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KERR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT
Emergency Session
Friday, May 16, 2003
4:45 p.m.
Commissioners' Courtroom
Kerr County Courthouse
Kerrville, Texas
BURN BAN
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PRESENT: PAT TINLEY, Kerr County Judge
H. A. "BiJSTER" BALDWIN, Commissioner Pct. 1
DAVE NICHOLSON, Commissioner Pct. 4
ABSENT: WILLIAM "BILL" WILLIAMS, Commissioner Pct. 2
JONATHAN LETZ, Commissioner Pct. 3
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On Friday, May 16, 2003, at 4:45 p.m., an emergency
meeting of the Kerr County Commissioners Court was held in
the Commissioners' Courtroom, Kerr County Courthouse,
Kerrville, Texas, and the following proceedings were had in
open court:
P R O C E E D I N G S
JUDGE TINLEY: Okay. It's -- it's a bit past
4:45 local time in the afternoon on this 16th day of May, so
I will call to order the special emergency Commissioners
Court meeting scheduled this time, notice having been posted
more than two hours prior to this on this date. The only
item on the agenda is consider and discuss imposition of
burn ban for Kerr County. Commissioner Nicholson, this was
something that you were seeming to have an acute interest
in.
COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: I've talked directly
to the -- to the Ingram Fire Chief and the Hunt Fire Chief,
and they are alarmed at the dry conditions in west Kerr
County. And while I'm not an expert on firefighting, I can
see that the grass is awfully dry, wind's high, humidity's
fairly low. And while we were sitting there in the fire
department, we heard the call over the radio that there's a
brush fire out at Comfort; called in the the volunteer fire
departments. Maybe the fire departments -- volunteer fire
departments overreact a little bit. You guys -- at least
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Buster's got a lot more experience than I do with this, but
I agree with them; I think we need a burn ban. So, I
propose -- I move that a burn ban for Kerr County be
established for 90 days, to be effective immediately, under
the terms and conditions that the Commissioner of each
precinct is authorized to suspend the burn ban by written
direction to the Kerr County Commissioners Court
Coordinator.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay. I'm going to
second that motion. I have a question.
JUDGE TINLEY: All right. Motion's been made
and seconded that the burn ban for Kerr County be imposed
for 90 days, to be effective immediately, as stated by
Commissioner Nicholson, seconded by Commissioner Baldwin.
And your question, sir?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Yes, sir. I just want
to make sure that I understand this. This program of each
Commissioner being able to call a burn ban in -- in his own
precinct, is that program just -- is that the 90-day, and at
the end of the 90-day, you have to renew that for another 90
or 20 or whatever? You know, I want to establish a burn ban
in my precinct today. Do I need to fill out something?
MS. SOVIL: No, you're calling a burn ban
county-wide. This -- the way the court order -- he has
moved will allow each Commissioner to lift it in their
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precinct, and at such a time, then they can put it back on
in their precinct during the 90-day period.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Is that what we did
when we were putting it on and off?
COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Commissioner
Baldwin, I've also put on the agenda for our next
Commissioners Court meeting an item to -- to look at the way
we effectuate burn bans and see if we want to do something
different, and at that time I'll be able to hear what your
experience has been with these kind of things.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: It didn't bother me.
It's just -- you know, the -- the fact the that many times,
particularly in the last two or three years, it seems that
Commissioner Letz can get as much as 3 inches of rain, and
you and I don't get a drop. And so, you know, just -- we
need that leeway, I think.
COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: I think we do.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: And I, as well, called
my Fire Chief out at Turtle Creek, and he highly recommended
that we move forward with this. And, as always, I always
talk to City of Kerrville Fire Department, and, you know,
they never say, "Buster, you got to go out there and put a
burn ban on," but they say, "Conditions are not very good
out there." So I take that as an encouragement. So --
JUDGE TINLEY: Your motion, then, would
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impose a county-wide burn ban for 90 days, ar_d during that
90 days, each Commissioner, for his respective precinct,
would be allowed to file something in writing with the
Commissioners Court administrator to lift the burn ban in
their precinct, or if a burn ban has previously been lifted,
to notify the Commissioners Court Coordinator that the burn
ban in that Commissioner's precinct is reimposed?
COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Yes.
JUDGE TINLEY: Is that the understanding I
have?
COMMISSIONER NICHOLSON: Yes.
JUDGE TINLEY: That's your understanding?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: That's exactly the way
I understand it.
MS. SOVIL: I have a question. Are we going
to post it on our web site?
MS. PIEPER: Our web site's been down
since --
MS. SOVIL: No, it's back up.
MS. PIEPER: Is it?
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Who's doing it? 911?
MS. SOVIL: No, 911 has their own web site,
and it is on there right now. It should have gone on at
4:45 -- at 4:55. And --
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: This is a four, and
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this is a five.
site.
MS. SOVIL: Yes, sir.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Okay.
MS. SOVIL: And -- but remer~
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Right.
MS. SOVIL: And our HEAT number will be
back -- is back in effect also, 792-HEAT. You can find the
status of the burn ban in your precinct. It's a public
number.
COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Judge, would you
just -- for clarity, would you go over that one more time?
And so we can --
JUDGE TINLEY: The motion is that the burn
ban be imposed county-wide in Kerr County for a period of 90
days, effective immediately, with a proviso that each
Commissioner, during that 90-day period and for that
Commissioner's precinct, can lift the burn ban as to that
precinct by filing written notice of the lifting of the burn
ban for that precinct with the Commissioners Court
Coordinator. And if the ban has previously been lifted
during that 90 days by that Commissioner in that precinct,
he can reimpose it by a similar notification to the
Commissioners Court Coordinator.
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COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: Very clear now. And
both of us have visited with the fire chiefs in our
respective precincts, and their recommendation is to move
forward. I'm in agreement.
JUDGE TINLEY: Any further discussion? All
iii favor of the motion, signify by raising your right hand.
(The motion carried by unanimous vote.)
JUDGE TINLEY: All opposed, same sign.
(No response.)
JUDGE TINLEY: Motion does carry. The record
will reflect -- of course, I should have stated this at the
beginning -- that, of course, present are Commissioners
Nicholson and Baldwin and myself, and absent are
Commissioners Williams and Letz. But we do have a quorum,
and therefore the motion and the vote were by majority of
the quorum present. Any further business? I'l1 declare the
meeting adjourned.
(Commissioners Court adjourned at 4:55 p.m.)
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8
STATE OF TEXAS
COUNTY OF KERR ~
The above and foregoing is a true and complete
transcription of my stenotype notes taken in my capacity as
County Clerk of the Commissioners Court of Kerr County,
Texas, at the time and place heretofore set forth.
DATED at Kerrville, Texas, this 16th day of May, 2003.
JANNETT PIEPER,~//Kerr County Clerk
B Y ' ---~-- ~G2~L~.E.~
Kathy~ik, Deputy County Clerk
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Certified Shorthand Reporter
5-1 0-03 enty
DRDi.~R iVO. CE3Q~~1
AP'P'ROVAL DF PURE`J PAPJ FOR H:ERR CDUI'JT`~
Dn this ttie 1Gth d~.y of 1~1ay, cQiQ~,',, +_~pan mat:ian made by
Cammissione~~•^ Pdichuisan, +seconded try Cammissianer^ Paldwin, the
Co+_ir-~t unanimously approved by a vote of 4-Q~-Q~, to declare a
B+_tr^n Pan far^ Kerr Ca+_inty, Texas for `~~ days to sae effective
immediately, +_~nder t:tie terms and canditians that the
Commissioner of each pr^ecinct is a+_tthar^ized to s+_~spend the
P+_tr~n Ban by written direction to t{-+e I:err Ga+_inty Commissioners
Co+_irt caardinatar^. And if the ban has previa+_~s1y peen lifted
d+_iring that 9~'~ days by that Commissioner in th~+at Precinct, he
can reimpose it hey a similar ratification to the Commissioner
Ca+_~rt Coordinator.