By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
The Ellis County Commission will hear a request from the city of Victoria for help repairing sections of Old Highway 40 during the county's meeting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Ellis County Public Works Director Brendan Mackay and Victoria Mayor John Schulte will discuss potential financial support to fix the deteriorating road approaches connecting Old Highway 40 to East Main and West Main streets.
The total cost to repair both streets is about $79,750. In a request letter, Schulte said while Victoria would prefer to repair both approaches, East Main Street would take priority if only one can be funded due to its higher traffic volume.
The county will be asked to cover one-third of the expenses.
Ellis County Sheriff's cameras, vests
Ellis County Sheriff Scott Braun will discuss with commissioners a grant application that would fully cover upgrades to in-car and body cameras, docking stations, antennas and routers.
Braun will also request approval to purchase 16 armor vests for detention officers for about $15,530. Funding is available in the 2025 capital outlay budget.
Monthly departmental reports
Commissioners will review monthly departmental reports, including data on emergency service calls and response times at incident scenes.
Darin Myers, county administrator, will discuss several reports, including those from Ellis County Communications, Environmental Services, EMS and the Sheriff's Office.
Other business
Tom Lippert and Julie Edgeman will request the commissioners waive municipal waste fees for the 2025 Wild West Festival. The waiver would apply to trash hauled to the Ellis County Transfer Station during the event.
Commissioner Michael Berges will continue a discussion from March on creating a plan to maintain and improve roads in Ellis County subdevelopments. Commissioners will also hear public input on the issue.
Monique Koerner and Tamara Robertson from the Cottonwood Extension District will give an update on their current programs and activities in the district.
Jami Benyshek, senior audit manager with Adams Brown, LLC, will present the 2024 Ellis County audit report to the commission.
You can view the full agenda here.