August 21, 2020 - Members of the Deep East Texas Council of Governments board of directors were given an orientation on DETCOG and its functions during the August 2020 board meeting.
Executive Director Lonnie Hunt led members of the board through the online orientation, which explained the basics of DETCOG’s responsibilities and membership in the Deep East Texas region. Other subjects discussed in the orientation were how officer roles are determined and promoted over time, the major programs DETCOG offers to the area and how DETCOG serves Deep East Texas.
Prior to the orientation, Eric Carver of Axley & Rode LLP also trained members of the board on ethics, fiduciary responsibility and fraud awareness.
In other business, Hunt also gave an update on DETCOG’s RFP 2020-03, for a broadband project manager. Four responses to the request for proposal were received before the deadline, however evaluations of the of the responses have not yet concluded. As such, no recommendation was prepared for the board during the August 2020 meeting. Hunt said he feels positive about all four responses and looks forward to the evaluations. A recommendation will be made as quickly as possible to DETCOG’s executive committee.
Additionally, Hunt gave an update on DETCOG’s programs and activities; DETCOG continues to operate with precautions in place as the COVID-19 pandemic persists. As of Aug. 20, 2020, 5,945 cases of COVID- 19 have been confirmed in the Deep East Texas region according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The case count, as well as total active, recovered and deceased as reported by DSHS may be found on DETCOG’s COVID-19 resource page.
During Hunt’s report, he also gave an update on the ongoing 2020 census, and noted the region is behind the state and national average, as well as the average the region had during the 2010 census as of August. Hunt noted the pandemic is likely slowing the progress of self-response rates.
Finally, Hunt noted that DETCOG’s Next Generation 9-1-1 initiative should see vast advancements by the end of September, with all 15 of DETCOG’s public safety answering points converted to new technology, that will allow for improvements in 9-1-1 calls. One example Hunt gave that should be possible with these improvements is the ability for 9-1-1 callers to use their phone’s camera and send the live feed of whatever is occurring directly to dispatchers.
Additional actions during the meeting include:
• The board approved the minutes of the July 23, 2020 board of directors meeting.
• Appointments to DETCOG’s various committees were approved by the board.
DETCOG’s next board of director’s meeting is scheduled for Sept. 24, 2020 and will be held online.
Additionally, DETCOG will be closed on Sept. 7, 2020 in observance of Labor Day.
