The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

County Board to increase GIS fees

By Sally Day, The Quill

Henderson County Supervisor of Assessments Melinda Clark requested the board increase the Geographical Information System (GIS) fees, during the May 14, 2013 county board meeting. She explained how much more paperwork and work, in general, is involved in "parcel splits." These occur when a parcel of land is split to sell it off in more than one parcel. She further noted that Henderson County has many more of these than surrounding counties. The board agreed to increase the fee by $25 for those documents coming out of the County Clerk's Office. Board member David Hinshaw thanked Clark for her good job on the information she supplied for the board.

Also, during the meeting, Tina Droste was appointed to the position of Henderson County Treasurer. Susan Meyer, sitting Henderson County Treasurer is retiring June 1. She was thanked for her many years of service and she thanked the board for working so well with her over the years.

During Committee Reports board member Curt Eisenmayer noted that there were concerns about ambulance calls. These will be addressed in an upcoming meeting. He further stressed the importance of getting school age children involved in County Government. He suggested some ways to involve children.

Also, during Committee Reports, board member Hinshaw told the board that the floors at the Sheriff's Department are in very bad shape. These are the floors in the outer offices, where people first see the Department.

Hinshaw asked if they were under warranty. Eisenmayer added that the area is not lit very well. This situation will also be looked into.

Board member Gail Russell explained to board members that Frontier, a phone company, will be on hand at the June meeting to discuss the phone system, phones, etc.

He also noted that Frontier will visit county offices to look at their phones and phone equipment.

Russell noted that the Sheriff Department's phones do not have caller I.D. and if someone excitedly calls up the Sheriff Department and hangs up before they get all the information, there is no way to find out where the call was initiated.

In other business, the Board:

• passed a measure to pay UMIMRA, $550 annually. UMIMRA is a lobbying group, assisting the county in work on the lock and dams. Board member Mark Lumbeck noted "They are trying to get the levees up to snuff."
• appointed board member Bob Peterson and Bryan Heap to the Board of Review.
• agreed to a Highway Resolution, which will repair a road near Carman. The road is just East of the Schunick Curve, and the repair is an approximate cost of $50,000, half of which will be the pipe to run under the road.
• tabled a discussion about taxes and agreement for services with the Drainage District. State's Attorney Scott McClintock and Board member Albert Renken will bring more information to the board.
• appointed Jayne Seitz to the Henderson County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners for a five year term.
• re-appointed Ralph Todd to the Dallas Rural Water District Board for a five year term. This is to assure we have a Henderson County resident on this board.
• agreed to pay Bob Cravens $650 to mow the Kemp Cemetery.
• approved claims made in April 2013.
• approved the minutes of the April 16 and April 25, 2013 meetings.