Grimes County commissioners approve package of administrative actions, fund election machine upgrade

Grimes County Commissioners Court on June 11 approved a series of routine and program-specific measures, including a software upgrade for the county’s election machines, an increase in a district clerk fee, the county’s ARPA financial-management documents and several facility and right-of-way actions.

The court voted on more than a dozen items during its regular session. Key outcomes included approval of: the consent agenda; a district clerk certified-fee increase from $12 to $15; funding and training for an election-machine software upgrade; a topographic/location survey of the Iola collection site; a $4-per-day reimbursement policy for employees using personal phones while conducting disaster damage assessments; appointment of the county’s emergency-management coordinator as the county ADA/504 coordinator; acceptance of a 60-foot easement dedication from Hawthorne Land LLC for County Road 229; renewal of a special road-use permit for WHC Energy Services; and ARPA-required documents (financial management plan, code of conduct, records-retention policy). The court also authorized temporary janitorial coverage for the Road & Bridge South Barn and appointed a…