Jim Wells County commissioners approve proclamations, appointments and routine business

Jim Wells County Commissioners Court on April 14, 2025 approved a package of proclamations, administrative contracts, and appointments while taking routine votes on payrolls and a tax‑sale purchase offer.

The court voted to proclaim April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and to recognize April as Autism Awareness Month and April 27–May 4, 2025 as Texas Soil and Water Stewardship Week. The court also proclaimed April 2025 as National County Government Month.

The proclamations were presented to the court during the public portion of the meeting. Jaylene Garza, outreach coordinator for Brush Country CASA, said, “My name is Jaylene Garza and I'm the outreach coordinator for Brush Country Casa,” and asked the court to observe April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. The proclamation text read by a court official stated in part, “Now therefore, I, Pedro Pete Trevino junior, county judge for Jim Wells County, do hereby proclaim April 2025 as child abuse prevention month in Jim Wells County.”

Richard Geva, the county elections administrator, presented an item to designate Julio U. Martinez as the county 9‑1‑1 address coordinator while Martinez remains acting deputy in the county election office. Geva said the elections office “also, takes care of 9 1 1 address responsibilities” and that Martinez had “established routines and standards” since the office took over those duties in December 2023. A motion to appoint Martinez carried.

David Simmons, president of the Jim Wells County Soil and Water Conservation District Board, described the district as “a board of 5 volunteer landowners” and outlined the board’s monthly meeting schedule and partnerships with state and federal conservation agencies while presenting the stewardship‑week proclamation.

On financial and property items, the court approved an offer to purchase a tax‑sale property in suit number 040213178B. The winning bid was reported as $65,000 by purchasers listed as Christina Rosales Solis and others; the clerk reported distributions from the sale that were read into the record (county share, Alice Independent School District share, and a small payment to Brush Country Groundwater Conservation). The court approved the purchase offer as presented.

The court also approved an extension to the commencement‑of‑operation deadline in the county's property tax abatement agreement with Tallahassee Energy to a December 31 date (as presented on the agenda) and acknowledged assignment of the agreement to Bridge Solar Orange Grove LLC; the county judge said he had discussed the assignment with the county attorney, who reviewed the agreement and was “okay with it.”

Administratively, the court voted to extend the county depository contract with Prosperity Bank for a two‑year rollover (the end date on the contract was corrected on the record to May 31, 2027), approved the annual county investment policy, and approved payrolls and bills submitted by the county auditor except for the items the court excluded on the record. The court also approved allowing alcohol consumption (not sales) at Jim Wells County Park in Fremont for a two‑day summer event in June 2025; a commissioner stated the intent was limited to consumption and that signs would be covered for those two days.

Votes at a glance: - Approve minutes from previous meeting — motion and second; passed. - Consent agenda (item 105 as presented) — motion and second; passed. - Proclamation: April 2025 Child Abuse Prevention Month (presented by Brush Country CASA) — motion and second; passed. - Resolution: April 2025 Autism Awareness Month — motion and second; passed. - Tax‑sale purchase offer, suit no. 040213178B (bid reported $65,000; distributions read into record) — motion and second; passed. - Appointment: Julio U. Martinez as 9‑1‑1 address coordinator (while remaining acting deputy, election office) — motion and second; passed. - Proclamation: Texas Soil and Water Stewardship Week (Apr. 27–May 4, 2025) — motion and second; passed. - Allow alcohol consumption at Jim Wells County Park for a June 2025 event (no sales) — motion and second; passed. - Extension: commencement deadline in property tax abatement agreement with Tallahassee Energy to Dec. 31 (as presented) — motion and second; passed. - Assignment acknowledgment: transfer of agreement to Bridge Solar Orange Grove LLC — motion and second; passed. - Extend depository contract with Prosperity Bank (rollover to 05/31/2027) — motion and second; passed. - Approve annual Jim Wells County investment policy — motion and second; passed. - Approve payrolls and bills (except listed exceptions) — motion and second; passed.

The court completed the agenda with routine clerk and finance items and adjourned. Several items presented at the meeting were proclamations and informational in nature; no new county ordinances or litigation actions were introduced on the record during this session.

(Reporters: the meeting record contains verbatim proclamation text and numerical distributions for the tax‑sale purchase; the transcript included those figures but some amounts were read in a form that was not fully clear in the audio. The article reports the total bid amount as read into the record: $65,000.)