
