The Llano County Commissioners Court on Monday voted to supplement a donation from the Hill Country 100 Club to improve equipment for Department of Public Safety Troopers and commissioners agreed to seek a sizeable new grant -- $466,000 to upgrade radio equipment for county fire departments.

Troopers Eric Morgan and Brian Barnes were on hand to explain that the 100 Club, a non-profit organization to support law enforcement, had agreed to pay about $680 for grill guards for patrol cars assigned to Llano County.

Increased specifications from the state will require more expensive guards and the court voted to provide $265 for the project.

“I am pleased our county has three DPS officers now,” said County Judge Wayne Brascom. “They serve our county seven days a week. They are always on call.”

The potential of a new grant for radio equipment had arisen since a conversation between the judge and Congressman Mike Conaway over the discrepancy between money spent by Homeland Security in small states and larger states like Texas.

“For example the State of Minnesota received $14,393,000 and Texas received less, even though we have five times the population and five times the territory.”

Horseshoe Bay Jim Fiero was appointed to replace Chief Deputy John Keith on the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) committee on interoperability and acted quickly to apply for the money when he learned it had become available.

“I did not know at the time that the grant would obligate the county for five percent of the total grant, $23,000,” said Brascom.

He agreed with Precinct 1 Commissioner Johnny Heck that the money had not been budgeted but the two also agreed that the money might not be required until the new budget period. In any case, the judge urged the court to move forward.

“When we look at the scope of this, benefiting a county that is growing, we certainly have been behind the scale of technology and grants are probably going to become tougher to get.

“We are constantly getting demands to keep up with new requirements and the downside is that, if you are not in compliance, you are not going to be eligible for new grants.”

The court also approved an agreement hammered out between Precinct 3 Commissioner Duane Stueven, law enforcement and representatives of the Christ Yoder Animal Shelter to bring the cost for handling stray animals back into a manageable range.

The county will haul donated pea gravel to be stockpiled for maintenance of the shelter’s pens in return for an increase in the minimum number of animals accepted before a $50 per animal fee is charged. That number will go from 729 to 820.

“To date we have taken in 679 animals,” Stueven said. “This would extend our limit by 140.”

Commissioners figured the cost of hauling four truckloads of the gravel, which is unavailable locally, would be about $1,000 but would yield a savings over coming years.

“In 2008-2009, the animal shelter is going to have a fixed figure for service, only about five percent higher,” he said.

The most contentious question before the court ended in a draw with the item removed from the agenda. It concerned an interlocal agreement to share equipment and services with the City of Llano. The concept had begun when the city needed a county mower for hard-to-reach portions of the Municipal Golf Course.

“It makes sense for people investing in all kinds of equipment (mowers, haulers and blacktop equipment in the county and striping equipment in the city) to have some kind of exchange,” said Brascom.

Brascom drew some support for an argument that the proposal was too broad and did not allow for estimates of the value of services that are limited by law. He said also that similar agreements should be extended to Horseshoe Bay and Sunrise Beach if one would be offered to Llano.

“I have been dealing with the City of Llano for 12 years,” said Brascom. “They went out the other day and were going to load a skid loader without even asking anyone.

“I’m still burning from being sued by the city (over the Lake of the Hills Regional Medical Center site). It cost the county $40,000.”

Precinct 2 Commissioner Henry Parker and Stueven voted against the agreement and the judge allowed the measure to die rather than force the issue.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Johnnie Heck had to negotiate to get approval to partially reflective-stripe portions of CR 307 after seal coating is completed. He held forth on the argument that traffic is constantly increasing along the cut-off between RR 1431 and SH 71 and speeding night traffic is increasing as well.