This Week

Donley County Commissioners filed a proposed $4.2 million budget this week for fiscal year 2025, and Judge John Howard says it does not include money for a Texas Historical Commission grant for courthouse work.

The proposed budget does continue to set aside $50,000 for preservation of the 1890 Courthouse, but in their regular meeting on Monday, commissioners tabled action on a grant received last week from the THC because it was not the grant the county had applied for.

Donley County was ready to put up about $820,000 as an 18 percent match for a grant that would have funded $4.6 million in continuing restoration and preservation work to the Courthouse. THC instead approved the county for a 50-50 matching grant, which meant the county would have to provide $2.3 million for the project.

Howard says the county cannot do that, and talks are continuing with the state agency about how to move forward.

Howard says the county matching funds are in the bank ready to go if the state and county officials can figure out a way to proceed. A budget amendment could be passed later in the fiscal year if needed to cover that.

The proposed budget does see several increases in expenditures, but the county’s tax rate is actually going down slightly. County employees will see varying raises in the budget, but the most significant raises are those in the Donley County Sheriff’s Department, which are funded by a grant through Senate Bill 22.

Another grant program in the proposed budget includes money from FEMA that will help buy generators for several locations in the county for use during emergencies.

A third grant funded program will employee a second highway safety officer for the county to help patrol highways since the DPS presence here has been reduced.

Howard said the county is also proposing funding for a new road hand position that will be shared between all four precincts. The new employee will be charged with clearing and maintaining all the rights of way along county roads. Trees and other vegetation growing into the rights of way has become a problem over time, Howard said.

Commissioners will hold public hearings on its proposed budget as well as the tax rate on August 26 at 9 a.m.
See the public notice in this week’s Enterprise for more information.

The Clarendon City Council accepted resignations from two people and appointed a replacement for one during its regular meeting last Thursday, August 8.

Alderman John Lockhart submitted his resignation after ten years of service to the city. The council accepted his resignation with regrets and agreed to wait until a future meeting to name a replacement for Lockhart to serve until the next election.

The council also accepted the resignation of Ken McIntosh, who had just recently been appointed to represent the city on the Greenbelt Water Authority Board. McIntosh said he was not able to attend the Greenbelt meetings since he is working at that time.

Aldermen unanimously named Cameron Word to take the city’s seat on the Greenbelt board. Word had expressed interest in the position and indicated his willingness to serve in that capacity.

In other city business, the council conducted the annual evaluation of City Administrator Brian Barboza. After meeting in executive session for about half an hour, the council returned to open session and took no action on Barboza’s contract. Mayor Jacob Fangman said the council will consider it further at a future meeting.

The council voted not to approve a request to close and vacate portions of Leroy, Ninth, and Tenth Streets in the southwest part of the city. Aldermen agreed those streets and the adjacent alleyways should remain available for future use.

The council approved a motion naming City Administrator Brian Barboza as the authorized representative for day-to-day operations for all city personnel.

Aldermen also voted to clarify Ordinance 510, which allows for city utility bills to be paid on the following business day if the due date falls on a holiday or weekend. The council added those payments are due by 5 p.m. the next business day.

Aldermen took no action on broadband services bids so that members of the council have time to review the bids received.

The employee handbook was amended regarding the incentives for employees acquiring additional certifications.

Gregory Outley was named as the city’s new animal control officer in Barboza’s administrator’s report.

The city will hold a called meeting on August 22 for a budget hearing.

Clarendon saw a slight dip in sales tax revenues for August when Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar distributed monthly allocations last week.

The city’s revenue dropped 2.68 percent to $47,425.53 compared to the same period in 2023. Despite the drop this month, Clarendon remains up 2.11 percent on the calendar year-to-date with sales tax revenues of $340,635.54.

Hedley was up 85.26 percent from $1,450.02 last August to $2,686.32 this month. That community is up 20.03 percent for the year-to-date at $10,790.33.

The City of Howardwick was up 23.54 percent from $1,784.57 a year ago to $2,204.67 this month. The lakeside city is still down 11.44 percent, however, at $12,998.31 after it lowered its sales tax rate last fall.

In neighboring communities, Claude was down 12.23 percent with an allocation of $18,128.66 this month and is down 1.27 percent for the year at $151,881.41. Memphis was down 10.73 percent this month at $38,757.97 and is down 6.76 percent for the year at $262,507.95.

Across the state, Hegar sent $1.2 billion in local sales tax allocations for August, 0.3 percent less than in August 2023.

These allocations are based on sales made in June by businesses that report tax monthly and on sales made in April, May and June by quarterly filers.

Optimum announced Tuesday that due to significant investments made to the company’s local network and infrastructure, area residents and businesses can now access internet speeds of up to 500 Mbps in Clarendon.

With this launch, customers are now able to enjoy a superior internet service that is over 33 times faster than the previous highest speed offered by the company in this market.

This network enhancement comes on the heels of the company introducing its new brand platform and marketing campaign, “Where local is big time,” to customers across its 21-state footprint earlier this year. The new platform centers on Optimum’s ability to bring customers the reach and connectivity resources of a large national provider with the localized care and support of a small business to cater to the unique connectivity needs of each community it serves.

“Optimum is excited to bring faster internet speeds to the Clarendon community, backed by our newly enhanced local network and infrastructure,” said Kathleen Preston, Vice President, General Manager of Optimum West Pacific.

“With this upgrade, our customers in this area can enjoy a superior connectivity experience for their ever-growing data and entertainment needs, and we look forward to continue investing in the strength and reliability of our services in every community we serve across the state of Texas.”

Optimum Internet comes with whole home WiFi coverage with Smart WiFi for seamless streaming, working, gaming and more, built-in security, as well as 24/7 tech support. The company’s Optimum Mobile service is delivered over America’s most awarded 5G network and offers plans starting as low as $15 per month per line.

The company says that in addition, significant savings of over $650 per year are available for residents who choose Optimum Complete, a line of Internet + Mobile bundles that start at just $55 per month for internet service with one mobile line.

For more information on Optimum’s services, local residents can call 866.9.OPTIMUM or visit optimum.com/internet.

A major street paving project is getting underway in Howardwick this week after years of planning and months of negotiations.

Howardwick City Hall said Tuesday that G&G Operators of Dalhart will begin work that will see about seven blocks of hot mix asphalt paving laid down on Rick Husband Boulevard from Dawn Drive, just past the country club, to Dana Drive near the entrance of McMorries Memorial Park.

The project will be a major milestone for the community and will address long-time problems with the city’s main thoroughfare.

“This is a big deal for Howardwick,” City Secretary Sandy Childress said. “It’s been long-awaited and hard fought for.”

The project was originally proposed in 2020 and would have paved Rick Husband beyond City Hall, but escalating costs caused the project to be whittled down. When G&G’s bid was first accepted in January of this year, the paving was only going to cover 800 feet from Dawn to Porter, about one block. Since then, city officials have negotiated and approved change orders to the project that allowed for a much greater distance to be covered.

“Basically, we found ways for the city to do more of the work,” Childress said. “We’re going to haul off all the old material, and we’re going to do the signage.”

The city also agreed to change the width of the road and will be taking care of tying the new paving into the intersecting streets.
A Community Development Block Grant is paying for most of the $219,499.50 project. The city will cover about $17,000 of that cost.

Childress on Tuesday was busy trying to notify residents of the coming work and the disruptions to travel in the city. Most affected residents have other ways to access Rick Husband. Folks who life on the Tyng Drive cul-de-sac are being notified of a temporary route across private property that will let them get to and from their homes.

The city was also looking into solutions for the school bus route so kids can still get picked up by Clarendon CISD.

Childress says the project is supposed to take 60 working days with the city hoping for an October 5, 2024, completion date.

It was good news and bad news for Donley County last week when the Texas Historical Commission awarded a $2.3 million grant to help fund preservation work on the 1890 Courthouse.

While county officials were pleased the THC recognized the importance of preserving the Texas Panhandle’s oldest functioning courthouse, they say the grant was not at all what the county had applied for.

County Judge John Howard said the county had applied for a restoration grant to complete more than $4.6 million in needed repairs, specifically to address conservation of spalling sandstone and problems in one of the building’s masonry walls.

The county had pledged a match of $820,000 in its grant application, which amounted to an overmatch of 18 percent instead of the required 15 percent, in hopes of securing the necessary state funds to do the work.

But when the THC made its announcement last week, it awarded Donley an emergency grant, which requires a 50 percent match. In other words, the county would have to put up $2.3 million of its own money to get the state’s $2.3 million to complete the $4.6 million project.

“It all comes down to whether or not we were ‘fully restored’ in 2003,” Howard said. “We believe we were not because there was work that was not done.”

At the time of the original restoration two decades ago, several items – including the stone conservation, masonry repairs, and a fire suppression system – were deleted from the scope of the project to stay on budget.

THC, however, holds that Donley County was fully restored and is therefore only eligible for an emergency grant.

Howard says the county has 30 days to accept or reject the grant and says commissioners will consider the matter during their regular meeting next Monday.

The county has been putting money aside for this work for several years, so it has the $820,000 on hand. Howard said commissioners may consider scaling back the project and seeing if the state will match its $820,000.

The judge himself is reluctant to accept the grant as it was awarded because it would require an additional tax burden to borrow the funds needed for the match, and he says now is not the time for that.

He said the county could also reapply later if the Legislature allocated more money for the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program.

The THC last week awarded matching grants totaling $46,224,812 to nine counties to aid in preservation of Texas’ iconic historic county courthouses, including four grants for full restorations.

Donley, Duval and Refugio counties received Emergency Grants to address critical issues endangering these courthouse buildings and impacting their use.

Comanche, Kimble, Van Zandt and Willacy counties received full restoration grants. Castro and Gonzales counties received Planning Grants that will create planning road maps for future restoration work.

The 13th round of THCPP grants were made possible through a $45 million appropriation by the 88th Texas Legislature. An additional $3-4 million is anticipated in September 2024 from the Historic Infrastructure Sustainability Trust Fund.

The THC received applications from 31 counties requesting grant funding of nearly $150 million for projects totaling over $200 million. The agency determined grant awards by assessing 23 criteria including the building’s age, endangerment, historical designations, the project proposals, local support for the project, county revenue and more. This round includes a new scoring criterion, longevity. The new criterion provides points for previously unsuccessful applicants that recognize the county’s ongoing commitment to these preservation goals.

Emergency grant requests were scored based on seven criteria, while emergency requests for previously restored courthouses were scored on 14 criteria.

“The requests we received this year demonstrate both the counties’ enthusiasm and their need for the funds this program provides,” said THC Executive Director Joseph Bell. “We look forward to partnering with these nine recipients and preserving their real histories and authentic characters.”

Howard said Donley County appreciates the THC grant and the state’s recognition of the importance of the local courthouse, but he said commissioners will ultimately have to do what’s in the county’s best interests.

The Clarendon CISD Parent, Family, & Community Back To School Bash will be held Monday, August 12, from 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.

Clarendon Elementary School parents and students can meet the teachers that evening starting at 5:30 through 5:50 for students with last names beginning with O-Z, names A-G will be 6:00-6:20, and names H-N will be 6:30-6:50.

Clarendon Junior High and Clarendon High School students can meet their teachers in Bronco Stadium beginning at 6:00 p.m.

The overall Back To School Bash at the stadium will feature pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, chips, and water; and organizations will be selling homemade ice cream, tea, lemonade, and t-shirts. Those in attendance can sign up that night for Little Miss Cheer and Donley County 4-H. Games will be available for the kids to play until 7:15 p.m., and the district will hold its annual Title I meeting that evening.

The evening will wrap up with the annual Meet the Broncos event starting at 7:30 p.m.