Blanco County accepts donated sprinkler system for Veterans Memorial; committee oversight transferred

The Blanco County Commissioners Court on Jan. 28 accepted a donated irrigation and sprinkler system for the county Veterans Memorial and authorized a transfer of memorial stewardship to the Hill Country NSD chapter.

Miss Jenkins presented the proposal for an irrigation system donated by Robert MIT, saying the system will tie into the memorial's existing water line and be installed at no cost to the county. She told the court they will mark the installation clearly and include required backflow prevention and city-compliance measures. The court moved to accept the donation and the motion carried by voice vote.

The court also took up a resignation from Clay Simpson from the county-appointed Veterans Memorial committee and approved dissolving the committee for transfer of responsibilities to the Hill Country NSD chapter, a 501(c)(3). Miss Jenkins reported ongoing fundraising and memorial sales, saying, "we have 11 new orders I think we actually got one in overnight," and listed cash on hand at approximately $37,318.19 for kiosk and site improvements. Commissioners discussed kiosk design, conduit for future power and internet, deadlines for brick batches (March 15 and Sept. 15), and possible hotel-tax support for tourism promotion; staff said a future application to the court will outline any hotel-tax request.

The action authorizes the outside nonprofit to manage fundraising and maintenance of the memorial with the court recognizing four contributors for their service. The court also asked staff to ensure city-mandated backflow prevention and clear documentation of the installed irrigation for future county maintenance.

The court proceeded to routine business following the memorial items.