TO MOVE OR NOT TO MOVE

I attended a special meeting of the Commissioners Court on Tuesday April 16 addressing the idea of moving county offices to the vacant hospital in Cameron.  It was a very informative meeting.  Judge Young did a great job outlining the proposal.

As most of you know by now both Milam County hospitals have shut down.  Milam County is not the only rural county that has been affected by medical facility closures.  According to Judge Young over 20 rural county hospitals have closed in Texas during the past year..The reality is that rural counties simply do not have the population to support a full service hospital.  We were lucky to have full service hospitals for as long as we did.

So now we have a 30,000 plus square foot building that is vacant and could potentially house a majority of the county offices located in downtown Cameron.  Relocating county offices would accomplish several positive things for Milam County and the city of Cameron.

In the current proposal the county would swap eight downtown properties for the hospital building.  These eight properties would then be put up for sale and eventually get back on the tax roles which would help the city and the county.  By getting rid of eight buildings the county would rid itself of the costs of utilities and maintenance for these buildings.

Further economic development  could occur as these former county owned  buildings house new businesses in the downtown area.  Currently a majority of the downtown square is occupied by county offices.  As new businesses come to the downtown area we would see increased traffic which theoretically would mean increased business for the city and increased sales tax collection for the city and county. 

Another positive for the county is that individuals needing county services would have access to a one stop shop.  All county services being located in a central location would make taking care of county business easier for the general public.  One of the major benefits to the county is that if the deal is done it will not cost the county any cash for the transfer.

However, there will be costs to the county for the renovation of the hospital facilities to make them compatible for housing county offices and county business.  These costs have been estimated to be somewhere in the vicinity of 865,000 dollars.  The real costs will not be known until county officials get together with an architect and determine what will be needed to make the building workable.  Once the required building changes are decided on the county would go out for bids for renovation to get an idea of the real costs.

One of the issues I have heard raised by some folks is that if county offices are moved into the old hospital building then Cameron will never get another hospital.  Let's face it folks Cameron will never get another hospital until population makes it a profitable business proposition.

Another point that has been raised is that perhaps the county and the city could come together to maintain an Emergency Room or Urgent Care center in the old emergency room facilities.  While this idea may sound far fetched to some it just might be workable if the city and county cooperate on the idea.  Hopefully the Commissioners Court will hold a public meeting sometime in the future to discuss this project and get public input.

Bottom line is that there is still a lot to be decided, and as Judge Young stated during the meeting not a done deal just yet.  However, it does have its pros which I personally believe outweigh the cons.  This is definitely a work in progress and the final decision is still down the road a good way.  If it is doable it would be a win win for the city and county.

BREATH OF FRESH AIR

I have made several of the Commissioners Court meetings in the last few weeks and can tell you that Judge Young is truly a breath of fresh air.  His manner during court is positive and optimistic.  While I am not a great fan of power points, I think they are over used; his power points are concise to the point and readable

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His explanation of the agenda items is to the point and not overdone.  Not to be critical of his predecessor, but Dave sometimes lost the average listener by getting off point during his explanations.  Judge Young's comments on economic development are positive.  As he says there are good things coming to Milam County whether we like it or not.

During the last court meeting it was reported that Precinct 3 would be getting 70,000 dollars from Treadstone Oil Company to help maintain CR 358 which has a tremendous amount of oil field traffic on it due to the increased oil production in the area.  There was also discussion on making Milam County a film friendly county.  There is a lot of money that comes along with any kind of film production.  You might say it is CSG economic development.  They come, they spend and they go.

My only real criticism is in the way the meetings are being conducted.  Instead of being seated with the court members like a formal court meeting the Judge moves about the room, more like an instructor.  I must say that it does make everything a bit more informal, but not sure that it maintains the decorum of the Commissioners Court meeting.  Just something I have to get used to. 

The other issue I have is that the agenda items are all listed as if they had already been approved.  The listings are approve this or approve that on the agenda items.  During the last meeting there was one item that was listed as approve, and it wound up being tabled.  Perhaps the agenda items should be prefaced with Discuss and take Appropriate Action.  Just a thought, but then again as they say; 254 counties in Texas 254 ways to do anything in county government.

Judge Young has taken the bull by the horns and is working hard to get things done in the county.  He has the energy and vision to do the job.  We all need to get behind him and his efforts to move Milam County forward.  His positive vision about the county and our future is certainly a change from his predecessor.  Truly a breath of fresh air in the courthouse.

  

THERE IS A NEW JUDGE IN TOWN

There is a new Judge in town.  Newly elected Milam County Judge Steve Young was sworn in on January 1^st.  His main campaign rhetoric was similar to his predecessor Dave Barkemeyer.  His campaign promises were to go after economic development and better roads for the county.  I attended his first Commissioners Court Meeting on the 14^th, and I can tell you I believe he is the real deal.  

He certainly has taken office at a good point in time for the county.  Looks like there will be a lot happening out at the Alcoa property in the future.   I am not speaking of Bitmain, but another new tenant that will be much larger than Bitmain.  My sources told me to think of the biggest thing I could think of and the new resident is going to be much bigger.  Judge Young echoed these same comments at the meeting.  We should know sometime before the end of April just exactly what and how big it is going to be.

Back in October I wrote an article about the serendipity that was occurring and would occur in the future at the Alcoa property.  Judge Young went on to mention that what was happening at Alcoa he or the county had no control over.  He added that all elected officials and citizens of Milam County could help by welcoming whatever new business was to come to the county.  Things will continue to happen at the Alcoa property, and all of Milam County will benefit
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Judge Young's use of the power point during his presentation was excellent and very professionally done.  The text was actually visible in the back row.  Even my old man eyes could read the slides.  His overall approach to the meeting was much more upbeat.  Very refreshing to hear positive things presented in a positive manner.  I left the meeting feeling optimistic about our future.  Only thing that I heard negative was one of the media attending was upset that he did not follow the agenda.  A minor issue for a first timer. 

The energy and enthusiasm Steve exudes is refreshing.  As he said during the meeting there is not a whole lot the county or judge can do to make it happen, but we can all help it happen with a positive and welcoming attitude.  I do not mean to criticize Judge Barkemeyer he served during some tough times and did a good job with what he had to work with.  Judge Young is stepping in at a good time to ride the wave headed our way, and I know he will do a great job at moving Milam County forward.