News see more »

A marathon meeting of the Llano Commissioners Court on Monday was highlighted by the court’s decision to re-open the Llano County Park, with its new boat ramp, effective Tuesday, March 9. Lake levels are up considerably since the concrete was poured last summer; even though it is still six feet below normal for this time of year, the lake is high enough to allow full use of the facility. The park will be closed for a few days later this spring, when the county is ready to pave the parking area.

In other business, commissioners appointed engineer Preston Mason, of Kingsland, to serve as the public’s representative on the Llano County Floodplain Community Panel; they also voted to proceed with air conditioning upgrades at the Llano Library despite delays in the stimulus “Energy Star” grant that was to have paid for the project. “We’re going to do what we originally planned,” said County Judge Wayne Brascom, explaining that the grant had been “delayed by bureaucracy.”

Another grant being held up by “red tape” is the Homeland Security grant that was to pay for three communications towers. The court agreed to hire consultant Jim Barho, of Burnet County, to expedite the process.

The court voted to proceed with the bid process to sell the old Precinct #2 office (minimum bid $90,000) and to start the process of hiring a general contractor to build the new office, on Highway 29 in Buchanan Dam. Judge Brascom reported that an air conditioning unit with a replacement value of approximately $1,500 had been stolen from the old (vacant) office last weekend. Precinct #2 employees are currently in temporary offices near the Buchanan Dam post office.

Floodplain Administrator Ron Moore reported that his office had “settled four floodplain issues this week, and that he is working with Commissioner Henry Parker (Pct. #2) on new rules regulating junk vehicles. He also reported that LiDAR topographic data for the whole county will be available for public viewing at his office later this week.

Library Director Dian Ray reported that science reports by home schoolers were on display at the library, and that the library would be closed on the morning of the 18th for a staff meeting. District Clerk Joyce Gillow reported that now “We have a handicap ramp at the office,” and thanked Building and Maintenance personnel for a job well done.

Road and Bridge Supervisor Gary Howell announced that part of River Oaks Drive, in Kingsland, will be closed for a week or two to install new culverts where flooding had washed out the old ones. Detour signs will direct traffic around the construction site, between Skyview and Link.

A discussion of the new telephone system occupied the court for quite some time. Apparently some overly optimistic sales people persuaded the county to buy a system which was more than the county’s infrastructure could handle. The internet-based telephone system, which would connect all the county offices and eliminate extra telephone lines which the county has been paying for over the last few years, could cause all the county’s telephones and computers to crash if it were fully implemented. Deciding that it is too late to turn back, the court approved the creation of a new IT person who would be in charge of all the county’s computer hardware. “We had meetings” before ordering the new telephone system, Judge Brascom explained. “But no one at the county knew the right questions to ask.” A committee will be formed to review security policies for when all the county’s computers are linked, and to develop a job description for the IT person.

Commissioner Johnnie Heck (Pct. #1) announced that the HOP transit system has two new buses and a new van serving Llano County. Judge Brascom encouraged all residents to fill out census forms, and reported that census representatives would be at the Llano and Kingsland Libraries to answer questions or help with census-related problems. A representative will be at the Llano Library on Tuesdays and Thursdays until April 19 (except next Thursday, when the library will be closed in the morning; Tuesday and Friday are the days next week), and at the Kingsland Library from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.