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June 23, 2023 - Notice is hereby given that a regular called meeting of the governing body of the above-named City will be held on Monday the 26 day of June 2023 at 5:30 pm at Tenaha City Hall, 238 North George Bowers Drive, Tenaha, Texas, at which time the following subjects will be considered, to-wit:
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Invocation
4. Pledge: United States Pledge
5. Citizens Input: This time is provided for members of the public to address the City Council on items that appear within the agenda, or a matter not listed on the agenda. Each speaker is limited to 3 minutes. A Citizens Input Form must be filled out and filed in with the City Secretary prior to the meeting.
6. Department Head Reports:
A. Public Works
B. Municipal Court
C. Police Department
D. Fire Department: Meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday.
E. City Secretary: RCI Record retention, 4th of July fireworks shows.
7. Discussion and possible action on approving the minutes for the March 2023 City Council meeting(s).
8. Discussion and possible action on approving the minutes for the May 2023 City Council meeting(s).
9. Discussion and possible action on approving the financials for May 2023.
10. Discussion and possible action on agreement between City of Tenaha and Aerobic Systems of East Texas to dispose of waste at our wastewater plant for the price of .03 a gallon.
11. Executive session: Personnel Matters Government Code Section 551.074 with possible action related thereto upon reconvening in open session. (Amanda Treat-Brock, City Secretary, Annual Performance Review)
12. Council Items: Reports by the members of the City Council on matters not on the agenda will be made at this time. A total, not to exceed 10 minutes will be devoted to these reports.
13. Adjourn.
The Council reserves the right to retire into executive session concerning any of the items listed on this agenda whenever it is considered necessary and is legally justified under the Open Meetings Act.
This agenda is posted as required under Government Code Section 551.41. For more information or for a copy of the open meetings act, please contact the Attorney General of Texas on 1-800-252-8011 or the City Secretary on 936-248-3841.
June 23, 2023 - Debora Riley, Shelby County Tax Assessor/Collector, reports the system has been restored and is once again operating.
June 23, 2023 - There is a statewide outage for the Tx. Dept. of Motor Vehicles system. The Shelby County Motor Vehicle Tax office is open; however, we are not able to process any transactions for TXDMV or Parks and Wildlife.
This article is copied from Shelby County Today without permission.
The Tax Office will have a window open to look over paperwork, hand out forms and help to answer any questions they can.
The Property Tax side is up and running with no problems.
The following includes further details issued from TXDMV.gov:
This article is copied from Shelby County Today without permission.
Friday, June 23: Due to a system outage, all Texas Department of Motor Vehicles systems are down at this time, affecting all online and in-person vehicle-related services, including county tax offices and other registration renewal locations. All 16 TxDMV Regional Service Centers are closed today.
Debora Riley
Shelby County Tax Assessor/Collector
June 23, 2023 - Portacool, LLC places its team members at the forefront and has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to its workforce by tirelessly working with the Texas Workforce Solutions to expedite unemployment benefits for its displaced team members. In the face of adversity, Portacool has united several resources to provide essential support during these challenging times.
A recent devastating fire at one of the Portacool manufacturing facilities has profoundly impacted the lives of many hardworking individuals. Understanding the urgency and gravity of the situation, Portacool promptly engaged with Texas Workforce Solutions to ensure swift processing and approval of unemployment benefits for affected team members.
Portacool acknowledges the power of community and the spirit of togetherness. Over the last few days, multiple local businesses and churches have stepped forward to assist employees during this time. This remarkable display of solidarity demonstrates the true essence of a caring community.
In response to this collective outpouring of support, Portacool has organized a private job fair for local businesses that have identified available job opportunities within their respective organizations. This job fair serves as a platform for these compassionate businesses to directly connect with the displaced workers from Portacool, offering them viable employment options during this time of transition.
"Here at Portacool, our team members are the heart and soul of our organization. Their well-being and support are of utmost importance to us," said Jennifer Wyatt, Director of Human Resources at Portacool. "We are immensely grateful to Texas Workforce Solutions for their collaboration, and the overwhelming response from our local community.”
Portacool will continue to utilize all resources and means available to continue to support its team members and community. For inquiries, please reach out to communications@portacool.com 711 FM 2468, Center, Texas 75935 • Telephone: 936-598-5651 • www.Portacool.com • www.TheKuulEffect.com
About Portacool,LLC
Established in 1990, Portacool™ is a global leader in portable evaporative cooling solutions and Evaporative Media Technologies. Based in Center, Texas, with a distribution facility in Wilmer, Texas, Portacool has revolutionized the cooling industry through innovative product design and media technology, catering to various cooling applications. Portacool and Kuul® evaporative technologies are industry leaders in evaporative cooling. Our portable evaporative coolers have proven highly effective across diverse sectors such as agriculture, horticulture, manufacturing, industrial, business, entertainment, sports, home, and hobby, offering practical and cost-effective cooling alternatives to traditional air conditioning. Backed by an extensive network of distributors spanning 50 U.S. states and 56 countries, Portacool, LLC remains at the forefront of the cooling solutions industry, continually redefining global cooling standards.
June 22, 2023 - Following the massive restoration effort, more than 225,000 Ark-La-Tex residents have had their power restored. The work in three states has been described as historic with more than 3,978 utility professionals from across the U.S., offering support.
Reports show approximately 21,800 Ark-La-Tex residents remain without power and work continues.
As a result of the super cell storm that battered the region Friday, June 16, SWEPCO activated its Incident Command Structure (ICS), a management model used successfully by the military, emergency response organizations, local and state agencies and private organizations, including other utilities. SWEPCO adopted ICS in 2015, and it’s used today as our primary scalable response strategy for all events (weather and non-weather).
Key steps in the restoration process include:
- Main Line: When inclement weather interrupts power to a major part of a community, priority is given to restoring circuits that deliver electricity to essential public safety facilities such as hospitals, 9-1-1 call centers, water treatment plants, police and fire stations.
- Large Areas: Next, SWEPCO performs repairs that restore electric service to the largest pockets of customers in the shortest amount of time. In some situations, a single repair can restore service to hundreds or thousands of customers.
- Smaller Clusters: SWEPCO then makes repairs to portions of circuits that restore service to smaller pockets of customers. These repairs may restore service to dozens of customers when completed.
- Individual Lines: In the final phase, work is done to restore power to individual properties. It may be a single home, business, or apartment complex. This phase of the restoration process can be especially time consuming after a major storm.
As of 5pm, SWEPCO reports show an estimated 21,800 customers remain without power including:
- 15,767 customers in Shreveport district including Bossier City and Haughton
- 5,440 customers in the Longview district including Marshall, Carthage, and Gladewater
- 622 customers in Texarkana, Arkansas district including DeQueen, Mt. Pleasant and Nashville
Note: If you get a text alert that your power is back on, but you’re still without power, report your outage by replying OUT to that text message.
Is Your Home Able to Accept Power?
As we continue to make progress to rebuild our energy delivery system, now is the time to determine if your home is ready to accept power.
After any storm passes and when it’s safe to do so, assess damage around your home. Always remember this life-saving rule: keep you and your loved ones away from standing water near wires and appliances and remember to stay away from downed power lines!
Depending on where you find damage, you may need to make several calls to be ready to get power.
SWEPCO cannot connect power to a home or business if there is damage to the service entrance, which is owned by the customer.
Customers need to have a licensed electrician repair this damage before power can be restored.
Homeowners can refer to the graphic (shown) as a handy reference and assess whether any damage to customer equipment is visible.
This could include the metal box that houses SWEPCO's meter, the "weatherhead" pipe on top of the meter box, the service entrance cables running from the weatherhead through the meter box to the inside panel box, or other related facilities. Similar responsibilities apply to underground service.
If repairs are needed, a professional electrician must first make those repairs before the home can be ready to accept power.
June 22, 2023 - Governor Greg Abbott today updated the state’s disaster declaration to include additional Northeast Texas communities affected by recent severe storms causing widespread electricity infrastructure damage. The counties added to the Governor’s declaration are Morris and Shelby counties.
"Following more information gathered from communities affected by last week's severe weather in Northeast Texas, I added Morris and Shelby counties to our state's disaster declaration," said Governor Abbott. "Expanding this disaster declaration will help us streamline recovery efforts and restore power quickly and efficiently. The State of Texas continues to collaborate with state and local partners to deploy any additional resources needed to help Texans recover. I thank all of our emergency response personnel and electrical linemen who are working to help their fellow Texans in the aftermath of these storms."
At the Governor’s direction, the following additional state resources have been deployed by the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to support local response and recovery operations:
- Texas Division of Emergency Management: Personnel and equipment to support food storage and hot meal distribution
- Texas Department of Transportation: 60 additional personnel to support roadway debris removal
- Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Texas A&M Public Works Response Team): Personnel and heavy equipment to support water and electricity infrastructure repair efforts
- Texas Department of Public Safety: Texas Highway Patrol providing security at points of distribution and Driver License Disaster Recovery Unit providing driver licenses at the Community Resource Center in Perryton
- Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service: County Extension Agents supporting disaster needs assessments
- Texas Animal Health Commission: Field personnel assisting with livestock hydration
- Texas National Guard: Over 170 personnel supporting resource staging areas and points of distribution to assist local communities
The following state resources remain deployed to support storm response and recovery operations in the northern portion of the state:
- Texas Department of Transportation: Personnel and heavy equipment for roadway debris clearing and traffic control
- Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Texas A&M Public Works Response Team): Personnel and equipment to support utility and wastewater treatment needs and operate the state resource staging area
- Texas A&M Forest Service: Additional Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System Strike Teams, tactical water tenders, additional Incident Management Teams to support local firefighting capability and points of distribution, and Saw Crews
- Texas Division of Emergency Management: Emergency management personnel to support local emergency operations centers and to coordinate the establishment of Points of Distribution (PODs) across the impacted counties for members of the community to pick up water, ice, and Meals Ready to Eat (MREs); Response and Recovery personnel to conduct damage assessments and coordinate requests for assistance; activated state disaster contracts for emergency resource transportation and fuel for generators; coordination of cellular connectivity for first responder communications; State Mass Care Coordination; base camp operations to house responding crews; and a resource staging area to support impacted jurisdictions
- Texas Department of State Health Services (Texas Emergency Medical Task Force): Mobile Medical Unit to support local hospital operations, Medical Incident Support Teams, ambulance buses, and ambulances supporting local hospitals, nursing homes, and emergency medical services
- Texas Health and Human Services Commission: Utilizing contracts for local ice and water needs
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Game Wardens assisting with supply delivery and security in affected areas
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Personnel and equipment to assist with air/water/wastewater monitoring
- Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service: Disaster Assessment and Recovery Agents to assist with damage assessments
- Public Utility Commission of Texas: Working with utility providers to send additional crews to impacted areas to repair damaged electric infrastructure
- Texas Department of Public Safety: Texas Highway Patrol Troopers
- Texas National Guard: Personnel and high-profile vehicles for movement of emergency supplies and to support points of distribution
- Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team: Providing support to local veterinary services in impacted communities
This is the latest action in the state’s response to recent severe weather impacting Texas communities:
- On Monday, Governor Abbott updated his disaster declaration to include additional communities impacted by the severe storms.
- On Sunday, the Governor provided an update on the state’s ongoing response to severe storms and urged the public to remain weather aware during continued severe weather potential and extreme heat.
- Governor Abbott held a briefing and press conference on Saturday in Perryton to provide an update on the state's response efforts and updated his disaster declaration to include additional Northeast Texas communities affected by the severe storms.
- On Friday, Governor Abbott issued a disaster declaration and directed TDEM to increase the readiness level of the Texas State Operations Center to Level II (Escalated Response) to support requests for assistance from local officials.
- Last week, Governor Abbott directed TDEM to deploy state emergency response resources to address urgent life-safety needs in Perryton following severe storms and tornado impacts.
As prolonged extreme heat continues in Texas, over 200 cooling centers have been established across the state by local officials. TDEM has compiled a list of these cooling centers at tdem.texas.gov/cool
Additionally, the Texas Department of State Health Services urges Texans to take precautions to prevent heat exhaustion and heat stroke:
- Take action at the first sign of heat illness
- Never leave anyone, including pets, in a parked vehicle—even for a short time
- Check frequently on older friends, neighbors, and family members
- Drink plenty of water
June 22, 2023 - Portacool has been working hard with local, state, and national authorities to provide you with important information as we start rebuilding our facilities. We know that many of you want to know about your job status; therefore, we invite all production employees to come to the Windham Civic Center (located at 146 Express Blvd, Center, TX 75935) during the times mentioned below. When you come, please ensure you arrive according to the first letter of your last name.
- Thursday: June 22nd, 8am – Last Names A - G
- Thursday: June 22nd, 10:15am – Last Names H - P
- Thursday: June 22nd, 1:30pm – Last Names Q - Z
- Friday: June 23rd, 8am – Additional Session 1 (for those who did not attend Thursday)
- Friday: June 23rd, 10:15am – Additional Session 2 (for those who did not attend Thursday)
Portacool ha estado trabajando arduamente con las autoridades locales, estatales y nacionales para brindarles información importante a medida que comenzamos a reconstruir nuestras instalaciones.
Sabemos que muchos de ustedes quieren saber sobre su estado laboral; por lo tanto, invitamos a todos los empleados de producción a venir al Centro Cívico de Windham ubicado en 146 Express Blvd, Center, TX 75935 durante los siguientes horarios.
- Jueves: Junio 22nd, 8am - Apellidos A - G
- Jueves: Junio 22nd, 10:15am - Apellidos H - P
- Jueves: Junio 22nd, 1:30pm - Apellidos Q - 7
- Viernes: Junio 23rd, 8am - Sesión Adicional
- Viernes: Junio 23rd, 10:15am - Sesión Adicional
June 21, 2023 - On June 16 2023, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality required the City of Tenaha public water system, 2100002, to issue a Boil Water Notice to inform customers, individuals, or employees that due to conditions which occurred recently in the public water system, the water from this public water system was required to be boiled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes.
The public water system has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore the quality of the water distributed by this public water system used for drinking water or human consumption purposes and has provided TCEQ with laboratory test results that indicate that the water no longer requires boiling prior to use as of April 1, 2022.
If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact Alison Rhone at 936-332-4439.
June 16, 2023 - Boil Water Notice for City of Tenaha Public Water Systems 6-16-2023
Due to reduced distribution system pressure, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required the City of Tenaha public water system to notify all customers on The City of Tenaha. To boil their water prior to consumption (e.g., washing hands/face, brushing teeth, drinking, etc). Children, seniors, and persons with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to harmful bacteria, and all customers should follow these directions.
To ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking, and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes. The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes.
In lieu of boiling, individuals may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source for drinking water or human consumption purposes.
When it is no longer necessary to boil the water, the public water system officials will notify customers that the water is safe for drinking water or human consumption purposes.
Once the boil water notice is no longer in effect, the public water system will issue a notice to customers that rescinds the boil water notice in a manner similar to this notice.
Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact Alison Rhone at 936-332-4439.
June 21, 2023 - East Lamar Water Supply water quality report for January 1 to December 31, 2022 is now available. East Lamar WSC provides surface water and ground water from the Wilcox Aquifer located in Shelby County. To view the report, click here.
Maximum Contaminant Level Violation - TTHM
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has notified the East Lamar WSC public water system that the drinking water being supplied to customers had exceeded the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for total trihalomethanes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has established the MCL for total trihalomethanes to be 0.080 milligrams per liter (mg/L) based on a locational running annual average (LRAA), and has determined that it is a health concern at levels above the MCL. Analysis of drinking water in your community for total trihalomethanes indicates a compliance value in 2nd quarter of 0.0807 mg/L for 140 CR 1396.
Trihalomethanes are a group of volatile organic compounds that are formed when chlorine, added to the water during the treatment process for disinfection, reacts with naturally occurring organic matter in the water.
Some people who drink water containing trihalomethanes in excess of the MCI, over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidney, or central nervous systems, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.
You do not need to use an alternative water supply. However, if you have health concerns, you may talk to your doctor to get more information about how this may affect you.
We are taking the following actions to address this issue:
- We have taken more control of the chlorine chemical feed by keeping it at the normal lower level and expect the LRAA to be back to normal in the upcoming Quarter.
Please share this information with all people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (i.e. people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
If you have questions regarding this matter, you may contact Rodney Warr at 936-591-5338, 2018 CR 4293, Tenaha, Texas 75974.
Posted/Delivered on June 21, 2023.
June 21, 2023 - According to the National Weather Service, Shreveport, Louisiana, Shelby County should receive a break from the excessive heat with the current heat advisory ending at 7pm.
The county is in a heat advisory area with temperatures this afternoon climbing to the mid to upper 90s which combined with the high humidity will results in heat indices of 105-110 degrees in the area.
Projected highs for the remaining of the week is in the low to mid 90s.
Click image to visit weather for Shelby County on weather.gov
June 21, 2023 - The Shelby County Commissioners recognized June as Hunger Awareness Month during their meeting held June 7, 2023.
Sherry Harding, Executive Director of Shelby County Outreach Ministries (SCOM), shared that Shelby County Outreach Ministries has been serving the community for over 26 years, and their mission is to feed the hungry and assist the needy in Shelby County.
She said that their motto is, “striving to be the hands and heart of Christ in the community.”
In 2022, SCOM estimates that over $300,000 went back into the community in the form of food, utilities, volunteer hours, and other forms of client assistance. Harding says that in 2022 they distributed 2,785 emergency food boxes, feeding 5,309. In that same year, Harding reports they met 4.594 different needs in the community.
Thus far, in 2023, they have distributed 1,207 emergency food boxes, feeding approximately 3,000 people. To date of the meeting, SCOM numbers indicated meeting a total of 1,416 needs in the community.
Harding said during the month of May they fed 30 extra families, and they are averaging 250-300 emergency food boxes going out on a monthly basis.
“We all know children are at home right now during the summer, we also know that the rising cost of inflation is affecting everyone,” said Harding. “We’ve had an opportunity to look into some of the senior citizens that we’re serving, and the majority of our people are living on $600 and less a month.”
Harding described how many of the programs offered by SCOM are a benefit to people in the community, with only nine full-time employees.
“We are honored today that we are proclaiming June as Hunger Awareness Month,” said Harding.
She stated there are different activities to support feeding the hungry which are ongoing during June and including assisting the needy. Some local businesses will have donation jars and containers for food items to be donated.
Anyone interested in making a donation, Shelby County Outreach Ministries is open Monday through Friday from 9am until 4pm and is accepting food items or monetary donations. Shelby County Outreach Ministries is located at 930 Shelbyville Street in Center.
A motion carried to declare June as Hunger Awareness Month.
J.J. Ford, representing Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT), gave a report on recent activities at the Historic 1885 Courthouse, where the DRT are now the courthouse docents.
She stated that during the months of April and May, 2023, the 1885 Courthouse welcomed 56 visitors to the courthouse. The visitor who had traveled the furthest was from England at an estimated distance of 4,839 miles. The second furthest visitor was from Anchorage, Alaska at a distance of 4,155 miles estimated.
Overall, the courthouse had 13 out-of-state visitors from Alaska, Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Then there was the one out-of-country visitor from England.
The first group of the visitors were the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors for their meeting on April 19 and the courthouse was their program along with the DRT Traveling Trunk.
The busiest day for visitor traffic at the courthouse not from a singular group was on Friday, May 19 with 14 visitors. There was one social media photographer to visit who highlight the courthouse on their social media account.
The DRT had 10 volunteers donate 159 volunteer hours as Docents of the courthouse and keeping it open to the public.
Event that are scheduled and upcoming include:
- June 23 - CRT Convention at the 1885 Courthouse
- July (date pending) - Rotary Club to Meet at the Courthouse for tour
- August 18-20 - Wedding Booked
- August 25-27 - Wedding Booked
Merle Howard, DRT President, reported if there would be any reason the CRT couldn’t meet upstairs in the courthouse due to air conditioning repairs, there is an alternate option of utilizing the Community House.
Vickie Martin, DRT member, stated it has been an honor to be able to share Shelby County History with visitors and she thanked the Commissioners’ Court for appointing the DRT as Docents for the courthouse.
Commissioner Tom Bellmyer remarked Tom Smeltzer has been working on the sprinkler system at the courthouse and it’s fully operational now.
Shelby County Judge Allison Harbison stated that three years ago iPads were purchased for elections and the county has now received notification the iPads will no longer be supported by Apple, which leaves the county with 33 iPads which are no longer useful for use during elections. The company that originally sold those original iPads to the county for the Elections Administration office has offered the possibility of a three-year lease of iPads.
A motion carried by the commissioners to table the iPads for review of the lease.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:15am.
Agenda items approved during the meeting include: 1. Pay weekly expenses. 2. Current Payroll. 3. County Treasurer to attend on-line NACO Enterprise CyberSecurity Leadership 12-week course to be paid from General Fund Records Management. 4. Proclamation declaring June as Hunger Awareness Month. 5. Texas Association of Counties Blue Cross Blue Shield group health insurance plan for FY2024. 6. Adjourn at 10:15am. Agenda items tabled during the meeting include: 1. Leasing or purchasing iPad’s for the Election Administration office.
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