Atascosa County Commissioners Court approves personnel moves, permits, purchases and payroll in April 14 session

Atascosa County Commissioners Court on April 14 approved a package of routine county business including personnel appointments and pay changes, land-use and road permits, equipment leases and payroll disbursements.

Key outcomes at a glance: commissioners approved (1) personnel appointments and pay adjustments across several departments, (2) a proclamation declaring April 2025 Child Abuse Prevention Month, (3) the lease purchase of a Quadient mail/parcel machine using the Buy Board procurement cooperative, (4) authorization for J and M Truck Tire Shop Inc. to deliver a 48-foot trailer to remove tires from the old Atascosa County landfill for $2,300 (no taxes), (5) multiple subdivision and certificate-exception approvals, and (6) approval of payroll claims and vendor payments.

Personnel and human-resources actions: the court approved several hires and internal changes including a juvenile probation officer (Jaime Carmona, $25.48/hour), an EMT (Caitlin Seen, PRN EMT at $15/hour), kennel staff hires and pay adjustments in animal control (including a new kennel tech Tori Starkey at $18.27/hour and a pay increase for Mariano Rodriguez to $20.19/hour), public defender office adjustments (Sandra Woodall corrected to $19.23/hour, promotion/position changes for Kirby Wayland and David Cuellar with stated annual salaries of $88,000 and $100,000 respectively), juvenile supervision staff promotion for Alice Lopez to juvenile supervision officer ($22.03/hour), and several road and precinct hires (including Jorge Roberto Velasquez at $21.63/hour in Precinct 2). The court approved each personnel action by motion; motions were typically moved by Commissioner Gillespie and seconded by Commissioners Bowen, Pavelic or Riley. Recorded roll-call tallies were not included in the minutes for these items.

Purchases, contracts and equipment: the court approved leasing an updated Quadient mailing machine via Buy Board (presented by Loretta Holly) and authorized the county to contract with J and M Truck Tire Shop Inc. to deliver a 48-foot trailer to assist in removing a large pile of tires at the former county landfill (5959 FM 2146) for $2,300; the county plans to stage a skid steer at the site and coordinate commissioners and staff to load tires.

Permits, plats and land-use: rural development staff presented and the court approved multiple land-use items: road-bore permits for Spectrum Gulf Coast LLC on Bruce Road and Old Pleasant Road (Precinct 1), certificate-exception approvals for property splits (Douglas Heard on Tomlinson Road, Anne King on West FM 476, the Barrera family on County Road 312), plat amendments and subdivisions (Thomas Road subdivision, Country Trail Subdivision Unit 4 lot-line change), vacation and replats in the Maravillas West Subdivision (Phase 2 and Phase 3), and two road permits on County Road 403 and County Road 412 (Precinct 4). The court also approved an order to close and abandon a road shown as Reservoir Road near 2650 East FM 140 in Precinct 3 after notice postings exceeded 20 days.

Finance and payroll: Auditor Tracy Barrera presented and the court approved disbursements from the pretrial miscellaneous fund — a $10,500 third-quarter payment to the Community Supervision and Corrections Department (CSCD) as authorized by Article 102.0121 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure — and approved two payroll claims (Claim 20 for $790,481.25 and Claim 21 for $789,008.52). The county attorney reviewed and approved the CSCD payment before presentation to the court.

Infrastructure update and other business: County infrastructure project manager Curtis Vickers gave a monthly report on building projects: the tax office foundation piers were drilled and slab work was expected to begin, and the sheriff’s office permit was obtained with demolition and framing underway for a training-room reconfiguration and slab work for a parking-lot expansion. Commissioners recorded routine training certifications for elected officials and scheduled upcoming chip-seal work on Strawberry City Road and County Road 304; no executive-session items were on the agenda.

Votes at a glance (selected items): - Proclamation: “Approve proclamation declaring April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month” — mover: Commissioner Gillespie; second: Commissioner Bowen; outcome: approved (voice vote). - Personnel (multiple hires/promotions): each item was moved and seconded (typical mover: Commissioner Gillespie) and approved; documented hires include Jaime Carmona (juvenile probation), Caitlin Seen (PRN EMT), Tori Starkey (kennel tech), Mariano Rodriguez (pay increase), Pedro Agosti (part-time ACO), Santo Greenwood (pay increase), Sandra Woodall (legal assistant pay correction), Kirby Wayland (assistant public defender), David Cuellar (assistant public defender), Alice Lopez (promotion to juvenile supervision officer), Jorge Roberto Velasquez (road crew hire). - Purchase/contract: “Authorize J and M Truck Tire Shop Inc. to deliver 48-foot trailer for tire disposal at 5959 FM 2146 — $2,300” — mover: Commissioner Gillespie; second: Commissioner Bowen; outcome: approved. - Lease: Quadient mail machine lease via Buy Board — outcome: approved. - Road/permit approvals and subdivisions: multiple permits, exceptions and plats presented by rural development staff (Britney Van Curren) were approved (Spectrum Gulf Coast LLC road bores; Lakeside Horizon rental community compliance; Thomas Road subdivision; Maravillas West vacating/replat items; Country Trail Unit 4 plat amendment; County Road permits). - Finance: CSCD payment $10,500 (Article 102.0121) — outcome: approved; Payroll claims 20 ($790,481.25) and 21 ($789,008.52) — outcome: approved.

Why it matters: The court handled routine administrative and land-use business that funds and staffs county operations, advances construction projects, and authorizes small-dollar contracts to address local problems (tire disposal). Personnel approvals affect public-safety staffing and county services. The infrastructure update gives the public a timetable for county facility projects.

The court confirmed the next meeting will be Monday, April 28.