Burnet County commissioners agreed Tuesday, July 13, to apply for a pair of energy conservation grants from the state of Texas.
The first is for a $9,000 grant from the State Energy Conservation Office to install a pair of Level 3 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on county property. The county would be responsible for coming up with a 20 percent match, or $1,800.
“This is a new grant and we’re not sure if ‘the shoe fits,’ but we can go out for the grant and we are not bound to accept it if we do get it,” County Judge James Oakley said. “As in previous budgets, we have a budgeted line item for grant matching funds so we aren’t caught without our dime or quarter to put in for our match.”
Oakley said the EV stations would likely be located at the county annexes on Polk (Texas 29) in Burnet and on Steve Hawkins Parkway in Marble Falls or at other facilities owned by the county.
“The topic has come up (in the past) about having charging stations around courthouse (in Burnet),”Oakley said. “The city of Burnet owns the parking around the courthouse and we can’t go out for grants to put equipment on non-county-owned property. It would be the city’s responsibility if they wanted to put a charging station in around the courthouse.”
The second grant from the State Energy Conservation Office is for $75,000 with a 20 percent county match ($15,000) for the Local & County Government Lighting Conversion to LED Lights Retrofits grant. This grant pays to take out old flourescent lighting in county-owned facilities and replace it with new, more-efficient LED lighting.
“This is a much easier ‘shoe’ to fit for the county,” Oakley said.
In other action, commissioners also approved increasing the reimbursement for road & bridge and maintenance workers for work boots from $100 to the same $130 that is currently paid out by the Texas Department of Transportation.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle also brought up a request to look at reimbursing employees who need safety glasses up to $100 for prescription safety glasses, a move that would bring the county in line with the state’s policy.
Oakley suggested the policy would be something to look at for more than just road and bridge or maintenance workers, noting that “jailers sometimes have to be protected from people who might want to spit in their eyes, and as distasteful as that may sound to say, it happens.”
“Would you be okay if we slept on this and looked at all the applicabilities and legalities?” Oakley asked, to which Beierle agreed.
Auditor Karin Smith reminded the court the county does provide protective eyewear to all employees who need them, but this measure would be for prescription safety eyewear only.
In other action, the county also chose nine members and two alternates for a county salary grievance committee. This is done every year by statute and the county chose all the members of the committee from people who recently served on the grand jury, rather than including any public officials on the committee.
Members include Emily Williamson, Marble Falls; Eddie Mendiola, Granite Shoals; Milton Vance, Marble Falls; Randall Stuckey, Marble Falls; Eleanor Tullier, Lampasas; Adam Lee, Bertram; Marissa Feild, Lake Victor; Ernest Schuster, Burnet; and Sandra Hopkins, Bertram. Alternates are William McCarty, Burnet, and Madeline Taylor-Howard, Burnet.
