Commission voices election concerns

With holidays already on their minds — Thanksgiving’s next week, after all — Brewster County commissioners jumped a week ahead of their usual schedule Monday to wrap up old business and target new projects.

Although it was near the end of the agenda, the item that had courthouse workers buzzing was whether the Commissioners Court would abolish the position of elections administrator and return electoral functions to the county clerk and/or tax assessor-collector.

After a lengthy executive session with County Attorney Steve Houston, commissioners directed County Judge Val Beard to “con-vey the court’s continuing concerns … to the elections administrator.”

Elections Administrator Jerri Dale Jones had been under scrutiny since last spring’s Democratic primary election, when some ballot boxes containing early votes were found in a vault three days after the election. The outcome in the district attorney’s race was uncertain, and other problems included unsigned electronic votes and consolidated precincts, apparently without legal authorization. A recount canvass showed Jesse Gonzales of Fort Stockton defeated incumbent District Attorney Frank Brown, but the primary brouhaha left some Alpine political activists questioning election procedures. In a previous Commissioners Court meeting, Beard and commissioners had directed Jones to undergo further training.

At the start of Monday’s meeting, Jones told the court that 3,952 out of Brewster County’s 6,337 registered voters, or 62.36 percent, cast ballots in the Nov. 4 general election. She added that the Texas Secretary of State’s Office now had the vote canvass, as did each commissioner. The court approved Jones’ canvass and assured her they didn’t need a candidate-by-candidate review.

Big infrastructure projects, which county officials are eager to get built and occupied, are moving right along, Beard said.

The site on East Holland Avenue in Alpine, where the Alpine/North Brewster County Emergency Response Center will be built, has been cleared of debris. The plot in Marathon for a new law enforcement facility ran into a small snag: Pct. 3 Commissioner Ruben Ortega said the ground there was so hard, two drill bits had to be used to get a core sample. But now that’s done, he said, he’s trying to figure which direction the sewer should go.

Pct. 2 Commissioner Kathy Killingsworth got Commissioners Court for approval to work with Rio Grande Electric Cooperative on moving power lines for the South County Emergency Response Center.

Beard reminded commissioners that groundbreaking for the new Alpine Public Library — in which the county has played a large role, including clearing debris from the site that was donated by the city and the school district — will be on Dec. 4, and she encouraged them all to attend.

Commissioners gave Beard approval to negotiate with subcontractors to move things along, and she said most subcontracting work was still up in the air except for concrete.

The commissioners opened two sealed bids for three new vehicles for the Sheriff’s Office, one for $33,095 and the other for $25,241. After Sheriff Ronny Dodson reviewed the bids and said Rudolph Chevrolet had the better, lower price for nearly identical vehicles, commissioners awarded the contract to the El Paso dealership.

One milestone has been passed, County Clerk Berta Rios Martinez told the court: A customized website/program has been completed that will give the public online access to public records. The program will have subscriber and non-subscriber options to search, purchase and download records.

Leo Ofenstein, the county's IT chief, said a link from the county?s existing website to the new one would be created; he didn?t give a date. Commissioners praised Martinez and her office for the "good job" they've been working on for months.

In other action, commissioners: