The totalled SUV of Precinct 1 Constable Kelly Phelps was declared as salvage at the July 22 regular meeting of the DeWitt County Commissioners Court. Precinct 2 Commissioner James Pilsek led the meeting due to the late arrival of County Judge Daryl Fowler.
On June 12, the 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe, used by Phelps, was crashed into while on I-10 in Colorado County at 4 a.m., according to the accident report.
Constable Phelps has not responded to enquiries as to why he was out of DeWitt County with the SUV.
After the meeting, Judge Fowler said the vehicle had recently had a $7,000 transmission repair. It had originally been purchased for the sheriff’s office at the cost of $47,575, but it had been rotated out as its performance declined.
Fowler hopes to recoup more on the insurance return due to the new parts on the transmission.
Also at the meeting, Acting Elections Administrator Natalie Carson requested an order of general election for the November election with the early voting locations identified. The commissioners voted to receive it.
Human Resources Director Ashley Holub shared that she achieved the title of Certified Professional by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM ), an internationally recognized certification. After a round of applause, the commissioners officially received the certificate of achievement.
The commissioners also set a public hearing date of Aug. 12 for comments on placing a “No Thru Traffic” sign on Old San Antonio Road in Precinct 1. A public hearing on the same date was approved for comments on the annual archive plan for funding the preservation and restoration of the county clerk’s records. These records would include birth and death certificates and other public records.
When Judge Fowler arrived, he commented on the Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) for county employees. He had recently learned that the fund did not reset every year, but accumulated, if not used by the employee, up to $4,000 where it topped out. Fowler said this had not been the intention of the court when authorizing the funds and he recommended revisiting the approved HRA wording to make it reflect the original intention. The court took no action on the item.
The next regular meeting of the Commissioner’s Court will be Monday, Aug. 12 at 9 a.m.
