Commissioners Court - Regular Meeting

I would like to call this meeting to order, and this morning's invocation will be led by our very own Pastor Darius Todd, if you will please all rise.

Let's bow. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord God, for this new day. We thank you for this gathering that you've brought together, that we, the citizens of this community, have come together to celebrate, to walk in unity, to enjoy your peace, to receive your strength, and to use the grace and the mercy that you've given us in order to lead, in order to serve. We thank you for the rain, for you are renewing us every day. We receive your grace and we thank you for the opportunity to serve. It is in Jesus' name I pray.

All right, will you please call the roll?

Commissioner Inglesby? Here. Commissioner Cohen? Here. Commissioner Hammer? Commissioner Smith?

Here.

Judge Becerra?

Here. All right, so public comments. I like the full courtroom. Good job and thank you. We have two ways to sign up to speak when we open an agenda item and just general public comments, which is what we always go to first. If your name wasn't called under the public comments and you signed up under the agenda item but you wanted to speak in public comments, I have the capacity to pivot your request and give you the time when you wanted it. So if we can start with our first person.

Rodrigo Amaya.

Oh, and Mr. Amaya before we start. And there are an abundant number of folks that have signed up to speak. And when that happens, I ask to respect everyone's time and to respect the whole overall process. When the timer goes off, don't make someone push you off the podium, please. two, three more words and kneel the podium to the next speaker. So Mr. Amaya.

Judge Court, last time we were here, Judge, I was having trouble by what was happening on the dais. I would advise for you not to get involved in discussions up there because it doesn't look very judge-like. Some of the folks that or in attendance are very skilled, being former lobbyists and things like that, so they know how to pick a fight. It makes you look bad. It's supposed to be civil here. This is not the place to engage in that kind of stuff, especially when you're talking about something as serious as data centers. After that discussion, I was very troubled that an official here would come up here and convince you and all of us that there's nothing that you can do. You know, now I have information. You know, with these data centers, you got folks like Aaron Brockovich, and you got folks putting legislation to stop data centers. You know, there's a bunch of information about some of these guys are going to start building up in outer space. Some of this legislation is forcing these data centers to create their own power companies to, you know, provide the energy and all that stuff. So there's lots of stuff to do. So it is very, very insulting to hear an elected official come up here and just say, there's nothing we can do. I'm telling you right now, Judge, I'm 52 years old, and I've been in a lot of battles in my life. There's always something you could do. We don't ever take anything for granted. We stand up against anything that's illegal, unethical, or immoral. I don't care who it is. And if you're on the other side, Jesus Christ better be holding your hand. So that was very insulting to hear an elected official say, don't be making any kind of effort to save our water and all that stuff. It doesn't work. Those are nothing but techniques that lobbyists use to plant fear so that you don't do nothing. Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir.

Next we have Alana Beattie. Alana Beattie.

Thank you. Honorable Judge Becerra and the Hays County Commissioners, my name is Alana Beattie and I reside in Chaparral Park about a mile from the proposed Hays Commons development. I respectfully request the members of the Commissioner's Court vote no and or remove items K-6 and K-7 from consideration on today's agenda to allow for public participation. The variance request referenced in both items to reduce lot size minimums would create a very high density development over the recharge zone, which jeopardizes the water supply of many of the surrounding residents. The developer, Miles Community Builders, as Hayes Commons LLC, asked for a variance of the Save Our Springs ordinance from the city of Austin to increase impervious cover limits from 15 to 25%. They were denied this request last year. They are now attempting to do the same thing in Hayes County knowing full well that what they're attempting to do would irreparably harm the aquifer and the surrounding ecosystem. The county development code requiring a .75 acre lot minimum over a recharge zone is written to protect the groundwater supply from contamination. A variance that brings lot sizes down to .2 acres should not be granted simply to allow a for-profit company to meet their profit margins. The justification for the variance is misleading, and the math is not correct in item K6 and K7 paperwork. Additionally, the DA allows for a 10% increase in the number of single family lots, which would further decrease lot sizes, increase the density, and increase the amount of impervious cover over the recharge zone. The hardship findings in the variance request state that the minimum lot size requirement imposed by the county would require the development of the entire property, and this neglects several facts. The entire property is not developable because there's a creek bed, an associated floodplain covering almost 100 acres of the property, and known karst features over much of the property. The fact that this land is over the recharge zone means that it should not be developed with such high density, plain and simple. Nothing else in the immediate area was built violating the county development codes, and profit is not a valid reason to allow for a variance. Going forward, due to the precarious state of our water supplies, we should be holding these large corporations to a higher standard to protect our resources, not be more lax about subdivision regulations. If the developer didn't do their research and bought land they can't develop for profit, That's on them. It is not the county's responsibility to ensure their profits. This is not the first time that milestone community builders have sought a DA from the county. In 2023, the commissioner's court voted no on a development agreement for the same tract of land, stating that you all needed proof of water and wastewater. Here we are, three years later, and they still don't have proof of either. Hayes Commons has not secured a water supply, and their TLAP application with TCEQ is being protested. Please vote no on items K6 and K7 or remove them from your agenda, and I implore you to deny any variance requests now and in the future for Hayes Commons. Thank you.

Thank you. Very timely and perfect timing. Next speaker.

Chris Knight.

Hello, I'm here to speak on K6 and K7 as well. This is a neighborhood I grew up in. It's one of the rare neighborhoods that still has a forest. I think that kind of shows that the area should be protected since this is so rare now. people who live there have trouble with their well sometimes. My parents themselves have had their well run dry and the water longer comes out of the faucet or anything like that and we know neighbors the same thing has happened. By making this development there would be even less water they'd be using a lot of the water for their development and also All the surfaces they would put on top of the aquifer would allow less water to get in. We should vote no or at least stave off Cave 6 and Cave 7. This was snuck in pretty quickly. I wasn't informed until late last night that I would be coming here and talking about it. I don't think anybody would accept this in their neighborhood that they know so well. I don't think anybody here would like it very much if their water was under jeopardy. We've already been in a five-year drought, one of the worst Texas has ever seen. This would only help to solidify that. So yeah, there's a few reasons there's life on Earth. one being the gases that created the atmosphere, our position from the sun, and water. And water being one of the three reasons there's life on Earth, I think that means we should protect it thoroughly. So please vote no or stave off Cave 6 and Cave 7 so that it can actually be brought to the people to be able to talk to. Thank you.

Next up? That's all for the public comments. Okay. So that concludes public comments, and the rest will be written or for the agenda item itself? For the agenda item. Okay. And what I will do is, right after presentations and proclamations, I will go straight to K6 so that those that want to be a part of it, signed up to speak, don't have to wait until 4 in the afternoon. And also, K7, because I am the sponsor of K7, I hear you loud and clear. I will not open it, just so you know. Please open F1.

F1, presentation of April 2026 Service and Retirement Awards.

Good morning, Doug. Good morning, Commissioners. My name is David Riggs. I work in human resources. It's my pleasure today to be here to present to you the April Service Awards. We're going to start with our one-year service award and proceed from there. For one-year service awards, from our Constable Precinct II Department, we have Gilbert Verastegi. From our County Judge's Office, we have Christian Oden. From the District Attorney's Office, we have Alberto Luna. From the District Attorney's Office, we have Natalie Moulin. From the District Attorney's Office, we have Christopher Powell. From the District Attorney's Office, we have Loie Val Rodriguez-Ceres. From District Courts, we have Tracy Baluskit. From Emergency Management, we have Aiden Kubish. From our Juvenile Detention Center, we have Anthony De La Rosa. From the Maintenance Department, we have Hernan Hernandez Cardona. From the Sheriff's Office, we have Roxy Haig Marchant. From the Sheriff's Office, we have Ryan Sampson. And our final one-year service recognition from the Sheriff's Office, Michael Schubert.

Any of those names that have been called, come on up for a picture. We're going to take a group pic, and let's give them all a round of applause for their one year. They're working. That's a good sign.

Our next category are our five-year service award winners. Our first person is from the District Attorney's Office, Shelby Griffin. From the Information Technology Office, Joseph Bowden. From the Information Technology Office, David Mustard. From the Juvenile Detention Center, Matthew Steele. And from the Sheriff's Office, Dayton Cullen.

Anyone that was just called, come on up. Round of applause.

For our 10-year Service Award winners, from the County Court of Law, to Christopher Alaniz. From the Sheriff's Office, Alexander Pino. From the Sheriff's Office, Eli Rosales.

Our last category for today is our 20 year service award winner

From the district clerk's office, Robert Elliott.

ROBERT ELLIOTT. ROBERT ELLIOTT. One, two, three. One, two, three.

And this month we do not have any retirees.

F2. F2. Presentation of Quarter 1, 2026 Compliance Training Recognition Awards.

Good morning, Judge and Commissioners. My name is Kayla Doyle. I am the Senior Learning and Development Specialist in the Human Resources Department. This past quarter, we launched countywide compliance training through our learning management system, Knowledge City. This is our first time assigning training across all departments, and I'm proud to share that the county achieved an 86% completion rate. That's over 1,000 employees completing their training countywide. Today, I'm here to recognize the offices and departments that reached 90% or higher. Your commitment to training helps ensure we are better informed, better prepared, and better equipped to serve our community. I also want to highlight a few standout accomplishments. 24 out of 44 departments reached 100% completion, That's 55% overall. The Tax Assessor Collector's Office was the largest department to achieve 100% with 34 out of 34 employees completing training. And the Sheriff's Office reached an impressive 96% with 443 out of 460 employees completing training. all assigned training. That is a huge accomplishment. So we'll handle this similar to service awards. So when your department is called, please come up to the front to receive your certificate from Commissioner Hammer. We'll take a group photo of the departments with 100% completion, then followed by a group photo for those in the 90% range. So departments with 100% completion, first we have the budget office. combined emergency communications center, commissioner precinct one office, commissioner precinct three office, the constable precincts one through five, the district clerk's office, elections, the extension office, the Health Department, Human Resources, Justices of the Peace Precincts 2-1, 2-2, 3, and 5, Judicial Services, Juvenile Probation, Parks and Natural Resources, the Purchasing Office, the Tax Assessor Collector's Office, and the Veterans Services Office. And that is all for 100%.

There's no way we're going to get that many people up here, so let's create three spaces, one here, one here, and one here. There you go. Come on up. Come on up. Congratulations. Hold on. Hold on one second. One second. One second.

Everyone, calm down. Sorry. Can I go in order with what we've got? Because they're all out of order, one, and then two, we don't have one of them.

That's okay.

Okay. That's okay. So the Hayes County Tax Office, can you all come up here? Perfect.

Yay.

The Hayes County Budget Office.

Development Services.

Judicial services.

Facilities and research management, resource management.

So those haven't been called yet because they're in the 90% range. So sorry.

I'm sorry to do this to you, but since you're 100, it wasn't for a whole lot of fun. Come on up here. Sorry about that. Let's come on up here. We can manage this crowd. So the office.

Commissioner of Precinct 1 office.

Is that also 100%? Yes. Yes. Okay. I won't do anything.

Commissioner precinct three over here. Yes, elections. I don't know either.

Elections won't be there. Yeah, sorry.

All right, then call 90%. We'll just do them all at once.

Okay.

Hold on, because there's more.

Do you all just want to go up there, and then we'll give you all your certificates? Okay.

They have theirs.

Yeah, for y'all that were called for 100%, y'all can go up there.

Parks and Natural Resources.

And then the Parks and Natural Resources Office.

Yep, they're right here.

Sorry, Human Resources Office. There you go.

If HR didn't get it, we would have to. Constable Precinct 5 Office. John Allen. The district clerk's office. Yes, district clerk's office. Perfect.

We're very unorganized over here. Here we go.

All right, did we get everybody? Congratulations, ladies.

Yes.

Thank you. Y'all's certificate, though?

Congratulations. Hello.

Congratulations to you.

Click it right here. I know. All right.

One, two, three. One, two, three. Awesome. All right.

Thank you all, and congratulations on that good work.

Congratulations.

Okay, all right. So now the departments with 90% or higher completion. We have the Sheriff's Office at 96%. Information...

Hold your applause until the end so that we can hear their names.

Information Technologies with 96%. The County Clerk's Office at 94%. development services at 92%, and then at 90% we have facilities and resource management, the treasurer's office, and the transportation department.

Thank you.

Do we have anyone here from the treasurer's office?

That's okay. I'll take it back. All right.

All scrunched together. Looking right here.

One, two, three.

One, two, three. Thank you all again for your hard work and for your commitment to training and service.

Please open F3.

F3, adopt a proclamation recognizing May 4th through May 8th as Economic Development Week in Hayes County.

Second.

Whereas more than 100,000 economic development and related professionals worldwide are committed to creating retention. creating, retaining, and expanding top-tier opportunities that foster long-term equitable community growth, and whereas for generations the economic development profession has cultivated thriving neighborhoods, championed sustainability and resilience, strengthened economic prosperity, enhanced quality of life, and built robust tax bases. And whereas economic development professionals operate across diverse environments including rural, suburban, and urban communities, local, state, and national governments, public-private partnerships, chambers of commerce, institutions of higher education, and similar organizations and associations. And whereas economic development professionals serve stewards of progress, connecting residents, business leaders, elected officials, industry executives, and educational institutions to advance job creation, community investment, infrastructure improvements, and long-term opportunity. And whereas the continued success of Hays County, Texas, it's strengthened through collaboration among its communities, including Buda, Dripping Springs, Kyle, San Marcos, Ulan, and Wimberley, working in partnership through the Hays-Caldwell Economic Development Partnership to thrive regional growth and shared prosperity. and whereas economic developers contribute to the continued strength and vitality of Hays County within the state of Texas, building on past achievements while shaping a resilient and prosperous future, and whereas since 1926, the International Economic Development Council and its preceding organizations have advanced the profession globally, marketing 100 years of leadership dedicated to fostering growth, innovation, inclusion, sustainability, and resilience in communities of all sizes. Now, therefore, it be resolved that the Hays County Commissioner's Court hereby proclaims May 4th through 8th, 2026, as Economic Development Week in Hays County, Texas, celebrating 100 years of impact, reflecting on the progress achieved, honoring the professionals who strengthen our communities today, and inspiring the next century of economic opportunity and growth. Adopted this the 28th day of April, 2026. Perfect.

Please call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith? Yes. Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. And would anyone like to speak on this item?

Perfect timing. Perfect timing.

to put you on the spot, but here you go.

Thank you, Judge and Commissioners. We are on development week. Yes, coming up here May 4th through May 8th. We appreciate you taking this moment to honor economic development and we enjoy working with you guys and everything we do for the county.

Thank you, perfect.

And who are you and who are you with?

Emily Mathis, I'm with the Hayes-Caldwell Economic Development Partnership. Beautiful. Thank you.

Emily, it is customary for us to take a picture with these resolutions, proclamations. First, we give the commissioners a chance to say something, and then we'll do a pick.

I just want to say thank you for the many great projects that you all brought to us. And the fact is that you all drive the employment, number one, we have here. But the absolute growth we have could not be – we couldn't sustain it unless we had good companies coming in. And anybody can grow, but growing the right way is very hard. And you all do a great job of helping the right companies come here. And we're better for it. We have an employment base coming out of Texas State that knows that there's going to be jobs and they can live in our community for the foreseeable future. And I appreciate it.

Richard Hammond. As someone who graduated from Texas State and then stayed and loves this area and loves everything about Hays County, I do think that we are making the steps always in the right direction from an economic development side of things. You listen to us, you hear us out, because we represent the community. So we listen to the community, we bring it to you, and then y'all pick the right companies to target. And couldn't say thank you guys enough. Commissioner Cohen?

Well, just thank you for being here. You know, I want to thank all the economic development, like the chambers, everyone that does that work, bringing good business to Hays County. It's so important for the vitality of our county. And thank you so much personally for doing all the work that you do on our behalf. So I appreciate that.

Thank you so very much. I mean, it's really a blessing and a pleasure to have you all working for us. And you all do do great work. And so I really appreciate it. everything that you do for us and vitalizing the county and surrounding areas. So thank you.

It's important that people understand the growth we've had as not only a county but a region for so many years. helps pay for law enforcement, fire, road repair, and all those other things. And so, although it's very useful and good on the tax base to have the development of more taxable bricks and mortar, we've got to remember that it is important, and you do a good job in executive session to listen. I know when I say, for example, it's not either or, it's yes and. Let's not plant lawns, let's do crushed granite and cactus and indigenous plants, you know, the natives of the community, the region that don't require watering. It's three things in my head. It is pro-environment, pro-community, and pro-business. And we can do all three. It's just about which business, it's about which location, it's about timing, and it's about a complexity of things, a kaleidoscope of issues. Because we all need to work. We all need to have a roof over our heads. We all need to enjoy this beautiful place we call home, the trees, the rivers. And we've got to take care of our neighbors. And you help glue that conversation and bring it to light in a meaningful way that we can all benefit from. So thank you for that. Let's come on up for a picture.

Judge, I would be remiss if I didn't say we have Hayes Caldwell here. But the city of Kyle EDC has done a phenomenal job. And I also want to recognize within my precinct, the city of Buda. They were just nationally recognized as an outstanding EDC in the nation. And so we enjoy some great economic development engines here. for the county, but it's not just these guys. They do an amazing job, but we have people working all throughout the county to try to bring businesses here for the right reason.

That's right. I'll mirror that. We do say it is a team sport because we work so closely with all of our communities. That's right.

So those tied to the economic development, come on up.

All the way up. Looking right here.

One, two, three.

One, two, three. Beautiful. Thank you guys very much.

All right, let's open this to the next one.

F4, adopt a proclamation recognizing May 2026 as ALS Awareness Month. So moved.

Second. If you'll please read it.

Whereas... Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. It's a progressive fatal neurodegenerative disease in which a person's brain loses connection with their muscles, slowly reducing a person's ability to walk, talk, eat, and eventually breathe. And whereas thousands of new amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, Cases are being reported every year and estimates show that every 90 minutes someone is diagnosed with ALS and someone passes away from ALS. And whereas on average patients diagnosed with ALS only survive two to five years from the time of diagnosis. And whereas the exact causes of ALS are unknown and there is no known cure for ALS. Whereas people who have served in the military are more likely to develop ALS and die from a disease than those with no history of military service. And whereas securing access to new therapies, durable medical equipment, and communication technologies is of vital importance to people living with ALS. And whereas clinical trials play a pivotal role in evaluating new treatments and enhancing quality of life and fostering assistive technologies for those living with ALS. And whereas the ALS Association is the largest philanthropic founder of ALS research globally and committed more than $154 million to support more than 550 projects across the United States and 18 other countries. And whereas the ALS Association is committed to make ALS livable and cure it for everyone everywhere, and whereas A Myotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month provides an opportunity to increase public awareness of the dire circumstances of people living with ALS, acknowledge the terrible impact this disease has on those individuals and their families, and support research to eradicate this disease. Now, therefore, it be resolved that the Hayes County Commissioner's Court hereby proclaims May 2026 as ALS Awareness Month. and do hereby call all Americans to join in supporting ALS research, advocating for increased funding, and standing in solidarity with those affected by this relentless disease. Adopted this the 28th day of April, 2026.

All right. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Smith? Yes. Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. And is there someone here to speak on this item? if you'll state your name and if you have a title with an organization.

My name is Renee Hill. I'm sorry about my voice. And I appreciate you hearing this proclamation. I lost my husband to ALS three years ago. It's a terrible disease. It took him so quickly. He had a diagnosis in October of 2022 and he was deceased six months later. As the proclamation states, it is degenerative, it takes away their voice, their walking ability, their eating ability, their breathing ability. So I do appreciate you here in Hays County doing that so that people can become more aware of this terrible disease. There is new research being done and they're finding some new drugs to help prolong the lives of people. So thank you so very much, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Commissioners, anything?

Yeah, I just want to say thank you so much for coming. I had the privilege earlier this month for the entire Austin area, the Ride for Life, the ALS Ride for Life. If you don't know about it, it's a phenomenal event. It's actually been hosted the last couple of years in Wimberley. And it's not my precinct. It's in Commissioner Hammer's precinct. But I was privileged enough to represent the county and speak at that event. And I don't know how many of you all paid attention when you walked into the courtroom today, but did you see the name on the door? It's the Judge Burnett courtroom. And Judge Burnett, he served here, but his son also served in the Precinct 3 office, and he lost his wife a number of years ago, who was a friend of a lot of us, to ALS. And so it's very special to us, and I appreciate you taking the time, and I'm so sorry for your loss.

Thank you. I'm so sorry for your loss. It is probably one of the most... kind of not knowing, you know, not having that peace and not having a cure. I can't even imagine what that would even look like or be like. And, I mean, it affects, it doesn't matter how much money you have at all. It could potentially cost your life. So thank you for coming and speaking. I know that that's probably pretty hard to do. But your testimony and what you talk about is important for everyone.

Agreed. Commissioner Cohen.

I'm so sorry for your loss, and thank you for being here, and thank you for advocating for your husband as well and for everyone else with the disease. So thank you for being here.

Yeah, I just want to repeat everything that our members have said. I know it takes a lot of courage. And I was going to mention a former family member who also lost his wife. And so thank you, Commissioner, for saying that. But it's wonderful to bring awareness. It's unfortunate that it's such a deadly disease and it takes people quickly. But we appreciate you being here. Thank you so much.

And he was in the military, so. He helped our country, too. Thank you.

President Obama Well said. Well said. And thank you for your family's commitment to our country for their service. We can take a picture down here. What do you guys think?

Is that a good idea?

Okay. Would you mind coming up for a picture? Anyone tied or interested in being in this picture? We're going to take it right here.

Okay, looking right here. One, two, three.

Please open F5.

F5, adopt a proclamation recognizing April 2026 as Autism Awareness Month.

So moved. Second. I'll read that one, please.

Whereas Hays County recognizes that autism is a natural variation of the human experience and autistic individuals contribute diverse strengths, perspectives, and ways of being that enrich our communities. And whereas autism spectrum disorder affects individuals across all racial, ethnic, cultural, and social economic backgrounds with recent estimates indicating that one in 36 children in the United States is identified as being on the autism spectrum. And whereas autistic individuals may experience the world differently in communication, sensory processing, social interactions, and learning. And these differences should be understood, respected, and supported rather than stigmatized. And whereas many autistic individuals and their families face barriers to accessing timely diagnosis, inclusive education, healthcare, employment opportunities, and community-based supports, which can impact quality of life and long-term outcomes. And whereas stigma, misconceptions, and lack of awareness continue to create challenges for autistic individuals, often leading to exclusion, discrimination, and unmet needs. And whereas promoting autism awareness is acceptance, help, and acceptance helps foster a more inclusive, accessible, and compassionate community where autistic individuals are valued, supported, and empowered to thrive as their authentic selves. And whereas early identification, culturally responsive services, and person-centered supports can significantly improve outcome and support autistic individuals across their lifespan. And whereas it is the responsibility of our community to advance equity, accessibility and inclusion by promoting environments that honor neurodiversity and support individuals of all abilities. And whereas the Hays County Health Department, alongside community partners, advocates, families, educators, and organizations through the county, continue to demonstrate leadership and commitment to increasing awareness, expanding access to resource, and uplifting autistic voices in Hays County. Now, therefore, it be resolved that the Hays County Commissioner's Court do hereby proclaim April as Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month in Hays County and encourage all residents to participate in efforts to promote understanding, inclusion, and support for autistic individuals and their families. Adopted this the 28th day of April, 2026. Thank you.

Please call the roll.

Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. Commissioner Inglesby?

I think Matthew Gonzalez is going to lead this, Judge.

GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS MATTHEW GONZALEZ. I'M THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR. ONE OF THE GOALS OF THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DIVISION IS REALLY TO BE THAT LIGHTHOUSE IN HELPING OUR COMMUNITY FIND THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH. AND WE REALLY WANT TO SERVE AS THAT FACILITATOR AND GUIDE FOR THESE DISCUSSIONS. I'm ensuring that everybody gets the opportunity to reach their optimal health. Leading that charge is Dr. Isabella Vigil and she's here with us and she'll be speaking on that as well as the organization with us.

Good morning, judge and commissioners. This proclamation is extremely important to me. I serve as a behavioral health coordinator here. I go by Dr. Vigil or Izzy. And it's an honor to stand here to proclaim autism awareness and more importantly, autism acceptance. I want to begin by naming something that is deeply personal. I am an autistic and neurodivergent individual, and I use identity first language because language is personal and it should always reflect the individual. And for me, being autistic is not separate from who I am. It shapes how I think, how I connect, and how I lead, and I'm very proud of that. And for too long, autism has been framed through a lens of deficit, something to fix or reduce, and I stand here today as both a professional and as a neurodivergent individual to say that autism is not a limitation. It's a different way of thinking and experiencing the world, and that difference carries strength, creativity, and insight. And earlier in my career, I worked as a therapist serving children on the autism spectrum, and I saw brilliance every single day. I saw problem solving, deep empathy, attention to detail, and ways of thinking that challenge and expand how we understand the world. And that experience continues to guide my work today as I focus on shifting how our community understands and supports autism. And acceptance means building systems and spaces where individuals on the spectrum are respected, included, and positioned to lead. It means moving beyond simply recognizing autism and creating environments where neurodivergent individuals can thrive. And to those in our community, who are autistic or on the spectrum, I want to say this clearly, you are not defined by someone else's expectations, you belong in leadership, you belong in decision-making spaces, and you belong exactly as you are. And in recognition of Autism Awareness Month, I worked alongside our adult and youth mental health working groups to create a community zine. And this pocket-sized booklet shares lived experiences from individuals across Hays County. It offers autism literacy and includes local and national resources so individuals and families can find support and connection. And I have copies with me here today and I'd be glad to share them with y'all. And thank you for your time, your leadership, and your commitment to community where autistic individuals and people with autism are respected, included, and supported. And I'm also joined by an organization from one of my working groups. We work very closely together, and I just wanted to give her some space to talk about the work she does.

Good morning, judge and commissioners. My name is Aspen Flowers. I'm a licensed master social worker in two states, and I'm the founder of Nomi's Framework. Acceptance requires more than just a shift in mindset. It requires a shift in systems. I stand before you as a neurodivergent individual who grew up in a time where there was limited knowledge and access for autism and ADHD. While clinical knowledge has advanced, there are still many gaps that are very present. For instance, in the education system, statistics show 30% of neurodivergent children are not identified until they are showing active concerns and signs. 50 to 60% of those children still face significant barriers to access the services they need for their diagnoses. When we force neurodivergent children into a one-size-fits-all mode, we don't just lose their potential. We miss the diagnoses entirely and leave them without a map. I come to you with over 13 years of clinical research and analyzing the education system in Title I districts. My goal was simple but urgent, to bridge the gap between a struggling student and a supported one. This is why I developed Nomi's Framework. It is a community-level intervention designed to provide parents, teachers, and community members with the tools to identify the physical and clinical clues of autism and ADHD. My framework empowers clinical awareness, support structures, and systematic empowerment. Nomi's Framework ensures the signs are no longer overlooked, And I am here to help Hays County lead the way in autism and ADHD empowerment for the neurodivergent community. And I want to thank you for your time.

The President The President The President The President The President The President The President

Good morning, Judge and Commissioners. Many of you know me. My name is Divya Ropolo. I'd like to say thank you so much to the Hays County Health Department for this proclamation and also Commissioners Cohen and Inglesby for sponsoring it. I'm standing here before you today as a parent of someone who is on the autism spectrum. My son Joseph, they have a different way of seeing things and they are some of the most inspiring people that I know. They teach you to see things in a different way, to appreciate things that we often take for granted. And they are so very intelligent and they are often so underestimated for their abilities. I could go on and on about how wonderful people are on the autism spectrum and I think it's just outstanding that this proclamation has been made to give them the awareness that they so richly deserve and that people realize what a vital part of the community that they really are. Thank you for this opportunity to speak.

Thank you so much. Commissioner Inglesby? Oh, boy.

Well, Judge, first of all, I want to thank Matthew and his entire staff. And to Dr. and Izzy, thank you for sharing your story. I mean, you are thriving. You're such a beautiful young lady, and we are so fortunate to have you, so thank you. And I wanted John, Debbie, Joseph, Jonathan, thank you all for being here. They've been great friends of the family for such a long time. And it's such a pleasure. If you go to the big HEB, Jonathan is there with a huge smile all the time. And so a thriving member of our community. And thank you all so much for being here.

Commissioner Coley. First, Dr. McNeil, thank you so much for sharing your story with us. Like Mr. Inglesby said, you are an example of someone who can lead and prosper and do so many great things in your life and give back. And sharing what your accomplishments with autism, it's remarkable, right? And I so appreciate you sharing your story. I want to thank the health department for everything that they are doing to address this in the county. And to you being here this morning, thank you so much for sharing your story as well. Commissioner Allen.

To everyone who came up and shared their story, thank you all so much. I really like how we're moving as just an entire society into a completely different realm. The proclamation says strengths, and I know we said that it used to be viewed as a deficit. I think the strength part is extremely important because you're right. They recognize things that we do take for granted. I love the giving everyone an opportunity to thrive and not just feel accepted. That's very important and to respect differences as we evolve as a society. So I think we're going in the right direction and I'm so happy to bring awareness to this.

Commissioner Smith.

I'm so glad you spoke, Izzy. As a parent of a neurodivergent, high functioning individual, diagnosis is really hard. And there's a toll that's taken. And one of the things I'm most proud, whenever I walk out the door on December 31st, one of the things I'm most proud of is the work that I've been able to do with Commissioner Inglesby and Commissioner Cohen specifically to start a true health department here, a stand-alone health department. But our behavioral side, it's something that's always been very personal to me, but over the last two years it's gotten really personal because of that diagnosis. And I just wish people understood the true empathy that those children and those who have been diagnosed and even those undiagnosed and the stigma that they have to deal with. And so I thank you for your work. And I just thank our health department for the work. I'm sorry.

Thank you. I would like to add that when sitting in office, sitting in this gifted seat that I hold, I am witness to all of these stories every time they come. And it does. It does if you're if you give it half a chance, it shapes, it changes, it shifts your paradigm as an individual, as an elected official. We went to South by Southwest just a few, I don't know, I guess maybe a couple months ago, and one of the classes we sat in on was about how veterans and everyone in that space is dealing with the diversity of and the looking glass and the complexities and how to communicate with neurodivergent and how to interact in those spaces. And I got to be honest, I didn't know what neurodivergent was. I'm like, I don't even know what that means. And so this whole thing helps us all. It's a gift. And everyone, you said it so eloquently. I was so happy to hear how you spoke about it so perfectly because They are just looking glasses. We are all just humans moving through this experience. And I don't know if you believe in God or not. It kind of doesn't matter to me. But my point is you make a deal with God is how I see it. And then you're going to move through this life with that deal you've made. And those are the transactions. Those are the situations. The difficulties, the gifts, the complexities, whatever they may be, to move through this life in a way that will share new lenses, new experiences, new perspectives, and then ripple into those around you. Just so well done, and thank you because, Commissioner Hammer, you said it. The more we are in this space together, the more we realize we are all somebody's loved ones. We are all someone's daughter, son, mother, father, sibling. And the more we treat each other through that lens, look at each other with loving eyes, the easier and more patient we will be with one another. So thank you all for your comments. And it is customary for us to take a picture. Anybody want to be a part of a picture? Come on up.

Thank you. Thank you.

One, two, three. One, two, three.

Please don't win F6.

F6 adopted proclamation recognizing May 2026 as Mental Health Awareness Month. Whereas half of the population will experience some type of mental health challenge over the course of a lifetime, and whereas mental health challenges are one of the most common health conditions in Texas, affecting one out of six adults and impacting both the person experiencing the condition and those persons who love and care for that person. And whereas 36.8% of adults in Texas reported symptoms of anxiety and or depressive disorder compared to 32.3% of adults in the U.S. And whereas 3,577 individuals in Hays County sought services from Hill Country MHDD centers in FY 2025. And whereas people with mental health illnesses make important contributions to our families and our communities and can recover if given the necessary services and supports in their communities. And whereas creating a community where everyone feels comfortable reaching out for the support they deserve is crucial to ending the stigma surrounding mental health and mental illness. And whereas each business, school, government agency, healthcare provider, organization, and citizen shares the burden of mental health challenges and has a responsibility to promote mental health wellness and support preventative efforts. and whereas the Hays County Commissioner's Court wishes to enhance public awareness of mental health and diminish the associated stigma. Now, therefore, it be resolved that the Hays County Commissioner's Court does hereby recognize May 2026 as Mental Health Awareness Month in Hays County and calls upon the community to increase awareness and understanding of mental illness, reduce stigma and discrimination, and promote appropriate and accessible services for all people with mental health conditions. Adopted this the 20th day of April, 2026. Please call the roll. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Smith? Yes. Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes.

Judge Becerra?

Yes. Commissioner Inglesby?

Oh.

You want to say anything?

No, go ahead. This is your item.

But still, I'd just like to give people a chance.

Yeah. Is someone here to speak on this, Judge?

Just in case. Do we have someone here to speak on this item? Yeah. I usually just give the time to speak, not necessarily tied to the ownership of the agenda item.

Hello, my name is Jaycee and I'm the Assistant Clinic Director for the LMHA for Hays County at our San Marcos location. We do have another location in Kyle. I just want to say thank you, Judge and Commissioners, for recognizing me as mental health awareness as we deal with kiddos, adults who struggle on a daily basis and the work that we provide is Amazing as we can see someone recover and recovery is different for everyone I also want to say thank you for recognizing as I just said It's a time to recognize the importance of emotional well-being and reduce the stigma around seeking support as a lot of those struggle with voicing that they need the help. I also want to mention that our San Marcos mental health clinics, know it as the Scheib Center, are hosting a mental health fair May 28th from 5 30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and we would love to see y'all join. We're going to have, I'm blanking on the word, I totally forgot the word. We're going to have different organizations there to kind of offer all the mental health supports.

And I will say, it was said a couple of times, MHDD, I just want to tell the viewing public so we don't lose anyone, Mental Health Developmental Disabilities. So the name of the main organization is Hill Country, MHDD, that's what that stands for. And thank you so much. Would you like to come on up for a pick? Anyone tied to this? Or did you guys want to add some comments?

I want to say a few things. I'm I'm very privileged to represent the county on Hill Country's board. And one of the things that we took a real hard look at as a court, especially early on in COVID, was additional mental health, both support financially but programmatic changes here in the county. And that stems all the way from the establishment of a mental health court, which we now have a fully functioning, well-operating mental health court here. But early on in COVID, one of the things that was really important to me was trying to use some of the COVID money to go to the individual school districts to set up mental health facility or not necessarily facilities, but have mental health facilities. AVAILABILITY IN EACH ONE OF OUR SCHOOLS. WHAT I FOUND WHENEVER WE LOOKED AT THAT AT THE TIME WAS OF THE FOUR OPERATING ISDs IN THE COUNTY, ONLY ONE OF THEM HAD A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL ON STAFF AND THAT WAS DRIPPING SPRINGS AND IT STARTED OUT OF THE DRIPPING SPRINGS EDUCATION FOUNDATION, THE SUPPORT ORGANIZATION FOR THE ISD. I was on that board and we were able to do that. From the seed money that we did from Hays County, and I commend each of my commissioners because at the time we each got an allocation out of ARPA funds, American Recovery Plan funds. We were able to provide $200,000 to each one of those ISDs specifically to hire mental health professionals and to start mental health programs. And now all of them have their own mental health program that they've taken over, that they're funding themselves. And we see kids on a daily basis use it. Just as an example, we were hoping with the establishment of the one in Dripping Springs that we would have 100 participants or 100 students who would reach out and say, look, we need the help. How can you help us? What do we have? Within the first six months, we had over 400. The need is exponential, especially in that age bracket, that junior high, high school age bracket, and the need is sorely under-recognized. And again, I'm really proud of the work that my colleagues did with me and with the health department in expanding behavioral health, where traditionally we had only done physical health.

Commissioner Hemmer?

I feel like a lot of the times children of people with mental health issues, they get ignored. As someone who grew up with a single mom with some severe mental health issues, you know, you grow up a lot faster. People don't recognize it at school or any of those types of things. But I think supporting kids or trying to figure out and And really gauging on what their home life and their home situation looks like is extremely important. I love to bring awareness to this, because I think if you consistently bring it up and your schools can recognize some of the signs and the symptoms of that, then they might feel more supported. So I appreciate recognizing this, and I'm excited, too. We're heavy. We're heavy hitters, this court. Commissioner Cohen?

I just want to thank... our health department for their work in the mental health realm and all the providers that are doing that work every day, especially the school districts. Sometimes they are the front lines of what they see every day in a child and can recognize when there's help needed, even when the kids aren't asking. And thanks for reminding me about that, Commissioner. that, yeah, we did help support our school districts with a mental health counselor, an additional one, because they were over capacity. And so I know they need so much more help, but I'm glad as a court we were able to do that for them. And I'm just so grateful for those counselors that are doing that work every day. So thank you for being here.

Thank you, Judge. Yes, thank you so much for being here and bringing this recognition or awareness to us. I do want to thank the Mental Health Court also that has done a fantastic job in providing the services and the programs that are needed for individuals that shouldn't be in our jail but should be getting the help that they truly need. Matthew in the Behavioral Health Division has done a fantastic job also just spreading the word and getting information out. And I do want to thank this court also because we have implemented many programs that have just been extremely helpful to our community. So thank you all each.

That's right. And Commissioner Smith, you touched on what I thought of immediately, and that was during COVID. No one ever thinks about COVID anymore, it seems, maybe. But it landed on all of us, all of a sudden, ready or not. And we all dealt with it. And through my lens in that space representing the county, I watched the awareness increase and the consideration and the effort to address it. spread like a wildfire and I was so grateful to see it. I consider that a positive byproduct of us living through COVID because we never knew anymore who just lost a loved one, whose sibling was just admitted to the hospital on a ventilator. I mean, there's just so many things that were going on and it taught us, I feel, as a society, a positive, I'm an eternal optimist, that everyone's carrying something. We're all moving through this in a difficult way and some are making it like that little girl on the TikTok or whatever it was, you're winning, you're winning at life. I love that little girl, right? But not everybody's in that moment every time, all the time. And so this is a great pause and a reminder that we're all moving through this and again, it's good stuff. And we've gone a long way from where we were. Yes, sir.

I would just say that You make an excellent point about COVID. The thing that I would say is we have a generation of young people who lacked that physical interaction and lacked that emotional connection, whether they were in elementary school or whatever. And we're going to be dealing with what I would consider mental health crisis for a long time because of what those kids went through. And if we don't have continued programs like what we're establishing here for the long term, we're going to have much more problem, many, many more problems in the future, whether it's in our, and specifically those kids will end up in our judicial system. And that's not where they need to be because they got a bad start because of what they went through with COVID.

Exactly right. And that's why I'm so grateful that this court has supported initiatives to care for our community in meaningful ways. And we can probably talk for an hour straight of all the ways we as a court have supported each other's initiatives to move things along in a meaningful way for our community. And we're all better for it. You could choose to be a fiscal conservative and say, I don't want people sitting in jail that don't need to be. And so it's the judicial reforms and modernizations. It's about assessing things earlier. I mean, it's just we all benefit from better caring for one another. So thank you very much. And there was one more ask of Matthew was to thank CORE for, because Core 4, Matthew, if you'll grab that microphone and tell the community what four organizations they are. Give me that chance to speak of it and what we do.

Yes, sir. Thank you, Judge Posada. Matthew Gonzalez, Hays County Health Department. Core 4 is a partnership between the City of San Marcos, Hays County, Texas State University, and San Marcos CISD to address youth concerns across Hays County, specifically as well within San Marcos. During the pandemic, Judge Bassetta and Board President Ann Halsey created the Mental Health Task Force within that to address mental health concerns. And so I really want to just give them a shout out as well. And the other partners like Cinecor who's here that's helping address mental health needs.

Beautifully done. Thank you very much. just quick thing may 28th from what time to what time is your mental health fair 530 p.m. to 7 p.m. okay yes well done thank you now we've already voted just making sure yep okay now everyone interested in being a part of this picture come on up we're almost done with proclamations folks hang in there

Thank you. Well done, Sharon. Thank you. No, I'll be here. Hello. Hey, how are you? Sorry, I tried to get you to sit in the corner. Thank you. Oh. Oh. Oh, you're good. You're good. Oh, my God. Ready? Tidy up. One right over here.

One, two, three.

One, two, three. One more. One, two, three. Thank you. Please open F7. F7, adopt a proclamation recognizing April 29, 2026 as National Fentanyl Awareness Day.

If you'll please read it.

Whereas Hays County recognizes that fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that has contributed to a growing number of overdose deaths across Texas and the United States. And whereas fentanyl is often mixed with other substances such as counterfeit pills without a person's knowledge, making an even small amount potentially deadly. And whereas Texas continues to face significant challenges related to substance use disorder. opioid misuse, and fentanyl poisoning impacting individuals, families, and communities across the state. And whereas families, schools, healthcare providers, first responders, and community organizations have all felt the devasting impact of fentanyl-related poisoning and overdoses, especially among youth and young adults who remain vulnerable. And whereas substance use disorder is a treatable medical condition and recovery is possible, when individuals have timely access to prevention, treatment, counseling, peer support, and recovery resources. And whereas education, prevention, early intervention, treatment, and access to life-saving resources, such as Naxalon or Narcan, are essential tools in protecting the health and safety of our Hays County residents. And whereas reducing stigma surrounding substance misuse encourages individuals and families to seek help and support without fear or shame. And whereas we honor those who have lost loved ones to fentanyl poisoning and recognize community resilience, healing, and advocacy. And whereas collaboration among local government, law enforcement, public health agencies, educators, higher education institutions, and community partners in critical and addressing the fentanyl crisis. And whereas we alongside our community partners, families, educators, and organizations throughout the county continue to demonstrate leadership and commitment to increasing awareness and expanding access to resources in Hays County. Now, therefore, it be resolved that the Hays County Commissioner's Court do hereby proclaim April 29th as fentanyl awareness and overdose prevention day in Hays County and encourage all residents to participate in efforts to promote awareness, education, and access to life-saving resources that protect individuals, strengthen families, and save lives. Adopted this the 28th day of April, Well done.

Please call the roll.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Smith? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. And someone here to speak on that? Matthew? Remember, it's a unique item, so name and title.

YES, SIR. GOOD MORNING, JUDGE PICETTA AND COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS MATTHEW GONZALEZ. I'M THE HAYES COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR. AS I SPOKE EARLIER, PART OF THE MISSION BEHIND THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DIVISION IS TO BE THAT LIGHTHOUSE HELPING HIGHLIGHT RESOURCES FOR THE COMMUNITY. BUT PART OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S MISSION IS ALSO SOCIAL MARKETING, WHICH IS HELPING CHANGE THE BEHAVIORS OF OUR RESIDENTS TOWARDS POSITIVE OUTCOMES. And we can really accomplish that work through the work with our partners that are nonprofits, but also academia. And so here to talk about that work is going to be Dr. Isabella Vigie, again, along with Texas State University, followed by a letter from Chief Bailey.

Good morning, Judge and Commissioners. I'm Dr. Vigil. This is going to be very brief. I just wanted to highlight the work that Dr. Clary at Texas State University is doing through FESTA. If you want to go ahead and talk about the work you do. And we work very closely together through our working groups, so I'm very thankful.

State your name and title for the viewing public.

Good morning, Judge and Commissioners. My name is Dr. Kelly Clary, and I am a substance use social worker, educator, and researcher. and I'm truly honored to be here this morning. This morning we come together not just to recognize a fentanyl awareness proclamation, but to truly recognize a reality that is affecting communities across our nation. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. What makes fentanyl especially dangerous is not just its potency, but its presence where people don't expect it. It is increasingly found mixed into counterfeit pills and other substances, often without a person's knowledge. Many individuals who experience an overdose never intended to use fentanyl at all. Through programs like the FESTA program, which is focused on education, prevention, and community partnership, we emphasize one simple but powerful truth, knowledge saves lives. When people understand what fentanyl is, how it shows up, and how quickly it can act, They are better equipped to make informed decisions. When communities are trained to recognize an overdose and respond, especially with naloxone, or commonly known as Narcan, we create more opportunities to save a life in critical moments. This is not just a public health issue, it is a community responsibility. It requires collaborations between school districts, healthcare providers, first responders, policy makers, as well as families. It is about making sure that every person, especially our youth and young adults, have access to accurate information, practical tools, and the confidence to act when it matters most. Today's proclamation is a commitment to continue educating, to continue partnering, and to continue showing up for one another. Because when we share knowledge, we don't just inform people, we give them the power to save lives. Thank you.

Well done. Commissioner Eaglesby?

Is there a letter from, I think Matthew said we had a letter from the chief?

Yes, we have a letter from the chief, and then as well as the sheriff.

Okay, great. Let's go with Commissioner Eaglesby, and when we're done, we'll go to that.

Okay. Well, Judge, I really just want to thank Izzy, Doctor, Izzy and Doctor from Texas State. It's what a wonderful collaboration. Commissioner Cohen, you might be able to help me because I don't recall her name, but the mother from Hayes, Janelle, lost her son. She really fought hard to bring that awareness, and I really appreciated her passion and the work that she did to bring awareness to the community like never before. It's a horrible issue that we have. Unfortunately, many times people don't know that they're taking it. But I just want to thank you all for the work that y'all are doing and that we need to just continue to remember that this is still going on and we need not to forget that. So thank you.

I would like to invite Janelle from Forever 15 to say a few words because she has done some incredible work in the community in this regard, and her partnership with the sheriff's office has been amazing. I would love for her to come say a few words there, right?

John Aucott, Jr.: Janelle, we always want to hear about NOAA.

Janelle, I'm so sorry. I couldn't recall your name, but I just remember the fantastic work that you have done, and thank you for your partnership.

So to be honest, I did not know why I was supposed to be here today at 9 o'clock, but now I know. Yeah, so in August of 22, our son Noah was 15 years old and passed away from fentanyl poisoning. We were losing so many kids that year here in Hays County, and I grew up here. you know, in Hays County and I knew that I didn't want any more of our kids to die. So Brandon and I attended a press conference in Kyle about a month after Noah passed away where we were approached by Sheriff Cutler and the outreach team to helped him spread awareness around the community. You know, when we were ready, I replied that I was ready that day. And a week later, two weeks post funeral, Brandon and I partnered up with our sheriff's department and started spreading awareness around the community. So thank you, commissioners. I mean, every single person sitting up there today has helped. us in so many ways, in more than one way. And I mean that truly. You guys have been an instrumental part of a nonprofit we didn't even want to start. But we wanted Hays County to be known for something more than just losing all of these kids, right? So what we meant for Hays County, we just wanted to warn parents and students about fentanyl and the dangers of it, has now gone international. We travel all the time, nationwide, speaking to kids and parents in conferences, and anyone who wants to learn more about fentanyl and hear Noah's story. So we are very, very proud of the support and thankful for the support, like truly, truly thankful because without everyone's support, we wouldn't have been able to do what we're doing. So thank y'all so much for still like acknowledging that this is still a problem, you know, And not just like, oh, that was then. Like, it's still a problem today. So, thank you. Thank you.

Commissioner Hammer?

I had the opportunity to hear Janelle speak and Mark Andrews and before it was Sheriff Hippolito. And that was just such an amazing presentation that they put on. I mean, for an awareness perspective from a testimony perspective because your testimony is powerful. Noah was a great kid and did great things and I'm so sorry for what happened. So I'm glad that we can continue to bring awareness to it. So yeah, thank you for sharing and to consistently share and to spread your message, to travel to Mexico, to do all of the things and it's probably one of the most important things you can do to help our kids. So Let's continue in that right direction, and I know we are moving in the right direction, but you're right, it's still a problem, it's still an issue, and we still need to consistently spread awareness on it.

Commissioner? So many people I want to say thank you to. And for those of you who are unaware, and I know some of my colleagues will remember it, when we first had the first deaths at Hayes Consolidated ISD, I went to Sheriff Cutler and I said, I don't know what we can do, but we've got to make people aware of this. And from some money I was able to scrape together, we did $20,000 to the Sheriff's Department to do a targeted outreach program. And at the time, we had a new deputy who just came to us from APD. Y'all know him as Sheriff Hippolito now. And I said, we need somebody who is a true outreach person to start this. And so Sheriff Cutler put Deputy Hippolito in charge of it with our outreach team. And I see Mark back there as well. And they started doing, they said, what do you want out of this program? And I said, I want you to speak to every PTA organization. I want you to speak in every school. And I want you to figure out how we can address this. Within eight months, and Janelle, I might get the numbers wrong, but it was eight or nine months, and they'd already done over 200 presentations. And if you haven't heard Janelle's story, I sincerely encourage you to look up Forever 15. Pull out your phone and look at it and learn about NOAA and learn all the great things they did. Within a year, I was getting calls from elected officials in Canada because the materials and the presentations that they were doing were even known there and they wanted to use those materials because they just didn't have them. It was such a new epidemic that no one understood how to address it or what really the impetus behind it was. Within a year after that, Janelle was testifying before Congress. It made me really proud that we saw an issue here, and we chose to try to address it head on. And there's a lot of communities out there that haven't done that. And to Janelle's point, it's not something that is done. It wasn't, oh, yeah, that happened, what, three, four years ago now. And it's gone away. It's with us. And it's going to be with us for a long time. I continue to always be impressed with our outreach team at the Sheriff's Department. I would say we went from, I remember the first conversation I ever had with Janelle. She goes, if I can just get a billboard on I-35, we can make people aware. Like her only goal, whenever we talked, was not to educate the world. It was all I need is a billboard. Can you help me buy a billboard? We've come a long way from that. I want to thank not only our SO, but our DA's office for being so proactive and going after as the highest sentences they can for the people who are dealing this in our community. They've taken a unique approach to it. And I think there is an understanding in our community now that if you deal in fentanyl, you could get charged with murder. And I think it's well thought out and it's worked. We've had several convictions here. I would also like to recognize Hays CISD for being proactive because I can tell you that whenever we first started this, I had discussions with other ISDs within Hayes County, and they said that's not our problem. That's a Hayes Consolidated issue. It's an issue countywide, and now all of them recognize it, but Hayes Consolidated was very proactive developing materials for their educators and their students and their families. And I think I'd be remiss if I didn't mention them as well. And I just want to say, again, I know I said it four times now, but thank you so much for our sheriff's office because our outreach team took this. with the level of seriousness, that it wasn't just something that they needed to talk about and then it wasn't an issue, it was an issue that was gonna go away. They understood that this was going to be a long-term, what has turned into a long-term success story for us because I think we've turned that horse around, but that horse is always gonna be in our barn. We're always gonna have to deal with it. But they've made tremendous strides in working with our community and trying to educate everyone on this issue.

Well said. And I will say that when you said we took it head on, I'm thinking headwinds. That's exactly what happens. When you're tip of the spear, you get to next the resistance and the fight. And because of those things that were happening in our county, in our community, I signed on with UT Health Science Center in San Antonio and was part of a pilot program as early adapters for Narcan. Because if you'll remember, it was illegal to have it. It was actually illegal to give it to people, and I thought that was such a terrible thing. And I couldn't put my head around why we wouldn't want to have some tool that could help someone that has been poisoned. I mean, that's just the right word. It really is. You're drinking too much, and you were drunk, okay, or you were smoking marijuana, and you got high. But this is literally a poison that's being added to anything. And so that changes it. And that's why I understand the... the strong sentence. It makes sense because it really is a poison and naming it that is right. And I'm just grateful that I think it's legal now that everyone can have access to it. But I remember it was almost like contraband to have those Narcan instances.

Judge, I would add to that. One of the most dangerous things related to this, and our sheriff's office can correct me if they think I'm wrong, but one of the most dangerous things that we have related to this is the fact that Number one, I think having Narcan is great. But when you run into a teenager that carries Narcan in their pocket because they know their friends are using things and it'll be fine because we've got the cure-all here, that doesn't work. It takes base-level education. I agree completely with you, it shouldn't be illegal. But at the end of the day, we have... individuals out there who literally are carrying what they think is their savior in their pocket and it Narcan doesn't always work.

That's right. That's right.

Or the fifth dose of Narcan doesn't always work. That's right.

Anyone interested in taking a picture with this proclamation, please come on up.

We have the two comments.

Oh, that's right. Thank you for the reminder.

This one's from Chief Brett Bailey with the Sheriff's Office. On behalf of the Hayes County Sheriff's Office, I want to express our full support for the Fentanyl Awareness Day proclamation being presented this week. Although I'm not unable to be present in person, it is important to me that this message is shared publicly and on the record. Our agency has been fortunate to partner with Janelle Rodriguez and Brandon Dunn through the Forever 15 project, an initiative that has made a profound and measurable impact not only in Hays County, but across the country and beyond. Since its inception in 2022, Forever 15 has reached more than 10,000 students along with countless parents and community members through conferences and presentations. Their work has extended far outside of Central Texas, even internationally as keynote speakers at a major drug conference in Mexico City with no expense to Hays County. I also want to recognize Anthony Hippolito, who dedicated more than two years to personally participating in these presentations. His commitment alongside Janelle's reflects a level of tenacity and passion that is rare. Together, they have carried this message across communities with one mission, to save lives through awareness and education. Today, that mission continues through Mark Andrews, who has stepped into a key role alongside Janelle. Deputy Andrews represents the very best of this organization, professional, compassionate, and deeply committed to protecting our community. His continued work ensures that Hayes County remains at the forefront of this critical effort. Most importantly, we must recognize the incredible strength of Janelle Rodriguez, Her willingness to share the deeply personal and tragic loss of her son to a fentanyl poisoning in 2022 is nothing short of extraordinary. But she has turned that into a loss, a powerful emotional and life-changing presentation has undoubtedly saved lives. There is no substitute for authenticity. Her message resonates in a way statistics alone could never. That said, the data reinforces the importance of this work. In Hayes County, 2022, marked the highest number of poisonings with 31 incidents and six resulting in death. In 2023, there were 25 poisonings with eight fatalities. In 2024, that number dropped significantly to nine poisonings, six of which were fatal. In 2025, we saw just four poisonings and notably zero deaths. Over the past year from April 1st, 2025 to April 1st, 2026, we have documented only two poisonings, both early this year with none reported since January. While these figures reflect Sheriff's Office data only, they demonstrate the meaningful downward trend while no single program can claim sole responsibility for this program. There is no question that Forever 15 has played a significant role in increasing awareness, changing behavior, and ultimately saving lives. However, we must remain vigilant. As history has shown, drug epidemics evolved from crack cocaine in the 1980s to opioids in the 1990s and early 2000s and now fentanyl. Each wave brings new deadly challenges. Already we are seeing the emergence of carafentanil, a substance significantly more potent than fentanyl and even more dangerous. This underscores the need for continued education, prevention, and community. In closing, I want to thank the court for recognizing the importance of fentanyl awareness. This work matters and it's saving lives. And with your continued support, we will remain committed to this mission for as long as it is needed.

And you have one more, right?

It's for another one.

Okay, very good. All right, anyone interested in coming up for this picture? Come on up.

Thank you. Yes, yeah, you're good right now. So we're seeing a lot of people. Looking right over here. One, two, three.

One, two, three.

Please open F8.

F8, adopt a proclamation recognizing May 3rd through May 9th, 2026, as National Correctional Officers and Employees Week. So moved.

Second. If you'll read it.

Whereas correctional officers are trained law enforcement professionals dedicated to maintaining secure correctional facilities and ensuring the public safety, and whereas correctional facilities across the United States, both civilian and military, public and private, are run by highly qualified and experienced men and women with a deep understanding of the challenges and difficulties within the profession, and whereas correctional officers and employees are responsible for the custody, care, and reform of thousands of offenders every year, as well as the maintenance of safety and secure facilities, and whereas correctional employees work in very demanding and stressful conditions, face many challenges, and put their lives at risk every day. And whereas correctional officers and employees are some of the most resourceful, capable, committed, patient, and persistent professionals in criminal justice and in our nation. And whereas correctional officers and employees serve admirably in many different capacities, including jail administrators, wardens, chaplains, nurses, supervisors, managers, and directors. And whereas correctional officers and employees provided offenders with directions, hope, and a new focus while preparing them from reentry and life outside of corrections. And whereas correctional officers and employees rise to meet any challenge and serve this honorable profession notably and admirably. And now therefore it be resolved that the Hays County Commissioner's Court does hereby declare that the correctional officers and employees deserve the recognition for their service and should be commended by leaders in the profession, the public, and our elected officials for the tremendous job they do and for the exceptional performance of duties in the most difficult of circumstances by declaring May 3rd through 9th, 2026 as National Correctional Officers and Employees Week. Adopted this the 20th day of April, 2026.

Please call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. Commissioner Inglesby?

Judge, can I ask first if there's someone that wants to represent the sheriff's office?

Okay, you got it. We'll have Captain Villalpando state her name and title for the viewing public.

Okay, good morning, Judge Becerra and commissioners. Yes, I'm Julissa Villalpando. I'm the captain of the Jail Support Service Bureau. And in recognition of Corrections Officer Week, we take a moment to honor the dedicated men and women of the Hays County Sheriff's Office. who serve in a vital yet overlooked branch of law enforcement. As you know, corrections officers play a critical role in maintaining safety and order within our facility. However, their work extends beyond security. On any given day, they may serve as counselors, first responders, and problem solvers in a high-pressure situation. The demands of the profession are significant. often requiring long hours, irregular schedules, and personal sacrifices, including much time away from family and very important events. However, we understand that, and we own that. So a study in 2019 was done by St. Louis University, and it found that 53.4% of the surveyed jail officers screened positive for PTSD, post-traumatic stress symptoms. And the average life expectancy, if you didn't know, for a corrections officer is 59 years old. The realities underscore the physical and emotional sacrifices made daily by those who serve in this role. Despite the challenges, corrections officers continue to demonstrate professionalism, resilience, and unwavering commitment to their duties. This week, as we pause to recognize and honor the men and women who dedicate themselves to this critical profession, their commitment and resilience ensure that our jail facility operates safely and that our communities continue to benefit from a strong foundation of security. Their service does not go unnoticed, and it is deeply appreciated. Now I'd like to turn it over to Captain Saenz, who's going to talk about a design a patch contest and any final words.

Good morning, Captain John Saenz, Sheriff's Office. I want to read a letter from a resident. Hello, so I'm here on a 15-year sentence and 10 concurrent. I at first used to think Hays was a very mean county, but truthfully, it's not. It's structured, fair, disciplined, but understanding to an extent. This county is a true meeting of justice of the peace. Justice was served speaking for me with my sentence, the law, the statutes, and limitations I've come to embrace except that this county may have given me a double digit, but it's fair. Facing 25 years to 15 years and 10 together. In the midst of this, this county jail, the officers listen, have understanding, will work with you in everything, but will remain, in the end, doing their job. Standing firm, but with a fair heart and disciplined authority.

That's wonderful.

We're very proud of everyone. Thank you. Thank you.

Judge, we have a comment from the sheriff.

Okay.

Honorable judge and commissioners, thank you for the opportunity to recognize National Corrections Officers Week to honor the dedicated men and women who serve in Hays County Sheriff's Office Corrections Division. Although I am unable to attend today, it is important to me that my support and appreciation for our corrections officers is clearly expressed. Every day our corrections officers take on one of the most challenging and often overlooked roles in public safety. They are tasked not only with maintaining the safety and security of our jail, but also with managing individuals during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. This requires professionalism, patience, and a strong sense of duty. The corrections officers of Hays County serve with integrity and resilience. They work long hours in a demanding environment, often behind the scenes, ensuring that our facility operates safely and efficiently. Their commitment plays a critical role in the overall safety of our community. Because of their dedication and attention to detail, our facility continues to successfully pass inspections and meet the high standards expected of us. That success is a direct reflection of the men and women who show up every day and do the job the right way. I am incredibly proud of the men and women I have the honor to lead. Their work is not always seen, but it is always essential. They set the standard and they represent this office with professionalism and pride. Thank you again to the Commissioner's Court for recognizing National Corrections Officers Week and for standing in support of these exceptional public servants. They have my full confidence, my respect, and my unwavering support. Respectfully, Sheriff Hippolito.

Beautiful. Thank you.

Thank you captain Thank You judge Well, I just want to thank all the corrections officers that are here today and for the amazing and vital work that you do you know you chose this career knowing that there was a danger, putting your lives in danger. And I just appreciate each one of you. I've got a relative that works as a correctional officer. So, uh, you know, it is important to me and, um, I just appreciate all that you do. Thank you for allowing us to recognize you today.

Commissioner Cohen. Thank you, uh, Captain Villapondo and Captain Sin for being here and to the correctional officers. Thank you so much for the work that you do every day. Like they said, it's, It's not seen by everyone else what you do, but it's so appreciated to make sure that our jail is safe and our inmates are safe and everyone is treated well. And I so appreciate everything that y'all do for us.

It's definitely not an easy job, but it is a job that also needs to be done and needs to be done the right way. And I'm proud of our sheriff's office and our corrections officers for all that they do. thank you for allowing us to give y'all a little bit of a special treatment this week and Accepting that because I also know that y'all are probably the ones that don't really kind of like to live in the shadows But y'all do some really great work, so thanks so much You know I I see Smith and signs and Andrews and everybody else here, but I've made it very clear that my favorite SO is

is Captain Via Pondo. She knows that. And so does the rest of the command staff. If they don't, I'll say it publicly now. I love all y'all, but she's my favorite by far. That being said, one of the things that I always find interesting is the fact that if you look into statistics for COs, the critical incidents that y'all have to deal with on a daily basis, you may... You may ride in a cruiser for 15 years and not see the number of critical incidents that you all see in one or two years in a facility. And I hope you know that that doesn't go unrecognized. We appreciate that, or at least I do. I think one of the other things that the general public doesn't understand is Those officers, and I say that all of our officers are members of our community. And I'd be remiss if I didn't talk today a little bit about Officer Henry. We lost, the last SO we lost was a corrections officer. And it wasn't in the way that you might think. He worked in a jail and he got COVID during COVID. And... He died in the line of duty, just like every one of our officers who had to go through that. And it was a loss to our SO family, but it was a loss to our community. His parents worked at the ISD in Dripping Springs. His brother is the vice principal there. And it was a loss to our community. And I just want you to know that, and I want you officers to know that We recognize you today, but we recognize you not just as an officer, but you're a critical member of our community. And we know you have families here, and you're raising families here, and you put yourself in harm's way on a daily basis, and it's appreciated.

Absolutely. And Captain, it's true. I've now worked with you for almost a decade, unexpectedly. And every time I get a tour of the jail for jail standards and all the things that go on in the jail, I always can't wait to get out of there because it's so claustrophobic to me. I'm a guy that needs sunlight seven days a week. And just to know that your lifespan is shortened, I totally believe it. I totally see it. It's like one of the hardest things to do in my opinion. And I'm so grateful that the new leadership has taken charge with staffing to the fullest capacity corrections officers so that we could have a shared load, more support for one another, and less hustle and bustle, which I think will help lend for a smoother, more peaceful environment, however we can help. So thank you all for what you're doing. Come on up for a picture. Thank you.

Thank you. Let's do that. What a great solution. Can you hold that? You can right here. One, two, three. One, two, three.

Ta-da! All yours.

When we reach the end of proclamations and resolutions, just so you know, we're going to take a 10-minute recess. We'll go to K6 and then we'll go to K1. So, F9.

F9, adopt a proclamation recognizing April 26th through May 3rd, 2026 as Soil and Water Stewardship Week. So moved.

Second. Could you please read it?

Whereas healthy soil and clean water is a benefit to everyone, and whereas effective conservation practices provide the soil, water, animals, plants, and air that can reach and can ensure a rich standard of living, and whereas our security depends upon the robust management of natural resources, and whereas stewardship calls for each person to help conserve these precious resources. Now, therefore, it be resolved that the Hays County Commissioner's Court does hereby proclaim April 26th through May 3rd, 2026, as Soil and Water Stewardship Week. Adopted this the 28th day of April, 2026.

Beautiful. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Judge Basita?

Yes. And who would like to speak on this agenda item? Come on up. And if you'll state your name for the viewing public, sir.

Good morning to the Commissioner's Court. I'm Cliff Caskey. I am the chairman of the Hays County Soil and Water Conservation District 351. And this proclamation goes along with the national observance of what we do. We work with NRCS and the Extension Office because soil and water is so important to us. It's our lifeblood. We try to help ranchers do better grazing so that they don't wear out the soils. By the way, I moved here as the county extension agent in March 1st in 1977, when we had a total of 42,000 people in Hays County. Now, we've got 13 flood control dams. Y'all may not know much of what we do, but we have those flood control dams. They are standing as a problem now because they were built for agricultural rain runoff. We don't have that anymore. The developers are causing problems with the mountain. We've just had a drought, so we don't know what's gonna happen when we really get into some real rains like we've had in the floods that I've been through here in Hays County. But it's important that we work with the farmers and ranchers to control our water flows, how it affects our grazing, so that we assist with cross-fencing and so on, so that we don't overgraze. We work with the farmers. We're not particularly terracing land anymore, but it's still important to work on that. And, you know, When we are losing our land and our farmers and ranchers to this development, and these dams get overflowed because, pardon me, they get overpowered because the flood control dam on York Creek out here off of 123, it's full of water. The federal fish hatchery is pumping water and keeping it full. So what's going to happen when we get a flood with all the building that's been built around it? So we want to bring that up and educate people as to what we need to do. I have with me today board member Nita Lyon Webber, she's our secretary, and our ex-officio member, our county extension agent for agriculture, Savannah Bushcall and we all work together and I want you to know that we're seen on Facebook and we have a program going on at the Extension Office next Tuesday about soil testing and how to do it and we have paid for some people's soil tests to get them in and y'all are all welcome to come. And I won't take up any more time, but I could stand here and talk, Judge, for quite a while. I know you know that, so I'll shut up. Thank you. Thank you so much. Commissioner?

Thank you, Judge. You know, we've talked about and... made aware, have been made aware of so many important issues today but this one is equally important and the conservation and preservation of our water and soils and all our other natural resources and Mr. Caskey I just want to thank you for all the work that you have done for so many years to bring this awareness to us and working with all the ranchers and farmers and I know those are limited now in Hays County but you do so much great work and I just want to thank you for for that for so many years. Thank you so much.

Commissioner Cohen. Mr. Cassidy, thank you for being here today and the continued work that you have worked on sounds like for a very long time. And I'm glad to hear you and I share the same fear. We don't really know where this water is going to go eventually, but I'm glad that we're at the top of many of our minds these days. So thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for being here and for all of your hard work throughout all of the years. When did you say you became an extension agent? 77. 77. So you've been working on this for quite a while, and I appreciate all of the hard work that you and the board and you're consistently looking out for for the county and for your community. So thank you. Commissioner?

May 28th of 93, I went to work for Extension. Believe it or not, my undergrad, I thought I was going to be a county agent. And so my undergrad was ag education from A&M. And what I will tell you is that one of the interesting things that you mentioned, Mr. Cassidy, whenever I I decided not to do that, and I went to work in Congress, of all places. But whenever I did, I worked on the Agriculture Appropriations Committee. I'd venture to guess I'm probably the only person on the dais who's ever had to fill out an EQIP application and manage an EQIP project, but that's the Environmental Quality Incentives Program through NRCS. I don't have an active project anymore, but I've already finished three of them on the ranch I grew up on. But whenever I went to work for the Ag Appropriations Committee, one of the biggest issues that I took to them that I wanted to see addressed, there's roughly 50,000 of those flood control dams in the U.S. Most of them, a lot of them were built by the old Conservation Corps in the 20s and 30s. And they're... Many of them are a failure point. And so I was able to establish a program there for, it's $50 million a year nationwide, and it'll take forever to do it because there are 5,000 of them. But there are programs that we can apply for to try to address that issue. And if you ever want assistance on that, I'm more than happy to look at it and see if I can at least figure out how to get you all involved in the program.

I've toured some of these jumbo dams that we have here, and you're right, they're right around us, and no one even knows they're there. So it's good that you brought that up. And, of course, my family has a long history of ranching and farming, so I truly do appreciate the work you're doing, and the awareness in conservation is critical to our survival. It is our bloodline. So thank you so much. Anyone else that would like to be a part of this picture, come on up.

It's real late. It's real late, yeah. Good job. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Just kidding.

F10, adopt a proclamation.

F10, adopt a proclamation recognizing May 1st through 7th, 2026 as jury appreciation week. So moved.

Whereas the 84th regular session of the Texas Legislature passed a bill in 2015 creating Jury Appreciation Week in Texas, and whereas the first week in May of each year is deemed Jury Appreciation Week in recognition of the outstanding and important contributions made by Texas citizens who serve as jurors, and whereas the work of juries is extremely important to the function of our legal system and the protection of our liberties and freedoms. And whereas Texans appreciate those efforts and wish to express that appreciation formally during the first week of May each year. And whereas this body recognizes that the worthy cause shall be celebrated by the Honorable District Clerk Amanda K. Calvert of Hayes County, Texas, May 1st, 2026 through May 7th, 2026. Now therefore it be resolved that the Hayes County Commissioner's Court of Hayes County, Texas now proclaims the first week of May 2026 as Jury Appreciation Week. Adopted this the 20th day of April, 2026. Beautiful.

Please call the roll.

Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. Now, if you'll tell us your name and title, please.

My name is Amanda Calvert. You're a Hays County District Clerk. Thank you, Commissioners, for supporting this item and Commissioner Hammer for sponsoring it. I will be brief. This is our second year as an office celebrating Jury Appreciation Week. This year our jury day falls on May 4th, so the staff selected the theme of May the 4th be with you for jury duty for our shirts, which I think is great. Good job, everyone. We will be providing snack bags for jurors on that day as a small token of our appreciation. And I just want to say thank you to all that attend jury service. I know it's not the most exciting thing, unless you get picked, then it is. I myself had the privilege of being summoned this year, but I did not get picked, which is fine. I wouldn't pick me either. But I also want to say thank you to my staff for organizing and supporting this event this year. Your work is very much appreciated. So thank you, jurors. And we also invited Sergeant Opiello from the Sheriff's Office to say a few words regarding jury scams. just to help our citizens be more informed and alert. So I'm going to let him speak in a second, and I just want to say thank you again, Hays' home.

Right on.

Good morning. Mark Popiel, I'm a sergeant with the Hays County Sheriff's Office. I'm assigned to our criminal investigation division, so unfortunately I see quite a few of these. Ms. Calvert asked me if I could speak briefly on some of the scams, particularly the jury scams that we commonly see. So the scam usually begins with a phone call, email, text message claiming you failed to appear for jury duty. The caller may say there is not a warrant for your arrest, a fine that must be paid immediately, or legal action pending unless you act right away. They often sound professional. They use official sounding titles. and many times they transfer you to another person in the office to make you believe the agency is legitimate. They have also been known to provide the names of judges, deputies, or court employees, many of whom are actual employees of the agency or county that they claim to represent. Their goal is simple, create fear and urgency so you stop thinking clearly and start complying quickly. Victims are commonly instructed to pay using gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, or mobile payment apps. In many cases, the victim is told to remain on the phone while making the payment. Others are asked to provide personal information such as social security number, dates of birth, or banking details. Let me be very clear. Legitimate courts and law enforcement agencies do not collect fines or clear warrants over the phone using gift cards or digital payment methods. They do not threaten immediate arrest simply because you ask questions or request additional information to verify your affiliation with the agency that they claim to work for. So how do you protect yourself? First, slow down. Scammers rely on panic and fear. Take a moment before responding. Second, verify independently. If you receive a suspicious call, hang up, contact your local court, sheriff's office, or police department using an official phone number you locate yourself. And third, never provide personal or financial information to unsolicited callers. Fourth and most important, educate family members, especially older relatives, about these scams. Awareness is one of the best defenses anyone can have. If you believe you were targeted or victimized, report it to your local law enforcement agency and the Federal Trade Commission. Scammers succeed when people feel rushed, afraid, and intimidated by the perceived consequences. They fail when communities stay informed, ask questions, and verify before acting. Remember, while serving on a jury is critical to our judicial system and we appreciate those who serve, we also recognize that it can be inconvenient. However, falling victim to a jury-summoned scam can not only be inconvenient but costly as well. I urge everyone to educate your friends and family about these scams so they do not end up sending money to a stranger with a script and bad intentions.

Well done and thank you. Commissioners?

I just want to say thank you. You have no idea how many individuals come into my office with specific concerns over the scams that they've gotten. And they've gotten so bad here in Hays County to the point that Officer Opiello made very specifically. Most of the time the calls will come from a caller ID that says either Hays County Sheriff or Hayes courts on it. We've seen those. They will use the name of our sheriff. They will use the name of our district judges. And I've had people send me, they've recorded the calls and taken screenshots. And it's most of the time they're offshores. They're not in the U.S. Or at least that's what we found. We tried to look into it. on behalf of our constituents, but I just really appreciate y'all and the way that y'all work with juries. I had three constituents in the last two months that have come in and just said it was a great time. As far as showing up, they felt well-treated. They got them in and out quickly if they weren't selected. One of them was selected. His only concern was he can't activate his $20 gift card that he got paid with. He's having a hard time with that. And he's a banker, so I don't know how that works. But we just appreciate y'all and the work y'all do on a daily basis.

Commissioner Hammer.

Jury, having been selected for jury duty, going to jury duty, it's a constitutional right that we have in the United States. I mean, it's one of the there's things that make the United States great and it's one of them. And I just, I really love to just put a little emphasis on it because people look at it as a burden when it's really not. It's really a, it's a great thing that we do. It helps with impartiality and to make our justice system remain fair and have faith and restore faith into the justice system. So I appreciate all that y'all do and supporting our jurors and making sure that they have what they need and I'm sure the gift card was just user error. I'm sure it was. I'm sure we have a good system for that.

I remember when we started those. What a great idea. Commissioner Cohen?

Well, I can't say much more than Commissioner Hammer, but thank you all so much for everything you all do for the jurors that participate in this process, and thank you for the education about that. That's really interesting to hear, and I definitely watch out for that. But thank you all so much for everything. Commissioner?

Yeah, Sergeant Dobiella, thank you for sharing that. That is important information that our residents need to know about. And Amanda, thank you for your leadership and to your staff. You know, I think there's so much more that goes into calling a jury than we probably even know. And I know that y'all do a lot of hard work, and I really appreciate it in each one of you. So thank you.

When I stood in your department while the turmoil was taking place and I saw you take the helm, I was so grateful from day one. So thank you for snapping that thing into shape and doing wonderful things with it. And your happy coworkers are proof of your leadership. So thank you all for what you do. Let's come on up for a picture.

I'll tell you what, let's keep you guys together. That's fine. One, two, three. Oh, okay. What about two and two? Do you have to just go that way more? I have to have symmetry. There you go. There you go. And if you hold that in the middle.

You guys look. I don't want to break you guys up.

You look too good. Looking right over here. Right? One, two, three. One, two, three. Beautiful.

Thank you so much. Thank you. As requested, I will not be opening K7. We are going to come back from a 10-minute recess, go to K6, followed by K1. So 10-minute recess.

All right, we are back from a recess.

And it looks like a lot of people are waiting for that recess, by the way.

So, you're welcome.

We're gonna go as requested.

I'm gonna follow the, again, I will not open, K6. And so I will go K5, K1, and then K15. Please open, yeah. I wasn't gonna open K6. Mine?

K6 is mine.

I'm sorry. I may have said the wrong thing. I'm sorry. I misspoke. I am not going to open K7. We're going to go K6. I'm sorry, Commissioner. We're going to go K6, then K1, and then K15. It was my jotting notes.

The one thing I would say, though, Judge, is you've always been very kind about if we've had people come and sign up for an agenda item or if we've had a comment sent in to have those read, even if we don't take action on the item. I just want to make sure if we have a public comment on K-7 and somebody's either shown up or sent in a comment on it that we open it up. Even if there's no action and you choose to pull it, that's fine. I just want to hear the comments.

Oh, sure. You bet. Absolutely. That's customary. And I've been sorting with them for their email comments that are going through. So let's go ahead and open K6.

K6, discussion possible action to authorize the execution of a development agreement related to the Hayes Commons subdivision development.

So moved.

We have a motion and a second. Commissioner, bring us up to speed. Absolutely.

For those of you in the audience or in the courtroom who are not aware, the item that is actually case seven was brought forth by Judge Becerra two months ago the first time.

Is that correct? Maybe. Maybe.

TWO MONTHS AGO AND I THINK THIS IS THE THIRD OR FOURTH TIME THAT THIS ITEM HAS BEEN PLACED ON OUR AGENDA. AND TRADITIONALLY WE DO NOT DO JUST DIRECT VARIANCES OF THIS TYPE WHATSOEVER. the commissioner for a precinct will bring forth anything related to development for that precinct. Whenever this first came up, we actually had a conversation here, and it was the direction of the court that, or at least my direction, I would not support a straight variance. The only way that there would be a variance of any type was if we did some type of development agreement. Counties, and I know if you've paid any attention to the court for the last two months, you've heard. We have very specific authority that are given to us. We're not like cities. We don't have planning and zoning authority. There are five things that we can have regulatory authority over. One of them is septic, and that's where our septic rules are where we reach our minimum lot size rules. We don't want to see wells over septic. There's actually a full chart in our development manual That outlines if you have piped in water and piped out wastewater What your lot size can be some some individual items like that and so? whenever This item first came up the first time I was very adamant that we would not move forward without a development agreement of some type And those development agreements they actually give the county additional additional means, additional hooks that we don't have statutorily. The only time that we can, if a development comes in and it meets all of our development regulations by statute, we operate under a mandate of approval, which means that we have 30 days to comment on it. However, if it meets our development regulations, we have to approve it under state law. If we don't, it's automatically approved on a 30-day shot clock. Every permit that you apply for with the county If it meets our regulation, we have to tell you, yes, it does within 30 days. At that 30-day shot clock, if we don't make comment or we don't approve it, then it automatically is approved under Texas statute. And so I've done probably more of these development agreements. Well, I know I've done more of these development agreements than anybody else on the court because it gives us the opportunity to get other things. We ask for dark sky light compliance. We can ask for portions of a property to go undeveloped. And looking at this property, I'm well aware of the previous development agreement that the city of Hays had. THIS PROPERTY WAS IN THE E.T.J. OF THE CITY OF HAYES AND IN 2023 IT EXITED THE E.T.J. AND WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF THAT IN HAYES COUNTY BECAUSE IT GIVES THE DEVELOPER A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF, A TREMENDOUS NUMBER OF OPTIONS NOT HAVING TO FOLLOW OR ADHERE TO ANY PLANNING AND ZONING AUTHORITY. SO ON THIS SPECIFIC ITEM, One of the things that I really wanted to ensure was at the end of the day they had to get full utilization of the property, which is pursuant in this development agreement. But the other portion of it is we were actually able, I was able to negotiate and get a large portion of the property set aside to remain undeveloped in perpetuity. My biggest concern was a house every 30 foot with utilization in it, and that's not what anybody wanted. And so if you look at the agreement itself, what it has in it is a set aside of pretty much, if you're familiar with the property, everything on one side of the creek will remain undeveloped in perpetuity should this development ever move forward. which is not something we can mandate. I feel like it would be a win for the county. Again, the prompting or the purpose behind this entire agreement was the fact that we had agenda item seven on our agenda four times, and I wasn't going to accept in my precinct just a blanket variance with no incentivization or nothing coming back to the county. And so I just, if there's questions, I just want to ensure and make sure people understand that. And so that being the case, I do have some concerns with, since this is the first time it's appeared on the agenda as far as the full development agreement, I do want to go through a 30-day posting and require that of the developer. And so today, you know, If the court wants to vote on it today, that's fine. I would rather not. And this agenda item will appear 30 days from now after the postings have come up and the general public can have more time to look at it.

Okay. Thank you, Commissioner, for the intro. Now, we have people signed up to speak. Can we start with those in attendance?

Bobby Levinsky.

Mr. Levinsky, please approach the podium. And this item has how many people signed up? Approximately.

60.

So if you'll do me a favor, Mr. Levinsky, since it's a high number of people signed up, when the timer goes, please conclude.

Thank you, sir. Thank you, Judge. Thank you, Commissioner. Bobby Levinsky, Saver Springs Alliance. I'm also a resident of Precinct 3 for five years. Thank you for holding back on item K7. Please reject this requested development agreement under K6. I'm going to focus on the variance that's embedded in it, but I concur with the letter that you received from the City of Hays that this item is improperly posted and violates both Hays County Development Regulations and the Texas Open Meetings Act. The proposal to reduce minimum lot size from .75 acres to .2 acres over the Edwards Aquifer Retard Zone fundamentally undermines Hays County's environmental protections for our groundwater. The Edwards Aquifer Retard Zone is extremely vulnerable to contamination from development because of its unique karst geology. It's porous, it's a limestone aquifer where surface water and pollutants enter rapidly through sinkholes and cracks with little to no filtration. The county's minimum lot size requirements exist specifically to act as a control for limiting how much development can occur over the recharge zone. The applicant argues that a smaller clustered lot configuration will reduce environmental impacts compared to larger lots dispersed across the property. In theory, clustering can make environmental disturbance less, but only if the overall development intensity remains the same and if the infrastructure serving that development does not introduce new environmental harms These assumptions do not hold here. Rather than reducing the environmental impact, the applicant invokes the clustering principle to justify maximizing the site's development potential. This creates a fundamental contradiction. While the housing units are repositioned to keep more structures off the recharge zone, the proposal simultaneously relies on a Texas land application permit, which sprays their treated affluent over the recharge zone. So in effect, the plan shifts the buildings away from the most sensitive area, only projects wastewater disposal field, undermining the very environmental rationale offered to support the variance. You cannot credibly claim that environmental protection by relocating structures while simultaneously spraying poo over the area that you're intending to protect particularly when the inflexibility offered by the requested variance yields more homes and thus more poo that current regulations would allow. It's a poopy proposition. the applicant has failed to demonstrate a reliable water source as well for the proposed development the development plans to draw groundwater from the lower trinity aquifer but the required permits have been not been issued the groundwater modeling presented by the applicant as part of the bud process specifically underestimated the development's water needs the model groundwater withdrawals were 42 percent less than the volume proposed in the district's own petition and preliminary engineering report Without a permitted water source and reliable evidence that adequate groundwater is available to serve the development, without unreasonable impacts to regional groundwater levels, granting the variance is premature and reckless. Please vote against this. Thank you. Please call the next one.

Jim Camp.

Judge, commissioners, thank you for allowing me to speak and for others in the community to do as well. I live at 3803 Cattleman Drive in Precinct 4. And we have been in our home for 40 years, raised a family. And these issues, I want to give you a little perspective from the resident's point of view. We've worked with county, state, and national leaders in our community to help protect our water and land. In 1986, Randy Maureen Developers proposed a 350-acre development in this same area, same land perhaps, in the Bear and the Little Bear watersheds. It's right at the Hayes and Travis County lines in northern Hayes County. The proposal was not a good one. The mud proposal was denied by the city of Austin by a 7-0 vote. It went to the Texas Water Commission as a mud proposal. The Texas Water Commission, which is now the TCEQ, denied the permit. It was the first denial in two years. At this time, U.S. Congressman Jake Pickle proposed this area as a sole source aquifer under federal protection. It passed overwhelmingly in Congress. In August of 1987, after months of meetings with small cities, many of them in Hays County, the city of Austin, and landowners and all the stakeholders, we went to the legislature to create the Barton Springs Edwards-Ockford Conservation District. In a vote in August of 87, 70% of the people said yes. After Maureen Property went back to the bank, Bill Walters and Walters Southwest bought the property. He created a development agreement with the City of Hays, and I know some of my neighbors are here from the City of Hays. But after COVID and after the Amazon shift in shopping, Walters sold his interest to Milestone Developers, which is now, of course, Hays Commons. Milestone tried to revise the development agreement, to increase the impervious cover for residential development. It changed from commercial primarily to residential. After months of negotiations and public hearings, the city of Hays said no to the development agreement and no to the mud. And then in May 2023, Milestone came before this commissioner's court with a proposal for a development agreement. With no proof of public water or wastewater utilities, the county voted three to two against. Judge Becerra, Commissioner Cohen, and Commissioner Inglesby against, and Commissioners Smith and Shelford. I can't really get into the details about what's happening now, but there will be others that will. Thank you. Thank you.

Brett Mundy.

Could you repeat the last name, please? I'm sorry, I didn't hear the last name.

Oh, Brett Mundy.

Thank you, Brett.

Can I get started?

Yes.

My name is Brett Mundy. I'm an entrepreneur here in Hays County. I am asking you to reject item K6. I'm not coming up here to speak as a Save Our Springs rep, although I deeply respect their work. I'm not mad about a salamander species. I'm a business owner. To be clear, I am pro-business. I own two large parcels of land that border the Hays Commons development. One of those 11-acre parcels contains my business, a dog daycare and boarding facility, Jumping Jack Dog Ranch, where we board up to 120 dogs a day and employ 30 employees. We serve 10,000 clients in the Hays County area. The other 18-acre parcel I have, Spirit Vulture Ranch, is the regenerative farm where I farm cattle, rescue local area ducks, grow produce, and use regenerative agriculture working with the soil. The goal is to make this a community farm where we teach local high school students about regenerative agriculture. I'm one of the few farmers left in this neighborhood. These are the kind of businesses that our neighborhood wants to see and supports. We do not want a land developer packing houses in, cutting down all the trees, increasing traffic, and destroying our aquifer, especially not this land developer. We've seen what they've done in Central Texas. Carpenter Lane, where I live, already floods, and the road is impassable two to three times a year. If this development happens, we'll see more flooding. It's not speculation. It's a fact. You will be affecting at least two Hayes County businesses. I don't want to have to shut my business down because the effluent from this giant developer is ruining the groundwater and making my clients' dogs sick. You should not force my clients' dogs or my employees to breathe in the poo water that they're putting their effluent treatment plant right behind me now. With my cattle on my other parcel, I'm already worried about the screwworm epidemic crossing the border, drought, and now I get to worry about my well running dry and my land flooding? Judge Becerra, I voted for you. You said it takes three parts, pro-community, pro-environment, and pro-business. I thought you stood up to developments that ruined our water. We don't want AI data centers. And you stood on the right side of history there. We don't want our wells running dry due to neighborhoods that we cannot sustain. This giant parcel of land is owned by somebody. Should they be able to develop it? Sure. Like I said, I'm pro-business. But there are better developments that are community-centered and preserve the aquifer, and this isn't it. You know it, and we know it. That's why we are all here. Commissioners, can I have a raise of hands from all of you? Who here has taken money from Milestone Community Builders? Thank you, thank you for your honesty. Yes, you did take several $5,000 donations from Milestone, Commissioner Smith. And considering that you're sponsoring this, doesn't it seem like there's a conflict of interest there? And how is it that somebody like me with two giant land parcels had zero notice of agenda item K6 and K7? That's the agenda item concerning the changing of the lot sizes. Which one of you slid that in here without proper notice, thinking that that would fly with our neighborhood? Raise your hand if you're back here and you represent Milestone. Anybody here for Milestone? Okay, we've got two. I just wonder why they are here thinking that their agenda item is already in the bag and paid for. I'm interested to hear you speak. Judge Becerra, I have faith in you. Please think about the water in our community and be on the right side of history.

I know you will. Thank you. Who's next?

Mayor Lydia Brian Valdez.

Well, good afternoon. We had a late night last night. We had zero notice of this item on the agenda today. We rallied our troops, all the folks who are very passionate about this. We care about our homes, our city, our environment, our water, our natural resources. We did not appreciate not having proper notice, but we're here today. And we have 60 other people that also are going to speak on this. Judge Bassetta and commissioners, thank you. My name is Lydia Bryan-Valdez. I'm the mayor of the small but very mighty city of Hays, a small general law city in the northern part of Hays County. I thank you for the opportunity to speak today about items K6 and 7. Thank you. related to the proposed Hays Common Development agreement and variances that are on your agenda today. I understand that one's not going to open, the other is. However, even not opening one, the other is incorporated by reference in the other. So it's a kind token, but it's still going to accomplish. If you pass this, even not opening one is not going to make an impact. I respectfully request that a minimum, you table these items today so that everyone can give it more time and consideration. The main concern of the City of Hays and its residents is the T-Lab wastewater facility and that Hays Commons proposes to build. There is a contested case hearing going on right now and Hays Commons application to build it. If approved, I will place 150,000 gallons of wastewater per day on the land immediately behind my home, my daughter's home, where my grandchildren live, and the homes of other City of Hays residents. Even more concerning, the city has two groundwater wells that supply drinking water for its public water system. One is located 60 feet from the edge of the proposed TLAP area. The TLAP is in the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, and we are very concerned about the possible runoff entering the many cars to recharge features and it harming our groundwater. Exhibit B to the proposed development agreement, the concept plan, shows the wastewater treatment facility in a different location, closer to 45 and FM 1626. This is a bait and switch. We've been doing this for 10 plus years. I don't know which is correct, but the TLAP application to see TCEQ shows this facility in a different location that would be immediately behind the city's wells and many homes. This discrepancy is yet another reason to table these agenda items today. And I would borrow your quote so you'll know that we're always listening and paying attention, and I also am a supporter of Judge Becerra. The Hayes Commons has, and I'll use this, a kaleidoscope of issues. I'll quote you. We have been dealing with this, I could mention, for 10 years. We spent an astronomical amount of time and money advocating for our city, our water, natural resources. We will continue to do so. Hayes Commons has a concept of a plan. I hope you have a concept of an emergency plan to help us when they contaminate our water.

Thank you.

Thank you. James Stinson.

Hello, Judge and commissioners. I've got a 54 acre parcel that's directly affected by the Milestone development. My only emergency access in and out of the property goes through the Milestone development. And we are involved with litigation against Milestone. They sued us over a driveway easement. I'd like to point out that Any approval or any part of even negotiating with them on this preliminary plat is just wrong on its face. On their preliminary plat, and I'm going to pass these up to you guys, there's volume 447, page 388, an easement that Milestone admits in their preliminary plat exists. That goes all throughout their entire property. They're showing 38 homes over my easement. They're showing wastewater effluent spray over my easement. They're showing a sewer plant over my easement. And you guys are where the buck stops. And so I want you guys to be aware of it. And I brought you guys an exhibit for y'all to look at. But this is just a sign of a bad actor that's trying to go get something over on me and on the community. And I urge you guys to vote no. And there's no reason for any development agreements. There's no reason to rush this. There's no shot clock to make an agreement with these guys. If they can't follow county code, then there's no county rush to go make a deal with these guys. And I urge you guys to take a long, strong look at this. And thank you for your time.

Thank you.

That's okay. That's okay.

Okay, so now we're done with those in person? Yes.

Okay, so now we're done with those in person and we're going to go to the emailed versions. And what I've asked the county clerk's office in the effort of spirit of expediency and yet someone took the time to write and we want to make sure we hear their message. If there were any copy paste or extremely similar items, I asked them to read one of them and then add the names of who was a part of that letter, just for expediency. Does that make sense?

It does. Can we get a copy and I'll ask Sylvia to make some copies? Yes, absolutely. Here we go. Thank you.

Oh, good. So, all yours?

Somebody.

This comes from Alfonso Carlon from Manchaca, Texas. I'm asking you to vote no on agenda item K6. I live at the back end of Chaparral Park and my neighbors and I are very concerned about our diminishing water table and the fact that just in the past several weeks our water utility supplier Aqua of Texas has had to bring in several water trucks to replenish our supply tanks. Aqua of Texas wells are clearly being adversely impacted by the extended drought conditions. Granting a building permit to Hays Commons subdivision development would be disastrous for our already diminishing water table into this neighborhood. It is a well-known fact that we are experiencing historic drought conditions and that the aquifer is not receiving enough recharge water to sustain what is already built there. I also own the property at 2808 Robin Road, Manchaca. which includes Little Bear Creek, and there are many caves and karsts that are a natural part of this geological formation of the creek. Additional dense building could also compromise the recharge zone if polluted flood water into the recharge zone I HAVE HAD MY PROPERTY FLOODED TWICE IN 2013 AND 2015, AND I AM WELL AWARE OF THE REALITY OF THIS POSSIBILITY. PLEASE VOTE NO ON AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 6. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.

THE NAME ONCE AGAIN. ALPHONSO CARLON. THANK YOU.

ALL OF THESE FOLKS HAD SIMILAR E-MAILS. JOEL DEPENNING. ELIZABETH SMITH. Hannah Bayou. Angelica Unger. Rose McCorkle. Roger Miranda. Jeff Coffin. Layton DePenning.

Yulio Munoz.

Santa Yanez Montemayor. Misty Wilson. Beth Alsdorf. Beverly Bays. Mora Zinn, Susan Cook, Paul Larson, Richard Jin, Ashley Logger, Scott Logger, Aaron Andrews Ash, Francis Hargrove, and Lydia Bryan Valdez. This comes from Zachary Johnson in Austin, Texas. What more could possibly be taken? This land is beautiful. The water is such a rare resource. One of the most important and tampering with the water is no way Austin wants or what it needs. The land requires what little it is left to continue to grow and flourish. This is the reason so many people love this area. It's a part of the earth, the soil, the soul of this beautiful region. I implore, look inward. see the truth, and stop K6. I appreciate your time. Please use your heart, use your love, your future generations, and the planet. Everything matters, no matter how small you think it is. This is from Felicia Izaguirre, Commissioner's Court. I urge you to vote no on item K6. Immediately pull the item from tomorrow's agenda in order that a proper public process can take place with the affected public being able to view the plans and give input on them. No public process has been followed, and this plan, which impacts many thousands of people who depend on this watershed, should not be pushed through without one. This is from Karen a busy. I urge the commissioners court to vote no items case 6 in case 7. No public process has been followed and this plan which impacts many thousands of people who depend on this watershed milestone is trying to get their high density development going through a sliding a fast one through on the commissioners court agenda. It is imperative that we get this vote stopped by protesting the agenda item. Milestone attempted to get impervious cover variants from the Save Our Springs ordinance from the city of Austin and they were denied. Now they are going to Hays County to try and do essentially the same thing. Hays County development codes require a minimum of three-fourths of an acre lot sizes, increasing to as much as two acres over the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone. Why should a billionaire developer receive a variance not allowable to current residents and which allows against the signs of aquifer safety. Milestone is requesting lot sizes that would be much smaller, leading to a high density development over the recharge zone that would cause imperable harm to Barton Springs portion of the Edwards Aquifer. This one comes from Marlene Mercado. I am writing on behalf of those who cannot speak or write to protest on, depend on water to live. Our trees, our plants, our animals, and all living organisms who also help us to sustain life and do not have a voice and need to be heard. I'm speaking as a water protector. I'm speaking as a spiritual community member who is a part of a community that depends on the Edwards Aquifer to survive. We have a well that provides water to us, and it is a disgrace to prioritize selfish intentions before prioritizing our lives. Please, I am begging you to vote no on item K6. Or two, please immediately pull the item from tomorrow's agenda in order that a proper public process can take place with the affected public being able to view the plans and give input. Stacy Knight from Manchaca, Texas. I vote no to case six. I live very close to the proposed Hays Commons milestone development. The city of Austin was denied part of the development and you should vote no to the development agreement. I disagree with the water that will be used. I disagree with the sewage distribution that will affect my well and thousands of others and the development will pollute the aquifer. I disagree that this meeting was snuck into the agenda without advance notice. The developer does not care about the wildlife, plants, trees, and caves that are essential to our air quality. The city of Austin conducted a test with dye and proved that it contaminated our drinking water. My will is .5 miles from the site, vote no to case six. This one is from Nick Thomas, again, Manchaca, Texas. Please vote no on item K6. The builder milestone should not be allowed to reduce the current required three-fourths of an acre minimum lot size required for home sites in the area of the Hays Commons development. They are developing over a sensitive part of the Edwards Aquifer where my family and I depend on well water for drinking. We are part of the Pfluger family that have been here since the 60s and would love to continue to enjoy the water that Edwards Aquifer provides for years to come. Growth is inevitable in this area, but there are safe ways to grow in this environmentally sensitive area that can still be profitable for the developer by having them abide by the existing three-fourths acre minimum coverage that could be home to more expensive, luxurious development versus a dense, affordable development. This is from Amber Abrasin-Villegas. I'm writing to formally express my strong opposition to agenda item K6 regarding the development agreement. I urge the court to vote no on this item or pull it immediately. The proposed development by milestone community builders proposed significant threat to our community for the following reasons. threat to the water quality and quantity, inappropriate density and variances, environmental impact, and lack of public access. We are currently in a historic drought and we must hold developers to higher standards to protect our infinite water resources rather than granting lax regulations for profit. Please protect our water and our community by rejecting this agreement. This is from Diana Heinegg from Manchaca, Texas. As a concerned citizen of this county and someone who would be directly affected by this development, I ask you to vote no on item K6. Water conservation should be the priority here. There's already chronically low water flow in the aquifer, and this would be encouraging sprawl instead of concentrating development in areas better suited. This is undeveloped land and so important to preserve habitat that we have, especially over an area that is feeding our aquifer. We need to keep spaces for these native plants and animals to live and have large enough area to support a natural habitat. Once developed, this area will never be the same and we are in danger of losing the valuable green spaces in Hays County. This land should be developed with the highest standards for the environment, not giving expectations to a developer who doesn't deserve it. There is not a reason to provide an exception except unless it was to improve the environmental conditions. This is clearly not... is not about that and only to give favor to a rich developer. Please vote no or at least postpone the issue. Bill Knight. from Manchaca, Texas. I live within 0.5 miles of the site. I am worried about our well that is the only source of water in our area. This development will use the water and ruin the water. My main concern for the development is the 200,000 gallons of wastewater a day it will create. They plan to distribute the water with an irrigation system over the recharge zone for Barton Springs slash Edwards Aquifer. I have held an irrigation license with TCEQ for over 44 years, and I know without constant daily maintenance, these systems are a problem. Another huge issue is flooding in the area. During these events, homeowners will still be creating wastewater. Where does it go when an area is totally saturated? Cities around our area continue to have wastewater spills of raw sewage into rivers and creeks. This happened in San Marcos, Kyle, AND BRUSHY CREEK DUE TO CONTRACTOR ERROR. SAN MARCOS WASTEWATER DUMPED 1 MILLION GALLONS OF RAW SEWAGE INTO THE RIVER ON 2-18-21 AND AGAIN 225,000 ON 6-27-22. COW WASTEWATER ON 11-12 AND 5-15 DUMPED RAW SEWAGE INTO PLUM CREEK. BRUSHY CREEK MUD DUMPED 4.5 MILLION GALLONS INTO BRUSHY CREEK. THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. My home is very close to this project and the aquifer is my sole source of water for our home and we cannot live without it. Please don't allow this development to happen. Within the new request before this court, there has not been enough public notice given to the citizens affected by these new submissions given by Milestone. This is from Lynn Bridge in Dripping Springs. Please vote no on item K6 regarding the proposal between Milestone and Hays County. Second best action from the court would be to remove the item and send it through the expected public transparent process to put something of this import onto the court's agenda. I have read the proposal and studied the maps and proposed density. This development as proposed would negatively impact the ecosystem in both Hayes and Travis counties, including the human component of the ecosystem. Once the damage occurs, and this could only take a day's work of bulldozers and another day's work of graders, the ecosystem is not coming back. The natural flow of water in the aquifer is not coming back. The runoff will be polluted. By the way, my childhood home in Eastern Travis County was destroyed by a developer who purchased, scraped, and infilled the farm next door when I was a sixth grader. The developers stifled the spring that fed Creek running through my home, along with all of its creatures. The tremendous runoff from the development created flood conditions that removed every bit of soil down to the limestone of my home territory. I know what happens when money meets political power. Quote unquote, we the people lose and so does the natural world. I found this out when I was 12 years old. Ask the court to please think about the future and not just what is expedient on our lifetimes. Vote no on item K6 on today's agenda.

You want a water break? I'm okay.

Les Karnas from Driftwood. This county has not completed its appeal of the most recent conviction for the open meetings violations involved in the 2024 road bond election. This is a real standing conviction from a real court that was over the same backdoor law breaking concerns to circumvent the Texas Open Meetings Act, which makes it illegal to prevent the public participation in the process of spending public funds to benefit private interests. Hayes County Commissioner's disregard for the public's input in allocating county resources to develop these backroom deals show a distrust of taxpayers and can't be covered up with smiles and slick election campaigns. It appears that the court's members just don't care. To disregard the water issues is a criminal as disregarding the Texas Open Meetings Act. Public disclosure of the campaign contributions by these special interests who will benefit, look at the land owners that will benefit. At the expense of the public water's environment is par for the course in Hays County. The public's trust is sinking faster than the aquifer levels. Perhaps the land sellers need to explain their callousness contempt for good citizens of Hays County. David Patterson from Buda, Texas. Good morning, Judge Bassetta and commissioners. A group of concerned Hays County property owners, myself included, has worked for a couple of years to ensure Milestone follows the SOS guidelines for lot size in Hays Commons. This is because the property they are developing is one of the most sensitive areas of the recharge zone. Did you know that the Milestone is in the permitting process of TCEQ for a Texas land application permit? TLAP for its wastewater treatment at Hays Common. A TLAP would allow them to spray hundreds of thousands of gallons of treated effluent over 60 area, 60 acre area of the recharge zone. If there were a multi, if there were a malfunction in the treatment system, there could be thousands of gallons of untreated sewage flowing directly into our aquifer. Hayes Common involves Little Bear Creek. In trace dye studies, it only takes a couple of days for water to reach Barton Springs from this property. If granted, this would be the first tea lap of this size approved over the recharge zone. Large subdivisions in the 967-1626 corridor and the city of Hayes rely on private or public private wells. That's a lot of people counting on their commissioners to make the provident decisions to protect their homesteads. We are already anxious about our wells because of the drought. Milestone went to Austin and asked Austin and Buda for water and wastewater services, but found no takers. And now they come to Hays County. I implore this court to take a longer look at the Hays Common before granting any variances to our existing county ordinances. Please vote no. Claudia Ochoa, Jessica Samarripa, and Manuel Samarripa. Importance of voting no on case six. The first notice of the development agreement currently being considered is its attachment to the courts agenda for tomorrow morning. Upon first glance at the DA, Hays residents for land and water protection see several inaccuracies and misrepresentations which should be addressed. Some of these are a milestone document inaccurately portrays the boundaries of the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, the number of homes proposed is inconsistent with the document, and some of the calculations are incorrect or misleading. There are thousands of us whose water would be directly affected if a high density development is allowed in this environmentally sensitive area. Hays Common is being planned by Milestone Community Builders, a developer that has a reputation of not being good stewards to the land. They are known for clear cutting and removing even old growth heritage trees and other developments. This track and adjoining area is undeveloped and rich in animal and plant biodiversity, with much of its old growth mixed hardwood forest, providing countless priceless ecosystem services. As for profit, developers should not be allowed a variance that results in high density development that violates the current development regulations, especially considering the land is over the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer, and all other residents in the area have abided by the current regulations. Going forward, due to the state of our water, we should not be holding these large corporations to a higher standard to protect our resources, not be more lax about subdivision regulations. Thank you for your time and understanding of this importance as we as a community need to stick together and do what's best for our future of Hays County and its residents. Judith Lawrence from Austin, Texas. My name is Judith Lawrence, and I'm here today as a resident who cares deeply about the future of our community. I want to start by saying I believe in thoughtful development. Our county is growing, and we all understand that growth must be a part of our future. But growth without clarity, without proper notice, and without meaningful public participation creates uncertainty, and uncertainty leads to distress. Item K6 raises serious concerns for many of us. particularly around water impacts, environmental sensitivity, and the long-term implications for nearby residents. These are not small issues, and they deserve careful, transparent consideration. Many in the community are still trying to understand the full scope of this proposal. That alone tells us something important. We are not ready to make this decision today. Good governance is not about rushing decisions. It's about making informed, inclusive, and responsible choices. I respect and ask that you remove this item from today's agenda, allow for proper notice and community input, and ensure that any future consideration reflects both the needs of growth and the responsibility we have to protect our resources. Thank you for your service and for your time. Kathy Thomas from Austin, Texas. In regard to the proposed development agreement for Hays Common, please vote no or pull it from the agenda until all relevant ecological studies can be completed and evaluated. Billionaire developers should never be given variances that everyday people don't get, especially when it comes to our groundwater. It takes only one bad developer to destroy drinking water and render properties that depend on the groundwater worthlessness. Please table it or vote no. Thank you. Candace Blake. My name is Candace Blake. My family has been here since 1985, and I have affected party status in this matter. I would ask that this item be tabled because proper notice was not provided by the city of Hays and many of its residents which are affected parties in this matter. In addition, I oppose item K-7, which considers granting a variance to the Hays County development regulations to change the minimum lot size requirements within the subdivision regulations chapter. I support continuing to demand compliance with the existing lot size regulations, as well as the Save Our Springs impervious surface requirements. All 500 acres of the Hays Common proposal impacts the recharge zone in either Hays or Torres counties. Milestone has not proven to be an environmentally friendly builder, nor no for-profit developers should be able to acquire variances which could cause likely harm to the Edwards Aquifer. People residing and depending on clean water from their wells, abundant wildlife sharing the space, and a fragile ecosystem that must be protected. Jan Wesson from Dripping Springs. Please remove case six from any consideration by this court. The last thing this county needs is variances for big developments. Has anyone been paying attention to our water table? We are in a severe drought. As for the quality of our water, this development would certainly add to the pollution of our aquifer by 150,000 gallons of treated sewage per day. 150 million gallons of drawdown of the Hays Trinity Aquifer. Also, this would be happening over a sensitive recharge zone. Please, I am hopeful that those of you that I'm writing care about sustainability. The commissioner that put this item on the agenda obviously does not. Catherine Nichols. I live in Chaparral Park subdivision, just down the road from the proposed Hays Commons subdivision, which I understand is being considered for authorization of an agreement to let the developers develop with smaller lot sizes and greater density than the county development codes would normally allow, as we would be sharing the same supply of available aquifer water with the new development. I believe this high density would be detrimental to residences that already exist. I request that the Commissioner's Court pull this item from the agenda to allow a proper public process that gives more chance for citizens to review and comment on the potential harm. Thank you for the consideration. Rosa Tupina. Commissioners Court, I am writing on behalf of those who cannot speak or write to protest and depend on water to live. Our trees, our plants, our animals, and all living organisms who also help us sustain life and do not have a choice and need to be heard. I'm speaking as a water protector. I'm speaking as a spiritual community leader representing a community that depends on the Edwards Aquifer to survive. We have a well that provides water to us and is It is a disgrace to prioritize selfish intentions before prioritizing our lives. Please, I am begging you to vote no on item K6. Please immediately pull the item from tomorrow's agenda in order that a proper public process can take place. Vote no on item K6. Jacqueline Ramirez, I'm writing you to ask for the Commissioner's Court to please vote no on item K6 or immediately pull the item from tomorrow's agenda in order that a proper public process can take place with the affected public being able to view the plans and give input on them. No public process has been followed and this plan, which impacts many thousands of people who depend on this watershed, should not be pushed through without one. Esmeralda Roman, I oppose item K6 due to social environmental concerns. Mary Rolfing, I am against this.

How perfectly worded. You see, I have the dilemma of making sure people have a chance to get heard, but we gotta go through it.

So I hope you don't mind. And the last one is for Steven Brown. We respectfully urge you to remove item K6 from consideration on your April 28th, 2026 agenda. First, a rushed consideration of this is unnecessary, untimely, and counterproductive. currently pending legal actions between Hays Common and Lost Lake Resort LLC. These two proceedings will undoubtedly result in a redraw of things and change in lot counts. Those are separate and aside from county rules. There's no sense in getting neighbors spun up only to bring it back and amend it later. In addition to the salient points in the City of Hays Mayor's letter, we direct the court's attention to a couple of other discrepancies. Notice requirements, lot size variance, wastewater availability, development agreement.

Well done, honestly. Let me just do this guy. Let's give her a round of applause. I've been here for eight years, and no one's had to read that long for that amount of content. So my understanding is, Candace, if you can use development services to ensure that a proper 30-day notice goes out to everyone moving forward for this, we're going to table it and bring it back in a month. Can you ensure that through development services that someone oversees the 30-day notice that you're talking about?

Before that, yes. It'll be more than 30 days because they'll have to go out and do the newspaper ads, those kind of things. It'll be much longer, probably closer to 45 days, I would imagine. But I do want to offer some points of clarification because at the end of the day, I just – At the end of the day, if the court chooses not to move forward with this, I just want the residents to understand what that means. What that means is they're going to come back and not request any variance from the county. And every square foot of that property that's not in the floodplain, if it meets our development regulations, by law, we will have to vote to support that. With what we're looking at now, we We have a guarantee of at least, and some of the numbers, I just want to clarify because they're in the document. The overall property is 340 acres, just over 340 acres. Under this development agreement, we guarantee and ensure that 200 of that will stay as open green space in perpetuity. If we get another development plan or if they choose to submit a plat that meets our development regs without this variance, then it will cover every square inch of that property except that within the floodplain. And so I just want there to be some very clear notice of that. The other thing is that if we had considered item seven, let's be very direct. Item seven, there has been no public debate on it. other than it being put on our agenda. And the first time it was introduced by the judge, he actually put it on as an executive agenda item where we would have a conversation or we would have debated it, which is incorrect. The reason for this is to have public comment and to have people understand how our hands are tied with statute and understand that this As far as I'm concerned, the county and our community gets more out of this than we would otherwise. And with all due respect to the neighbor, we don't enforce deed restrictions. We don't enforce easements. We can't by law. We're actually specifically prohibited by law from doing that. Those are civil contracts between two individual parties that we are specifically told by the state of Texas we can't touch. And so I feel your pain. Believe me, I've been in disputes with neighbors before over easements on the property that I have in Hill County. But we as a court and our development regs can't address those individual things. And I just want to clarify that. I would like to have Chase from our legal department walk through just so our citizens understand what that process will look like for the next 30 days. I just, Chase is with our office of, not Office of General Counsel, pardon me, the Civil Division of our Criminal District Attorney's Office. Is that the right title? Okay, I got it right.

Good morning, Court. As Commissioner Smith said, my name is Chase Young, Assistant Criminal District Attorney with the Civil Division. You just wanted to walk through the public notice. So public notice is a combination of two different forms of notices. There is a written notice, which is a direct mailer to those properties that are contiguous with the actual property at issue, and then there is the published notice, which is a newspaper notice that would run twice during that 30 to 45-day period. And it would have to include, I have a list up here so I don't go off memory, the date, time, and location when the Commissioner's Court will consider the DA, the identification of parties to the proposed DA, any provisions in the proposed DA that would authorize, like basically any sort of variances that we'd be considering, and identification of items and corresponding costs in which the county will participate. So there's any sort of cost-saving mechanisms here. And so once that's run, that would satisfy our local regs for the public notice provisions.

And then when this comes back after that period, I would assume, just look at your calendars, it'll be a Tuesday in about 45 days if this comes back. When it does, because under the Texas Open Meeting Act, It will be published just the same as it was last week for this meeting. And it'll be, it's generally when do we post agenda for our Tuesday meeting, Wednesday afternoon?

It has to be three full business days prior to the meeting here, so that would be Wednesday.

Wednesday at five, yes. So, just for your clarification, I want to make sure that y'all have understood that. Any other questions?

We're good?

I just want to say, just to TO REITERATE COMMISSIONER SMITH'S SENTIMENT, I'M ALL FOR PASSION AND SUSTAINABILITY. I ABSOLUTELY 100% PROTECT EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN. I WILL ALWAYS HAVE THAT TYPE OF MENTALITY. BUT, I MEAN, IT IS TRUE, AND IT'S VERY SAD TRUTH THAT WE'RE ONLY GRANTED THE POWERS FROM THE COUNTY, FROM THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE, AND FROM THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION. AND THAT'S IT. working with our state reps that support county and support local, a little bit more local authorities, always a really big positive for us. But I will also say that sometimes it would be, I mean, it would be great to just deny development agreements and to look like the good person, but it is also hard to balance those things. Because what happens when you deny that? What does that repercussion look like? So I think it's more of like a public process, making sure that we're Educating constituents and sitting down with people that have these worries and these concerns and saying okay, let's lay it all out right here What does this look like if we do say no? Is there any other route we can take? Working with our legal division and seeing if there's some loopholes like that's that's our jobs and that's what we're designed to do So I just wanted to put my two cents in there I Think just

For me personally, I know we've denied this in the past, and there is a lot of concern about this property and this developer specifically that I feel as a court we need to look more into. I do feel like there's an opportunity to address our internal processes in notifying the public. on such developments such as this. So I'm glad you're tabling it, and that way we can all get a better understanding of what we're dealing with here and what our options are as well.

Thank you, Commissioner. The other thing I would add, I just wanted to add a point of clarification. Somebody said earlier that we considered a development agreement in 2023, and that's incorrect. It was a preliminary plat that was brought to us. I am 99% sure, but we have never considered a development agreement for this property before.

Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner Inglesby.

So, Judge, I guess just as everybody has stated, I mean, I do have concerns also. You know, I think someone said something about the water availability study. It had not been submitted. I'm not sure if that's accurate or not, but, you know, that's a concern of mine. The notification, of course, I think, you know, we... CHASE YOU OUTLINED IT WELL, BUT IF OTHERS DIDN'T GET NOTIFIED, ESPECIALLY IF WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CITY OF HAYES, VARDEN SPRINGS, AND OTHERS THAT HAVE A KEY ROLE TO PLAY IN THIS, I THINK WE OUGHT TO MAKE IT A POINT TO NOTIFY SOME OF THOSE ENTITIES THAT WE KNOW WE'RE WORKING WITH. I WAS REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE EASEMENT COMMENT, AND SO I'D LIKE TO learn more about that and see if that cases the fact. What was submitted to us looks like it is and so that's very concerning. And I will say that minimum lot sizes were put into place to protect our groundwater and we need to remember that and just look very closely at how we're developing certain properties over our Edwards recharge zone.

Thank you, Commissioner. Please open K-1.

K-1, Dispatch and Possible Action to Establish Court Fees for the Hayes County DWI and Drug Courts Pursuant to Texas Government Code 123.004. So moved.

Second.

Judge, if you'll approach the podium.

Good afternoon, Judge Jimmy Alhall from Hays County Court of Law Number 1. This is a ministerial action. My understanding from the Auditors and Treasurers Department, we have to have a line item on the budget for the money that y'all approved. You've approved the courts, UWI and Dredge courts. You've approved the checkbox on the jurors' card, or where they log in to donate their fee to one of the specialist courts. But we have to have a line on there in the budget to put it in. I guess that's what it's for. I won't give you my personal opinion on why I'm here other than I have to be, I was told. So I'm here asking for your approval to put a line on the budget in which the money can go in and why that wasn't part of the first time process. Beautiful, and thank you.

Candace, did you want to add anything to that?

No, I just, you know, appreciate, Judge, you know, you put some reasonable fees in here. I think it's, you know, it's great, and it should have been done previously, and here we are. But, yeah, I think it's.

Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. Candace, can you make sure we do this line item? Yes, sir. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Cohen. Yes. Commissioner Hammer. Yes. Commissioner Inglesby. Yes. Commissioner Smith. Yes. Judge Becerra.

Yes. K-15, please. Thank you, Judge. Thank you, Judge.

K15, Discussion and Possible Action to Authorize the Execution of a Service Agreement, RFP 2026-P02, Act Hosting Agreement, and a Service and Support Level Specification Agreement, SSLA, with Appraisal and Collection Technology, ACT, LLC for RFP 2026-P03 Property Tax Collection Software in the amount of $50,000 for implementation augmentation costs and $75,000 annually maintenance and amend the budget accordingly. Second.

Mr. McGill, would you like to speak on this one? Or should we leave it to Jennifer? Whatever you want to do.

It's teed up for Stephanie then.

Stephanie Hunt, purchasing agent. So this is the property tax collection software that we did a formal procurement with or for. We brought the recommendation of award back months ago and we've been working with them to solidify the agreement so that the tax office can move forward with implementation. So this is the contract that legal has reviewed and approved. IT has reviewed and approved, and the tax office has reviewed and approved. Beautiful.

Anything else to add, commissioners? Questions? All right. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith? Yes. Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. Now, those are the initial committed that I've received texts on. Is there some other sequence that you would like? Otherwise, I'm going to open slates.

Judge, can we do K-11? Ms. Crumley has an appointment that she needs to report.

Let's do K-11. You bet. Thank you.

K11, Discussion and possible action to approve facilities and resource management to repair the failed rooftop unit, RTU No. 5, located at the Government Center, in the amount of $53,850, and amend the budget accordingly. So moved. Second. Second.

Tammy Crumley, Director of Facilities and Resource Management. This rooftop unit is original to the government center. It has reached its end-of-life service for us, and it served the detention and adult probation areas, and I'm asking for authorization to have it replaced.

To replace it, you say? Correct. Okay. Any questions or comments?

Do we anticipate if it's each... I know this isn't the first one we've done over there. How many of those... have we replaced already and how many are about ready to die? That's what my question is. I think all of them are going to hit end of life about the same time.

Yeah, well, something goes, the entire unit doesn't go out on all of them. Some of it's the compressor and coils and stuff. I'd have to look. I don't have off the top of my head how many have completely been replaced, but I can get that for you.

Well, I'm just worried about, as you look at your budget this year, there's several of those that we've had to do over the past couple of years. just starting to anticipate because they're going to start coming?

Yes, sir.

Okay.

Wow. Okay. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. Please open the, oh, I should say it this way. I move that we open the slate of G as a whole block unless there's something you guys want to pull off. One, three, 24. One, three, 24.

Second.

Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Questions or comments signed up on any of those items?

I believe we have one on G8.

Rodrigo Amaya. I think he's gone.

He's gone. Okay. Any other questions on other items, commissioners? I do want to bring up number 18. I'm having a hard time finding a justification, and if you can tell me how I can justify this to the public, I would appreciate it.

MS. Sure. I'm happy to speak a little bit about it, Judge. So a month before anyone had decided to go to our National Association NACO conference, I had a month previously had already registered, I had booked my hotel, and purchased my airline ticket. And at that time, since no one else from the county was going, I asked my staff if one of them could accompany me to the conference, and it was determined that Allison would go. She purchased her own air flight, or airline ticket, But I felt that it was only fair that the county go ahead and pay for the registration. I didn't even ask for per diem. We weren't even asking for that. The agenda was written with the per diem. So she can get the full benefit of going to this conference and learning and doing the training that I believe we should all put our employees through. And I will say Sylvia, when she first started, spent hours and hours in class with me trying to learn the job of, you know, what she was doing for my office. And so I just think that it's a benefit to have somebody go with me that is willing to sit in. Uh, I think we should encourage our employees to go more often to training judge. Uh, so that is why this is on the agenda. And, um, yeah, if anybody has any questions or further questions, I'm happy to answer them. But, um, you know, every year employees to training out of state, and I hope that they get the benefit to come back to bring to the county and our offices. ALLISON SUPPORTS BOTH COMMISSIONER COHEN AND I, AND SO THAT IS WHY THIS AGENDA ITEM IS ON. I HAD PLANNED THIS A MONTH BEFORE ANYBODY ELSE HAD DETERMINED TO GO. IF I WOULD HAVE KNOWN SOMEBODY ELSE WAS GOING TO GO, I'VE BEEN REPRESENTING NACO FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS. I'VE NOT HAD ANY EXPENSES PAID FOR BY THE COUNTY BECAUSE I WAS A MEMBER OR BOARD MEMBER OF THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES AND THEY PAID my entire cost, and so I just felt this is an opportunity.

And I'm glad I asked because the way it's written, it sounded like we were going to pay for all of it, and so you, speaking of already purchased their own ticket on their own dime, is much more palatable and much easier to defend.

Well, you know, and I will say she looked for... for pricing of these airline tickets and each ticket, because I think it's important to be respectful and responsible to the county, was $192 or something like that.

That's before the Iran war, probably.

Well, I don't know, a month ago, but you know, we know others spend a lot more on airline tickets and we're trying to be responsible.

No, that was good. And thank you for shedding light on that because that's the answer I was looking for. I didn't know that part on the agenda the way it was written. Anything else? All right. This will be a vote on the slate. Call the roll.

Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? I'm recusing myself from G1 in account of a family member that works at the liquidity firm, but yes to everything else.

Commissioner Hammer?

Yes.

Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. And we will now go to... You have another request?

Yes, sir. For K-3 and K-8, we have staff here.

Okay, K-3 and K-8. Let's open those.

K-3, discussion and possible action to authorize the execution of an engagement letter between Hayes County and Baker Moran Doggett M.A. and Dobbs LLP related to general county litigation matters including property-related disputes, acquisitions, negotiations, condemnation, and other real estate matters.

So move. All right, commissioners. Or who would like to speak on this?

Actually, I might turn it over to Jordan.

Sure. Jordan Powell, civil first assistant. Just clarity purposes, and we have the firm here in case anyone has questions. You know, we've had a lot of conversations lately about trying to enhance our real estate matters, condemnation, eminent domain assistance that we use outside council for. We had a rotation of firms before. For various reasons, a couple of those have dropped off. This is one of the firms that we've been working with to bring back. Some of their staff are attorneys that the county has worked with in the past that have changed firms. So anyways, this is us trying to strengthen that profile a little bit for outside counsel related to these matters. And I just wanted to see if the court had any questions for the firm because I do have a representative here in case you do.

Perfect. Thank you for asking to call it up. Commissioner Eaglesby-Cohen, any comments or questions?

Did we open K-3 or K-4? K-3. Okay, thank you. No, I'm good. Thank you. Okay, I'm good.

Commissioners? No. All right. It's more cleanup than anything. Yep. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Judge Becerra?

Yes. And K-8, right? That's what you wanted next? Yes. Let's go to K-8.

K-8, discussion and possible action authorizing the execution of the land swap agreement between Qualico Developments U.S. Inc. and Hayes County related to the exchange of real property in connection with road improvement project near Old Bastrop Highway in Precinct 1 and amend the budget accordingly.

So moved.

Second.

All right. And it's just basically switching different types of land. I know that there's a little bit less land that we are taking on versus what we're giving, so there is a dollar amount associated with that.

All right.

Call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer?

Yes.

Commissioner Inglesby?

I'm recusing. This is adjacent to my property, my homestead.

Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. Let's look at subdivisions.

J1. J1, PLN-2850-NP, discussion possible action to consider granting a variance request to the Hayes County Development Regulations Chapter... 705 Subtractor 503J and Chapter 721 Subtractor 5.05B for the Haberer Family Subdivision Final Plan.

So moved. Second.

Anything else to add, Colby? Good afternoon, Judge Becerra and Commissioners. My name is Colby Mohacek, Hays County Development Services Senior Planner. So the Haberer Family Subdivision seeks to create three lots across 35.37 acres. This is located off of Satterwhite Road in Buda and in precinct two. Water utility is accomplished through Goforth Special Utility District and wastewater treatment will be accomplished through individual onsite sewage facilities. The applicant and property owner are requesting a variance in regard to lot two of the proposed plat which has 60 feet of frontage onto Satterwhite Road. According to our development regulations, Satterwhite Road being classified as a minor collector road requires a minimum lot frontage of 100 feet for adequate driveway spacing as required by Chapter 705, Subchapter 503J of the Hays County Development Regulations. That particular regulation states that certification that each lot shown on the plot has adequate frontage to allow for compliance with driveway spacing requirements. The second part of the variance request, both lots two and three are proposed into flag lot configurations, which is in conflict with Hays County Development Regulations Chapter 721, Subchapter 505B, which states flag lot, sorry, flag lots shall not be permitted except if approved by the Commissioner's Court as consistent with the intent and spirit of these regulations. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ADVISE THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT IF A PROPOSED LOT CONSTITUTES A FLAG LOT, AND THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT SHALL, IN REVIEWING ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, MAKE THE FINAL DETERMINATION.

I JUST WANT TO ADD THAT THIS TRUCK OF LAND HAS BEEN IN THE FAMILY SINCE 1952 AND THEN IT WAS DISTRIBUTED TO THE CURRENT OWNER'S FATHER THROUGH A DISTRIBUTION DEED IN 2012. WILLIAM AND MARTHA HAVE SINCE PASSED AWAY AND THEIR LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT DETAILED how the property was to be subdivided between the siblings. The proposed use of the property is not changing from the existing use. So I am in support of the variance request.

Is there no other way to design it where it wouldn't have flag lots?

The front of it's too small.

Right, that's the purpose of a flag lot. I'm just like, is there some other configuration, like a middle?

Since I'm not a surveyor, I'm not... privilege to say no.

I think we have someone here that would like to speak as well.

Thank you, Commissioner Cohen. If you'll state your name and title, sir.

Yes, sir.

My name is Hugo Elizondo, Patrol Consultants. I'm the engineer representing the surveyor Judge and Commission, appreciate the time to discuss this and your consideration. We've worked with the family. They're here at the back or at the rear. There's existing homes on the track that fronts the county road, and that's why we couldn't configure it. We'd have to be cutting through some structures and septic fields of We've mapped it. We've worked with the county and the city. We actually have this plat under the city process, and we're asking for three variances there. But really just trying to meet the will, the spirit of the will. The parents had an idea how they wanted to split it up between the three siblings, and this meets that spirit as closely as we can. And so each flag lot width will be what? There is a 60-foot flag configuration, and it serves the two rear lots. And the one lot adjacent to the roadway has direct access. So 60 feet for two lot entrances?

That's correct. Okay. That's not terrible.

No, that's great.

That's not terrible, right, Commissioner?

Yeah, that's a very good whip.

Yeah. It sounded worse than it actually is. So thank you for speaking, Commissioners. Any questions or comments?

I'm just looking at the map, and it does not look great. It's a bad configuration. It's in your backup, Judge. If you've got it pulled up on your computer, but this is it. I can see it. I probably have more flag lots in my precinct than anybody, and so I fight them a lot, but that is a, it's kind of a double flag configuration, I'd say. Understanding that there's an existing neighborhood in the middle of it makes it palatable to me, but, and I know development services hears me say this all the time, but I'm going to reiterate it. I We have to deal with things that were done 40 years ago all the time here. This is a good example of one that was your neighbors made this for you. And I understand that the owners can't really do anything about it, but, man, I never want to see one of these.

Well, we didn't either, but you're right. It's just a strange configuration.

Yeah, I mean getting from a personal standpoint though. I feel like it's a lot more palatable when you think about People are that are in hardships that are trying to get out of it.

Yeah, I mean Completely understand that you're different than you making a hardship yourself. Yeah, you're trying to clean up a problem that you didn't create So I appreciate that and having it actually plotted is is better than not so I agree Okay, if there's no other comments, please call the roll Commissioner Inglesby.

Yes Commissioner Smith

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Judge Basito?

Yes. Good luck and have a great day. Thank you. Appreciate it. Please open J2, then J3.

J2, PLN-2914-NP, ratify approval of the Cunniff Estates Final Plat. So moved. Second.

Okay, anything else? Just ratification. All right, please call the vote.

Commissioner Smith? Yes.

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen. Yes. Commissioner Hammer. Yes. Commissioner Inglesby. Yes. Judge Becerra. Yes. J3. J3, PLN-2745-PC, ratify approval of the Pioneer Ranch's Section 1, Lot 26A, Replat. So moved. Second.

Please call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer. Yes. Commissioner Inglesby. Yes. Commissioner Smith.

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen. Yes.

Judge Becerra. Yes. K2. K2.

K2, discussion and possible action to approve polling locations and schedule for early voting for the primary runoff election to be held on May 26, 2026. Early voting will run from May 18th to May 22nd. So moved.

Second.

All right, and we have a list. Is there anyone from elections here? I don't think so.

I don't believe so. I know that both of the party chairs were talked to and agreed.

Because I know they spent, Commissioner, you and I were out there at Driftwood, and they spent a lot of money to get that place ready, and I wanted to see if we could use it. I don't know if they can yet.

The problem is that they will have the, Driftwood will have, they've already installed the entrances and those kind of things, but they have to redo the parking lot, and that won't be completed by then. They're hoping to have it done before November.

Please call the roll. Oh, sorry, sorry. Go ahead, Jordan.

Sorry, I wasn't quick enough on the draw. Jordan Powell, civil first assistant. For good measure, if the court is so inclined, could you also add into the motion approval of any rental fees for any of the facilities that would be required to pay? I believe the only one is Sunfield Station, but just in an abundance of caution if the court was so willing to approve that as well.

I'll add the amendment of approval of additional fees if they apply when they apply. Got a second? Second. And this will be a vote for both. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Judge Becerra?

Yes. K-4, please.

K-4, discussion of possible action to authorize the execution of engagement letters and file transfer authorizations between Hayes County and Michael Best and Friedrich LLP related to general county litigation matters.

So moved. Second. Judge, so the legal counsel on general county litigation matters has changed law firms, and so we're just following him.

Very cool. Thank you. Well said.

And for clarification, it will allow both old firm and new firm that are knee-deep in litigation to also work together, which is what the file transfer also helps cover.

That's good. Appreciate that. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. K-5.

K-5, discussion of possible action delegating signature authority to the Hays County Transportation Department for governmental agency curation agreements with state-affiliated curating facilities for transfer of archaeological collections and items associated with road projects. So moved.

Who's signing that right now? We have to bring this to court. It's kind of just making it a little bit of a more efficient process. Who's signing it right now?

Aaron Jones, Transportation Director. Right now, Judge, it is brought to court. Each individual commissioner brings it. The reason we brought these to court is to kind of expedite these. It makes it easier. They're reviewed through our department and then it's quicker and easier just to review them. Streamlining.

Yes, sir.

All right.

Please call the roll.

Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith? Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. K-9.

K-9. Discussion and possible action to authorize a transportation engineering technician Colton Ruff to take home a county-issued vehicle to his residence outside of the county. So moved.

What's the distance? Right now, I believe it's 26 miles. So it's roughly six miles past the distance. Six miles out of the county, beyond the limit. Yes. Not 26 miles.

Not 26 miles. It's six miles past that.

Where on I-10 do they live? Not that. Got it. Okay.

Commissioners, are you okay with that? Yes. All right, please call the roll.

Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. K-10, please.

K-10, discussion and possible action to authorize the acceptance of a grant award from the Texas Department of Agriculture FY24 National School of Agriculture. lunch program, NSLP, equipment assistance grants in the amount of $25,982 and amend the budget accordingly. Salute. Second.

Judge, the juvenile center was awarded a grant and they will purchase two refrigerators and two steamers with this award.

Beautiful. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer?

Yes.

Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Judge Becerra?

Yes. K-12.

K-12, discussion possible action to authorize the Health Department to purchase consumable items for community engagement events throughout the remainder of the fiscal year. So moved.

Second. Okay, please call the roll. I get the idea.

Commissioner Cohen?

Yes.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Give me a minute. What are we buying? M&M's. We're buying M&M's, the answer's no.

No, no. Yes, Matthew Gonzalez, Hays County Health Department Director. What we're buying is mosquito kits, and so whenever we're at events, we're showing people preventatives, stress balls.

Judge Becerra.

Yes. Thank you. We are on K, Mark, what number? 12. I, 8.

Did you say I-8? The next one was K-12. I know, but I was trying to answer his text. Okay.

I-8. Where's I-8? I like to keep people moving as best I can. Please open I-8.

I-8, discussion and possible action to authorize the execution of a contract for engineering services 2026-PSA-73 between Hayes County and BGE Inc. to provide design services for the Hillside Terrorist Project in Precinct 2.

So moved. Second.

All right. Commissioner, anything else to add?

No, it's just the execution of the engineering contract with BTE for Hillside Terrace Design Services.

All right. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Judge Becerra?

Yes. Okay, Mark, you're free to go. Thank you. As we were, let's continue the path. We're on 13, if I'm not mistaken? K-13. K-13.

K-13, discussion and possible action to authorize the Human Resources Department to purchase a new employee badge printer, software, and support services from ID Wholesaler in the amount of $2,630.10, authorize a waiver to the purchasing policy of obtaining three quotes, and amend the budget accordingly.

So moved. Second.

Motion to add a second. Commissioners, anything else to add? No. Please call it off.

Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Inglesby? Yes.

Judge Becerra? Yes.

K-14? K-14, discussion and possible action to execute a master in a local purchasing agreement between Hays County and North Central Texas Council of Governments, NCTCOG, to allow county departments to utilize any formally procured contracts.

And that's to show the by-board access, right?

Stephanie Hunt, purchasing agent. So by-board is, I know everybody uses that as kind of like a global term, but by-board is one of many different co-ops that we are part of. And this is just to allow us to join this one. They have a lot of emergency services, 911, IT contracts, and so... We wanted to be able to utilize some of these if possible, so we have to just sign a master service agreement to participate in that purchasing co-op.

Super smart. Thank you for doing that. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Hammer? Yes. Commissioner Smith?

Yes.

Commissioner Inglesby? Yes. Commissioner Cohen? Yes. Judge Vecetto?

Yes. Case 16.