Commissioners honor volunteer fire departments
The Milam County Commissioners took time to thank the county’s fire departments during its meeting on Feb. 24.
“Like a lot of rural counties there are no paid firefighters in the county,” Milam County Judge Steve Young said. “They are all volunteers. They volunteer their time 24/7, weekends, nights, holidays. We just want to say thank you for what you do. Not only do they volunteer their time. They do their own fundraisers to buy their own fire trucks and clothes.”
Young said the county tried to give out a little more money to the stipends the county gives out to the fire departments every year. He said commissioners added $22,000 to the budget for that this year. That was an additional $2,500 for each department this year.
Each fire department was present to receive their checks for the year. Minerva, Bartlett, Buckholts, and Burlington received $4,500. Gause received $5,500. Thorndale and Milano received $17,500. Cameron and Rockdale received $27,500.
There are several fundraisers coming up for area fire departments: Minerva’s fundraiser is Feb. 29; Bartlett is March 21 in Davilla; and Gause is April 4. The Milano Fire Department will also be hosting an ERT class beginning March 17 for emergency response training for anyone interested.
During the meeting commissioners also approved taking necessary action to pave the county road in front of the Minerva Fire Station to make access easier to get the fire trucks in and out of the station.
During Young’s discussion of economic development in the county he said that due to the construction that is ongoing out at Whinstone in Rockdale the county’s sales tax for this period as compared to last year is up 149 percent due in part to construction. He said they are about to begin on the second building at the site.
The court also approved a tax abatement agreement for Project Athena that will be a 10-year abatement for the 12-acre project in Minerva. It will be a 90 percent abatement for the first year and then go down 10 percent each year over the 10-year period.
In other business the court also: hired the law firm of Allison and Bass to represent Milam County in the upcoming State redistricting plan; discussed the effect that the 3.5 percent cap on taxing for 2021 will effect the county; approved an agreement with the Rockdale Historical Society to lease the former IG&N Depot and Museum in Rockdale; approved a mass gathering permit for Burning Flipside at Apache Pass May 21-25; approved renaming a private road off of FM 2095 to Myrtle Lane; approved the acceptance of bids to sell a used oil tanker for Precinct 4; approved certifications for the Emergency Management Office; approved election contracts; proclaimed National Nutrition Month 2020; and approved the sale of property held in trust by Milam County.