Commissioners Court - Regular Meeting

It is 9 a.m. on this Tuesday, August 11, 2026, and we're going to commence this regularly called session of the Kendall County Commissioner's Court. I'm going to call roll. Commissioner Regent, or I mean Commissioner McCall. Commissioner Chapman's absent. Commissioner Carpenter. Here. And I'm present. We have a quorum consisting of four members of the court. Next up, I'm going to introduce my colleagues, Commissioner McCall and Commissioner Wieschens, for announcements regarding our prayer and our pledge.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to this morning. And I would like to welcome John Breese, the senior pastor at Creed Creek. He's going to open us in prayer.

Good morning, everyone. I'd like to introduce Savannah and Lexi Womble, who attend Comfort High School, and they're going to lead us in our pledges.

All right. Next up, declarations of conflict of interest. Anything from you ladies today? Chad, anything from you? Nothing from me? Next, comments from the bench. Commissioner McCall, would you kick us off?

Yes. I'm conducting a comprehensive review of all contracts and agreements related to the FLOC camera program. I've heard the concerns raised by our citizens, and I take those concerns seriously. My responsibility is to ensure that we fully understand our contractual obligations and the legal options available to us. I will continue reviewing the agreements and applicable law so that we can make informed decisions about that are in the best interest of our citizens in Kendall County. And then for those of you who have inquired about property tax relief or flooding damage, the Kendall County, I

Thank you, Judge. Good morning again, everyone. Well, quite an adventure this morning. Happy back to school, everyone. Just a reminder, when you're out there driving, please be courteous. Leave early, leave in plenty of time, and stay off your phone. Be safe.

Thank you. Chad? I'm assuming everyone's here for flock cameras. Just kidding. I think Commissioner McCall... I already laid out the concerns for Flock, and we're on it. We've heard you. We've been receiving lots of emails from you. We do listen, and we do respond to what you guys want from this court. And I just want you all to know that we don't go and ignore what you have to say to us.

Thanks. We're going to kick off with agenda item six, accounts payable claims, consideration of possible action on approval of accounts payable claims for purchased services and vendors. Morning, Corinna.

Good afternoon, Commissioners. Morning. Today we have accounts payable claims in the amount of $380,675.91. Does anyone have any questions on any of the 27 pages of accounts payable?

If not, I'll entertain a motion at this time.

Judge, I move to approve accounts payable claims for purchase of service and vendors in the amount of $380,675.91. We have a motion made by Commissioner Wieschen.

Any further discussion? Paula, please tell them both.

Aye. Aye. Motion carries 4-0. Yes, please. All right. Next up, we got our proclamations for this court. First, consideration of possible action regarding Proclamation P-2026-0811-1 proclaiming August 17, 2026 as Nonprofit Day in Kendall County. So, Each year we recognize a bunch of groups that support our local community. And, you know, Kim plays an important role in that. Would you mind bringing your crew up and introduce who you brought with us today? As many as you can pack up here.

And they all, during any disaster event, y'all are the first to step up and ask, what can we do to help? And so the county is very thankful for everything you do and for your leadership and support. So with that, I'll read our proposed proclamation. Whereas nonprofit organizations throughout Kendall County play a vital role in strengthening our community by providing critical programs and services that enhance the quality of life for residents while reducing demands on public resources. And whereas these organizations address diverse community needs through their work in areas such as educatio

Motion by the judge, second by Commissioner Carpenter. Any further discussion? There being none, call it. You're up.

Aye. Motion carries 4-0. Thank you. I'LL GET YOU AFTER. ANYONE SECOND?

Thanks for coming in, Pastor. Highest rated show in the county. Nice to meet you.

Another proclamation. This time, consideration and possible action regarding proclamation P20260811-2, proclaiming October 2026 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Kendall County. Do we got Glenda, Wilkie, or anyone from the DA's office? We're right here. Back there. Good morning, Glenda. Can you remind everyone the importance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and what efforts you're involved with?

Well, thank you. So the proposed proclamation reads as follows. Whereas October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Prevention Month, and it's time for us to come together to reaffirm our commitment to ending domestic violence and working together to continue to refuse to tolerate abuse, support survivors, and hold perpetrators accountable. Whereas domestic violence is a serious crime that affects people of all races, ages, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds, leaving lasting physical, emotional, and psychological scars on survivors, families, and communities. Whereas in the U

Aye. Motion carries 4-0. It's your signature.

All right, our last proclamation is consideration of possible action regarding Kendall County Victim Services Department hosting the Walk the Mile event on the front courthouse lawn on October 10, 2026, in support of October's Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We've got, well, back again. All right, could you remind the public a little bit about what this event is and why this is important?

With that, I move... Move to support the Kendall County Victim Services hosting the Walk the Mile event on the front porch of House Lawn on October 10, 2026 in support of October's Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Do I have a second? Second. Pushed by the judge. Seconded by Commissioner Carpenter. Any further discussion? There being none, Paula, could you please call the vote?

All right, next up, our burn ban resolution. Consideration action on the burn prohibiting outdoor burning for a period of 90 days in the unincorporated areas of the county due to the existence of conditions that have created a safety hazard. All right, Brady, looks like things are still looking good where we can keep the burn ban off based on.

What's our window we're looking at before we could be considering reimposing that at least two weeks or not?

So the recommendation is to encourage everyone to burn while they can?

Okay. Does anyone have any opposition taking no action and leaving the burn ban off? No. All right.

Just one thing. Would you just let everybody know a reminder to make sure that they are not burning at night, that they're watching your piles, that kind of thing?

And if things got out of hand, call for assistance immediately because it's easier to get a handle of it.

I think it's a bad idea. Even though the burn index is still in the range that's safe, all it takes is one fire out of control and we're toasted. The grass is not.

Great. Thank you, Brady. Next up, consideration of possible action regarding Resolution R-20260811-1 to authorize the county treasurer to execute and submit all documents related to establishing and maintaining an investment account with Texas Range Republican Funds Investment Pool. Good morning, Cheryl.

Okay. Thank you. Well, I move to authorize the county treasurer to execute and submit all documents related to establishing and maintaining an investment account with Texas Range pursuant to Resolution R-20260811-1. Do I have a second? Second. Motion by the judge, second by Commissioner Wieschen. Any further discussion?

Just I did a little research, and it looks good. It's a AAA money market fund rating.

Anything else? If not, Paula. Please call the vote.

Aye. Motion carries four to zero. Cheryl, I'll get you that document after. Thanks. While we're signing signatures, we'll move into public comments. You know, multiple people are here for agenda item 22. I've put your requests to speak during that agenda item. I'm going to address just strictly public comments who want to speak during this general item. So first up, first up, we got Jake Watson.

So this is your first time here. So if you look to your right, there's a three minute timer. Once you begin speaking, it'll count down and give you a little ding at the end. So kind of wrap up succinctly. Got it. Start by introducing who you are, where you live, and then roll your test.

Is Jessica on Zoom? All right. Next up, Christy Wiley and Doug Mechel.

Okay, did I miss anyone that wanted to speak during actual public comments? Okay. All right, we're going to move on to consideration and action on the 2027 optional fees, county road and bridge fee, and child safety fee. Mr. Hudson?

Is it your recommendation that we make no change to impose any additional fees on our citizens?

No, we had talked about whether we could raise that fee in light of the HERO program, and we're still looking into that, but I don't think that this really applies.

Yes, sir. All right. So I move to adopt the up to 2027 optional fees with no change. Do I have a second? Second. Motion by the judge. Second by Commissioner McCall. Any further discussion? There being none, Paula, could you please call the vote?

Aye. Motion carries 4-0. And I filled it out. There was no signature page, so. Right. I'll take care of it. I'll send it in. Next up, we have present, discuss, and seek approval of the 2026 Certified Appraisal Rule totals and receive anticipated tax collection rate currently at 98.47%. Mr. Hudson?

Yeah. So let me ask you. So if I make a motion, is it sufficient if I say Pursuant to the proposed order, I move to adopt order the Commissioner's Court of McKendel County to approve the 2026 certified appraisal roll ARB approved totals of $12,801,524,761 net taxable value and $9,290,910,958 of freeze-adjusted taxable value. Will that suffice? I believe so. Jen's an expert here. All right. That's my motion. Do I have a second? I'll second. All right. Motion by the judge. Let me make note here. Motion by the judge. Second by Commissioner Carpenter. Any further discussion?

Maybe we just send questions for Mr. Hudson.

Yeah, we can open it up for questions while I fill this out here. Does anyone have any questions for James?

So on a $12.8 billion certified tax base, that's what, roughly $9.29 billion subject to the current rate after the freeze adjustments, right?

So are we beginning to see that number level off, or do you expect, that frozen portion of the tax base will continue to grow given our demographics?

I guess the other thing that stands out is that we added about $383 million in new value, but that looks like it's overwhelmingly residential. So I think that reinforces us to be very disciplined when it comes to spending because I'm not seeing a big increase in commercial.

Okay, just some observations. Everything looks good. Thank you. And we're still, what, at 98%, over 98% of the collections? Yes. And some of that could still come in that just may be kind of lagging?

No, just one other thing. So you did mention that if the tax rate goes down, we were talking about this, that those people who are frozen, their rate will go down as well.

Aye. Aye. Motion carries four to zero. I have that document for you. I'll give it to you after, James. Next up. Present, discuss, and approve the 2026 calculated tax rates for Kendall County, no new revenue tax rate, and voter approval tax rate.

But for the public's awareness, nothing else of your figures have changed. So if they receive the backup documents electronically.

Do you think you could jump to page 10 and 11 and just kind of give a quick synopsis of the adopted rate and what's significant of what we're trying to do this year for the citizens?

Well, I move to approve the 2026 calculated tax rates for Kendall County. No new revenue tax rate and voter approval tax rate as proposed by James Hudson. Do I have a second? Second. Motion by the judge. Second by Commissioner McCall. Any further discussion? There being none. Paula, you're up.

Aye. Motion carries four to zero. Next up, take a record vote to place a proposal to adopt the rate of 0.373 cents or $100 taxable valuation on the agenda of a future meeting. Since the proposed rate of 0.373 is not higher than the no new revenue tax rate, no language about a tax increase except a slight increase in maintenance and operation taxes will be needed in the motion to adopt. Adoption of the tax rate is planned for the meeting of Commissioner's Court on August 25th, 2026 at 10 a.m. after the budget is adopted.

All right. The proposed wording, I'm just going to go ahead and make the motion. I move to order the Commissioner's Court of Kendall County to place the proposal to adopt the rate of 0.373 cents per $100 taxable value on the agenda of a future meeting, that being Tuesday, September 8th, 2026 at 10 a.m. in the Kennel County Courthouse Commissioner's Court, room number 301 on 201 East San Antonio Ave, Burney, Texas. Is that sufficient, General Counsel? Do I have a second? Second. Motion by the judge. Second by Commissioner Wieschen. Any further discussion?

Just a comment. I just think that for the first time in 29 years that we've been able to adopt the no new revenue rate is huge, particularly given the statewide conversation about lowering property taxes. And the legislature has done its part to make every effort to try to give us relief. And so they're asking local jurisdictions to do the same. And I think we're doing our part as well. So thanks for working with us on being able to do that.

Anyone else? No, I'm just happy that, thank you for working with us over the years. I know it's been a key priority of this court to be fiscally responsible. And in doing so, it's allowed us to reduce county taxes multiple years during the past four years. And I think a lot of people are struggling and every little bit helps. And so it's just, just remember we're doing everything we can. There's a lot of needs and wants in the county and that pie only goes so far. So we do our best to manage it while still providing the most quality of service to you, the citizen, because you are the customer

And I'll get you copies of these orders once we're done here. Thank y'all very much. All right, next up. Consideration of possible action regarding ratifying the grants management and compliance director job. Mr. Regent, you're up.

So I'd like to have Sheriff come up, and I know that Nicole Bishop, our district attorney, had some flight delays coming in. Nicole, were you able to zoom in? She was going to try to zoom from an airplane at 30,000 feet, probably not. She was doing her thing. No, not there. Okay. So this position is already included in the budget, and today's action is simply to ratify this job description through Commissioner's Court. The description clearly defines the county's grant management function, including grant research and writing, administration compliance, financial coordination, as well as repor

Okay. And with that, I move to ratify the Grants Management and Compliance Director Job Description.

Motion made by Commissioner Weijian. Do I have a second? Second.

Okay, so I amend my motion to approve the grants management and compliance director job description.

Motion be by Commissioner Weijin, seconded by Commissioner McCall. Yes. I just have one observation. I'm not sure. Can we just verify that that font is ADA compliant on this job description?

That's the only observation. Good point. Okay. Any further discussion? Paula?

Motion carries four to zero. Thank you, Sheriff. Thank you. Next up, consideration of possible action on the request of the county auditor to conduct an audit on the CDA Chapter 59 Asset Forfeiture Report as required by Article 59.06 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Good morning. Good morning.

Okay. I'll entertain a motion as agenda item 18.

I move that we accept the audit of the CDA Chapter 59 Asset Forfeiture Report as required by Article 59.06 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Could you amend your motion to authorize them to conduct it as well? I amend it as stated, yes. Okay. Motion made by Commissioner McCall. Do I have a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Carpenter. Any further discussion? There being none, Paula, would you please call the vote?

Thank you. Next up, consideration of possible action regarding the proposed concept design and preliminary project budget and authorizing Project ArcheTexas to proceed from task one, pre-design, to task two, schematic design for the Burrita County Annex Renovation Project. Commissioner Regent? This item's been pulled, Judge. Oh, okay. Sorry. So we'll be taking no action on agenda item 19 because it's been pulled. Next up, consideration and action. order the general election for county and precinct officers to be held November 3 2026. We have anyone from elections here. Stacey said she was goin

I'll entertain a motion as agenda item 20. Judge, I move to order the general election for county and precinct officers to be held on November 3rd, 2026. We have a motion made by Commissioner Weijan.

Do I have a second? Second. Second by Commissioner Carpenter. Any further discussion? If not, Paula, could you please call the vote?

Aye. Motion carries four to zero. All right. We're going to hit this last agenda item, take a five-minute restroom break. Agenda item 21, consideration of possible action regarding the polling locations for the November 3rd, 2026 general election. Stacey, what do you got?

All right. Well, I move to adopt the proposed polling locations for November 3rd, 2026 general election. Do I have a second? Motion by the judge. Second by Commissioner Carpenter. Any further discussion?

Aye. Motion carries four to zero. And with that, we're going to, it is. 10.06 AM. We're going to recess till 10.11 and resume with our public hearing on the North Creek property. Thanks, Gabe. All right. We're going to commence with our public hearing. The court will conduct a public hearing for the purposes of determining whether the Kendall County Commissioner's Court should utilize Proposition A funds to purchase the following property, 120 acres located in the intersection of North Creek Road and and Cypress Creek Road with a physical address of 8 Cypress Creek Road, Comfort, Texas, 78013,

I'm sorry, Mr. Martin. Or anyone from Prop A, if you want to come up and... Would you just mind introducing it? Sure. Okay, this is a property that was, when I first got a hold of this property, I received it from our development office. There was a proposal of 397 homes to be built on North Creek and Cypress Creek Road in Comforts. I immediately called Comfort Neighbors Group. We started meeting. We started discussing. We met with the developer. We also met with the water district trying to find out how can we get D.R. Horton, Lenar, all these groups out of Comfort and away from our water sup

Well, we have several Prop A folks that are in the queue. All right. Sterling, your time is now.

Thank you, ma'am. Next up, Ms. Laura Lee Hines.

Next up, Mr. Emmanuel Flatton. Thank you.

And just so you know, if you run out of time, we have a copy of that letter. So we have that sitting on our desk. So if you're time restricted.

Rusty said... Hold on, sir. That was your full three minutes, so you're not going to be able to get into the letter. I understand. All right, we got to next up.

If you give them to me, I'll disseminate them.

Do I need to give a copy to the clerk? No, I'll give her my copy if she needs it. Thank you, sir.

Okay. Thank you, sir. Yes. Thank you. All right. Next up, Melissa Hill.

If you can succinctly wrap up, that was your three minutes, ma'am. Okay. All right. So this is a trifecta.

Thank you, ma'am. Is Ms., I don't know, did Ben Eldridge submit a form to speak?

All right. Did I miss anybody that submitted a form? Okay. So we're going to continue with the public hearing. We'll open it up to comments from the court itself. We'll begin with Mr. Carpenter.

All right. So I probably should open it up with this initial comment, but we're dealing with 342 acres that a developer has secured. It was listed at $7.8 million. I don't know what his... We don't have the information on what he has the offer at. Comfort Water District tried to purchase this property to turn it into parkland. They wanted more water available to comfort residents to beef up their water supply. A simple fire, structure fire in the town of Comfort right now drains Comfort's water to the point of water rationing. And that's happened, I think, twice in the past couple years. So th

They're going to be knocking on our door trying to come to our community. But I want to try to shore up the idea of the Water Company or Comfort's Water WCID. And Mr. Marquardt, would you mind answering a couple questions for the people that are here? So the idea of the comfort water system giving a developer, a high-density developer water, that doesn't exist. They were able to negotiate with the developer, you take 70 acres out of the floodplain, you're left with around 272 acres, of which the water district is willing to drill their own well, give that developer 27 taps, which is significan

When you say this development agreement, is it a contractual arrangement with each developer? And so this was formulated by your current board, correct? Would you agree that boards change? Yes. And so the current philosophy of the board is you're enforcing those kind of terms, but people who replaced you may not. That's correct. So that could be a possibility that what binds us now may change in the future. That's correct. Thank you.

So would you say, I think I've heard it said before by Stanley Martin, that there's no new water tasks for WCIP.

No, no. You're servicing a existing customer. You're not letting new customers into your product. Or maybe it may have been an agreement that we were looking at.

I have a question for you. So, Currently, can the WCID provide enough water for the proposed subdivision without this deal going through?

And if you cut with using the full acreage that's being bought by the developer... You can. What about if you were to cut off and give the county back the water rights to the 120 acres being proposed, would the remaining portion be enough to provide water to the developer?

I don't know if you would be the best. I have some technical questions. I don't know if he would be able to answer them or you, so I don't know.

Have you done any groundwater availability study to determine what is it, roughly 420 acres, 300 for the development of the 27 homes and 120 for this deal?

And then did you calculate how many acre feet these 27 homes would be using?

And you're going to encourage the rainwater capture, which they can do, and zero escaping.

So if you don't know how much is there, you do know how much they're going to use, you don't know what would be left over, but whatever the remaining amount of water left over would be, my understanding is to shore up The supplies that you already have rather than using that to fuel new development.

So here's my technical question. Has anyone talked to the upper Guadalupe River Authority about putting up a dam on North Creek and will they allow it? Because this is all part of the due diligence before we make such a big investment of Proposition A funds. I think we need to thoroughly investigate because that would be the first question I ask. And then going from there, who's going to pay for the environmental study for the dam and it would require including the upstream neighbors. So these are additional expenses that someone has to incur and we'd have to find funds for. And then Did we co

Got somebody who can answer your questions. Do you want to ask all the questions first, or do you want to have them answered as you go?

What's his background on it? Oh, you are? Okay, because that was North Creek, so come on up, because I have questions about... Here, I'll give some... And also... We applied for grant funding to build flood control relief on Cypress Creek. And knowing that we did that, that seems like the more critical area based on historic floods.

That's a critical area, but it's also in Kerr County. And we joined with Kerr County in the grant application. We wrote the grant. and they joined us as a joiner for that grant. But I've been told we can't actually purchase money out of our county funds in another county, but I don't know if that's true or not.

Yeah, but my question is, if that grant comes through, which, again, grant funding is going to pay for that, will that grant authorize the construction of a dam on both North and Cypress Creek?

We wouldn't use the grant for North Creek. There's two parts. If you understand the way the tributaries flow into Comfort, this property is the last potential spot for a flood control dam before it runs into Cypress. Once it runs into Cypress, there's no place to build a dam before you hit Comfort.

I know, but we've already spent a lot of funds and effort to prioritize a certain area. Now we're doing it about face. And when you make rushed decisions, you make bad decisions. So I'm just trying to be thorough. You may disagree with me on where I'm going. But I just want to voice my concerns for the public. And you can vote how you want. But which, to me, we should prioritize what we've invested in already because we've got grant funding coming. We know it's an issue. And why do an about face when we have a lot of unknowns that have not even been answered yet?

Okay. Thank you. But then the, okay. Hearing that, but what about in the end on council, does this fall within the scope of what we can and can't do?

Yeah, because I analogize this to the whole Guadalupe River Ranch with possibly using a portion for law enforcement.

Is this deal officially closed with the developer, or is this still in the prospective stages? Like, who actually owns this? Because I know Joy Hawkins is on there, but is that Dale Krenwalgey? the actual owner at this point?

No, the Hawkins family continues to own this property. It had a closing date of August 1st, I believe, and there was an easement issue with LCRA that they were working out. Otherwise, they would have already closed. But they are going to close with or without us, regardless.

And we would be purchasing property from whom?

We'd be purchasing this property from the developer.

And so, in the current proposal... WCID would be getting the full water rights to the entire track. To me, if preservation of water and water quality is part of the Prop A bond, how can we give up the water rights? Because it seems to me that's preserving them. And as a lawyer, I would never advise a client to buy land giving up the water rights when there may be a need for the county for those water that water down the future maybe for future residents or other purposes so we're paying what over twenty thousand dollars an acre for land that's sixty percent in the flood plain and giving up our

no longer have the right to drill your own well once you're on a water.

But I think that would be part of this negotiation. If we're paying premium dollar for that, everything's negotiable. In my opinion.

So I have a question. What would the county do with those water rights practically? If we own the water rights below the 120 acres, we're not a utility. There's nothing called injection wells and water. It's aquifer storage and recovery. We do not have the topography. the structure underground to do an ASR in this area. So I want to know practically what could the county do with those water rushes?

With the park, if we had a park there, we could drill a well. We would go through Cow Creek for the permitting. Cow Creek would set the acre feet that we would be able to take out of it. And I don't believe we would be able to be a water purveyor and sell water. I don't think that Cal Creek would authorize a ground well for selling water.

That I don't know. And then another big concern is we bought the Gill property for comfort for ball fields. And we know the last two floods, it was completely underwater. And I've asked you this before. What did this property look like during the most recent floods?

To answer your question on that? No, thank you. And then it went from being 70-acre proposal to Prop A to 150. How did that come about? Because it was... 120. Yeah, how did it get up from 70 to 120? I'm sorry. How did the 50 acres come about?

Who negotiated this? The last time I brought this item to court, we were looking at 70 acres, and the asking price was $2.1 million. And I brought that to executive session. Can I speak on this?

But would you also expand that and talk about how this item got on the open agenda from the last executive session?

Yeah, but my question is about how we got an additional 50 acres being negotiated with who authorized the negotiation, where did it come from? Was it straight from the developer and he said, here's the price? I'm trying to get details of how we came up with this figure and this acreage.

The 50 acres had been brought to Prop A informally. Mr. Allred, we had lunch on Friday. That was brought to them, and it was discussed as a potential add-on to the 70, but they never actually had a price to look at or had any type of voting on that property for 120 acres. Ms. McCarthy?

And then do you know how this figure for 2.5, is it 2.5?

Okay, thank you. And I'll wrap up here and hand it over to my colleagues.

Just one more question, Mr. Marquardt. Yes, ma'am. Who does from having a storage tank Anywhere on that 120 acres for fire, is that something that the WCID could do? That's pretty common in the county.

Okay. So overall, again, this is looking at the long-term implications. I voiced my concerns about moving forward with it, but looking at long-term. We just finished the budget that was going to tap into $7.5 million of a reserve balance. And it required us to delay hiring employees, including sheriff's deputies, cut hiring employees, and making IT upgrades on aging equipment. We also just purchased the Guadalupe River Ranch property that's going to need millions of dollars of renovations just to make it safe for the public to use. And then we also purchased the Gill property. And now we're be

I would like to just, I guess Ms. McCracken is not just a citizen, she's representing Prop A.

So I'm aware of this potential conservation project. It's a conservation easement and it is a very important sensitive land that is certainly worth pursuing. This came up, I believe, kind of at the inception of the committee forming. This particular landowner was not ready to move forward. There was federal funding available at that time, as I understand it, and that property owner did not want to move forward or could not move forward or wasn't able to move forward. I don't know all the details. Since that time, that federal funding has gone away. This would be a conservation easement, in my

I just talked to who you're talking about this morning, Ms. McCarthy. I talked to the Conservancy, and I asked those specific questions. And there's some ideas of funding, and I said, well, what do you need from the county? As much as we could get. But that's not a number. That is not a bona fide deal, and that's not a number. And this is. So you're my representative on Prop A as well. So I would respectfully request that you let us know what's going on. But I got the very latest information at 830 this morning.

Thank you. Do you have anything else or hand it over to Commissioner McCall? Commissioner McCall, do you have anything to add?

No, I think most of the things that I wanted to say have been brought up. I did want to note that the deal that the PAPE committee saw is definitely what we're looking at today and that the chairman voted for it each time and that would be using PAPE funds And he has been in support of this project anytime it's been discussed. And I do think that just with what the website states regarding what properties should be used for, again, it's been brought up many times. I think this fulfills what's stated on our website.

And then if you're okay, we'll go straight to the agenda item to vote. And it's just a way people can... I know most people are here for this item, so we'll just vote and get it over with.

So I'm going to say some things that have already been said, but I prepared this for a very strategic reason to let you know my real thoughts on this. And before I get started, I want to thank the members of the Prop 8 Committee. You have dedicated countless hours. There's no pay, a lot of complaining and whining and, you know, criticism. And I want you to know how much we've appreciated you reviewing thousands of acres for us. and looking at these potential deals. But having said that, these recommendations are very extremely important to the court. It's ultimately this commissioner's court's

I know where this vote's going, so I just implore you, do not give up the water rights to this land for our citizens. We heard it from Mr. Marquardt that This development can happen if they carve out the water rights for the 120 acres we bring purchase. Do not buy this without the water rights. I think it's a bad decision. So with that, we'll close.

I have a question. Isn't the WCID getting the water rights?

So you're saying that we could still be protected, that there's something that would be adverse to the county?

Okay. It's 11.30, 31 a.m. on this Tuesday, August 11th, and the public hearing is now closed. We're going to jump ahead and just move on to the vote. Thank you all for your public comments, both for and against. Appreciate it. We're going to move to agenda item 27, consideration of possible action to determine whether the Kendall County Commissioner's Court should utilize the Proposition A funds to purchase the following property. 120 acres located at the intersection of North Creek Road and Cypress Creek Road with a physical address of 8 Cypress Creek Road, Comfort, Texas 78003 with approxima

Judge, I move that Kendall County Commissioner's Court moves forward utilizing Proposition A funds to purchase the following property. 120 acres located at the intersection of North Creek Road and Cypress Creek Road with a physical address of 8 Cypress Creek Road. Comfort, Texas 78013, with approximately 70 acres of the property being located in the floodplain.

Okay, the motion made by Commissioner Carpenter. Do I have a second? Seconded by Commissioner McCall. Any further discussion? If not, Paula, please call the vote.

Nay. Motion carries 3-1. with commissioners from precincts one, two, and four in favor and the judge opposed. All right, we're going to move on to our consent agenda. There's five items on today's consent agenda. Consideration of possible action proves the minutes for July 21st, 2020 July 27th, July 29th, and July 30th, special called meetings for budget workshops. And July 28th, 2020. Thank you all. And the July 28th regular called meeting. B, consideration of possible action to accept the list of donations received in July 2026 on behalf of Kendall County for local government code 81.032. C,

Seconded by Commissioner Wieschen. Any further discussion? If not, Paula, please call the vote.

Aye. Motion carries 4-0. Next, consideration of possible action regarding the renewal of an interlocal cooperation agreement between Kerr County and Kendall County for jail services for FY2026 to be set forth the terms and conditions under which Kendall County inmates may be housed in Kerr County. Do you want to speak on this, Sheriff, quick?

So this is our annual review of these contracts and nothing's changed? Okay. I move to approve the renewal of the interlocal cooperation agreement between Kerr County and Kendall County for jail services. FY 2026 to be set forth the terms and conditions under which Kendall County may be housed in Kerr County. Do I have a second? Second.

I'm sorry, was that you that seconded? I'm sorry. Motion by the judge, seconded by Commissioner Carpenter. Any further discussion? There being none, all of you are up.

I'm Judge Solerzi. Aye. Motion carries 4-0. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Next, consideration of possible action to approve the Hill Country Dispute Resolution Center contract for 2026-2027. This, again, is an annual renewal. Jen, you reviewed the contract and have no issues, so I move. to approve the Hill Country District Resolution Center contract for 2026-2027. Do I have a second? So it should be by the judge, seconded by Commissioner McCall. Any further discussion? There being none, Paula.

Aye. Motion carries four to zero. Next up, consideration of possible action regarding the resignation of Kendall County Appraisal District Representative To Kendall County, Rodney G. Edmondson, effective immediately in discussion and possible action regarding the replacement of Mr. Edmondson on the appraisal district board. So we received his resignation letter. And I don't know if we want to revisit this. We'll move to accept his resignation and then set it for a future court to give people time to find volunteers that may want to serve on that. Is that fair with y'all? Because I don't think

Okay. So I move to accept the resignation of Kendall County Appraisal District Representative Rodney G. Edmondson effective immediately and propose that the courts acquire names for consideration at a future court to replace Mr. Edmondson. Do I have a second? No. Motion by the judge, seconded by Commissioner McCall. Any further discussion? There being none, Paula, could you please call the vote?

Judge DeLarsen? Aye. Motion carries four to zero. Next up, consideration of possible action. Number 28, consideration of possible action regarding the interlocal cooperation contract between DPS and Kendall County for DPS to provide testing and analysis of seized drug evidence submitted by Kendall County and Medina counties. We have the DA's office with us, so this looks like an annual renewal as well.

I move to approve the interlocal cooperation contract between DPS and Kendall County for DPS to provide testing and analysis of seed drug evidence submitted by Kendall and Medina counties. Do I have a second? Motion by the judge, seconded by Commissioner McCall. Any further discussion? If not, all of you are up.

Aye. Motion carries four to zero. Next up, consideration of possible action regarding the acceptance of grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice in the amount of $915,961 through the Office of the OJP for FY2026 Special Attorneys Program Round 3 grant to fund a position for a special assistant U.S. attorney. Can you just give us a quick summary of what we got to do here?

Okay. How is that in reality tied to the county being a federal branch and

Does that benefit citizens in Kendall County?

And the person reports to, does the district attorney have a role in that or is that all the federal prosecutor's office?

And this was already approved to be submitted? Yes, sir. Okay. I'll entertain a motion at this time.

All right, you want to go for your questions and then we'll...

Okay. So you mentioned that the rent and all that would be paid for. So is this a county employee?

And then do we have a proposed salary? And if so, is this salary compatible with any current Kendall County prosecutor?

Isn't this consistent with like how the law enforcement works with other agencies to like, we work with the feds, we work with the DEA. This is no different. It's just the DA is working with the U.S. attorneys who have overlapping jurisdictions in some areas, and this allows for a more smooth transition when you have a state and federal crime to hand it over to the U.S. Attorney's Prosecution.

Also, I was going to ask Nicole, but do you know if we have cases in Kendall County that this attorney would have prosecuted. I mean, is this something we can look at that we would have been able to use this attorney for?

Well, to follow up on her question, I assume that that attorney's office is already trying these cases, right?

This gives them another prosecutor to help get that done.

It's a way to use federal dollars to supplement in a quicker way than going through the federal process.

I'm glad you're here, Jen. So we have a new position coming as a grant manager. And I looked at the 43 conditions on 19 pages of what this attorney needs to follow, well, for the grant needs to follow. So kind of in your opinion, since you deal with grants, can you kind of tell us how many man hours or maybe a percentage of their job, just looking at what the seat grant would be dedicated to this?

And then last question. Again, we have a grant manager that will be handling this and I know there'll be a transition period. But it sounds like we're going to be doing the reporting and all of the, what's needed for this grant. If we don't meet the conditions, because there's 43, and I know every grant's different, what would be the consequences of not meeting that?

All right. At this time, I'll entertain a motion as to Agenda Item 29. Anyone?

I'll move to, is that Special Assignment Attorney?

Thanks. I move to approve the acceptance of grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice in the amount of $915,961 to the Office of Justice Programs FY2026 Special Attorneys Program Round 3 grants to fund a position for a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Motion made by Commissioner Wieschen. Is there a second? I'll second. Second by Commissioner Carpenter. Any further discussion? If not, Paula, you're up.

I'm abstaining because I did the last time, so motion carries 2-1. Next up, consideration of possible action regarding a job description for a special assignment attorney, special assistant U.S. attorney position, which will be working with the U.S. Attorney's Office. So you have the job description, and it's been

review and consider. So, Judge, I move to approve the job description, special assignment attorney, special assistant U.S. attorney for Office of Justice Programs FY 2026, special attorney's program.

Motion made by Commissioner Wieschen, seconded by Commissioner Carpenter. Any further discussion? I just want to make sure, again, when it comes time to put it out, please make sure the font's ADA compliant. All right. With that, Paula, you're up.

I'm abstaining again. So motion carries two to one with Commissioner Weijan and Carpenter in favor and Commissioner McCall opposed. And finally, last thing up on our agenda, consideration and possible action to enter an agreement with the AGCM Inc. to provide, is there anything, I don't need to sign on anything for that, correct? Okay, thank you. To provide project management ownership owners agent services in amount not to exceed $49,150 for services related to remodeling project at 119 Old San Antonio Road, pursuant to the county's request for qualifications 2026-06. Commissioner Legion, I'l

So yesterday we worked through the budget, which is $4 million for this project and currently earmarked in our fiscal 2026 budget. We have now maximized the use of the building rather than designing around two departments. We're now working toward a plan that addresses three county needs, the JP2 elections and the district court, which, as we've heard from Judge Cahoon, is out of space in the courthouse due to not only two district courts. but a surge in the number of cases from visiting judges. So the architect is on board with this plan. He'll be tweaking the design to make room for a 12-per

And then we have Joshua. Yes, Joshua Sletcher with AGCM here, if you have any questions. Tell us a little bit about your firm and how you intend to help us and bring this project in a timeline and the budget that we've got.

And then just to clarify, this firm – went through the request for qualifications and all of the rankings and then the interviews. Yes. Was the second chosen? Yes.

Mary Ellen, I'd like your opinion on the committee and your instrumental in working on the engineering building that we now live in on Blanco. And so what are your thoughts on?

Judge, I move to approve the proposal submitted by AGCM Inc. and to authorize the county judge to execute the contract for owner's agent services associated with the remodel project at 119 Old San Antonio.

Motion made by Commissioner Wieschen. Do I have a second? Seconded by Commissioner McCall. Any further discussion? There being none. Paula?

Aye. Judge Delisle? Aye. Motion carries 4-0.

That concludes our open portion of today's session. Would you all like to take just a quick break and then we'll wrap up? All right. So we're going to be in recess until 12.02. p.m., and we are resuming our open portion of today's session. Are there any motions coming out of executive? Ladies? None? Chad? None? None for me. With that, it is 12.17 p.m., and this regularly called session of the Kendall County Commissioner's Court is now adjourned.