Upshur Co. Courthouse ahead of schedule

The historic restoration of the 87-year-old Upshur County Courthouse in Gilmer is 33% complete and ahead of schedule, the project overseer told county commissioners last week.
“We’re doing real good,” said Marion County Judge Leward J. LaFleur, hired by the court to supervise the renovation since his own courthouse in Jefferson underwent such a project.
He said at the court’s Sept. 16 meeting in Gilmer that geothermal dwelling on the courthouse lawn would be completed in about four weeks. County Judge Todd Tefteller said many people mistakenly thought water wells were being drilled.
While LeFleur some time ago warned the court that tranferring funds from the courthouse contingency fund for other purposes was risky, commissioners also last week approved using $22,000 of those funds to provide food for county jail inmates.
Sheriff Larry Webb blamed the shortfall in his inmate food budget on inflation, and confirmed he is receiving potatoes from a Gilmer food bank near the jail. He told the court he thought he presently had about 130 prisoners.
In other business, the court met in an unusually long closed session before voting to have Precinct 2 Commissoner Dustin Nicholson and Precinct 1 Commissioner Gene Dolle seek bids on purchasing and installing two double wall fuel tanks for the Road and Bridge Department.
The two tanks, which comply with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality requirements, would replace the department’s three current fuel tanks.
The meeting agenda said the court would consider replacing the tanks at a cost of $120,377, but the document didn’t say where the county proposed to buy them, and commissioners opted to seek bids instead.
In other business, the court tabled a resolution to accept Gorman Oaks Road, west of Big Sandy, into the county road inventory.
Union Pacific Railroad built the road “to facilitate their passing track and railroad crossing closures,” the agenda said.
Although Tefteller said the county had already agreed to accept the road and that the railroad was paying the county more than $163,000 to do so, Precinct 3 Commissioner Mike Ashley said the court needed to look into the part of the agreement that would indemnify Union Pacific from any legal action related to the agreement.
In addition, Tefteller said County Road and Bridge Administrator Phil Stegall was concerned about the costs of dealing with the road in the event of flooding. Tefteller said he would negotiate with Union Pacific’s attorney or consult elsewhere before putting the proposed agreement on a future agenda.

In other action, the court approved seeking a grant from the Kilgore-based East Texas Council of Governments for individuals to dispose of used tires weighing up to one ton. Said Tefteller, “Those things collect water and breed mosquitoes.”
The court also approved County Clerk Terri Ross’ proposed records archive plan, which she said entailed a requirement she seek the court’s approval annually to charge a $10 fee for filing each document. That money is for preserving and restoring records, she explained.

– By Phillip Williams

 

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