The Hockley County Commissioners Court met Monday to discuss and take action on several agenda items.
The Commissioners Court approved two final plats which include lots 1-5, Cotton Country Estates, a subdivision of Tract 25 a part of the Ropesville Farm Project located in Precinct 1. Under Precinct 1, Commissioner Alan Wisdom gave a brief update on the plat along with the company going through the process to build in the area.
The court also discussed the approval of the final plat for Tiger Farms II. In addition, the 958.08 acres situated in sections 8, 127 and 128 Block A and sections 11 and 12 in Block D. All sections and acreage are located in Hockley County in Precinct 4, which is under Commissioner Tommy Clevenger.
With the input from additional court members such as Commissioners Seth Graf, Alan Wisdom and Larry Carter, the court unanimously approved the final plats for Tiger Farms. However, the approval was made with various concerns in mind. The Commissioners Court has been hard at work during the past weeks trying to establish guidelines for the county and all precincts when it comes to buying land. Commissioner Tommy Clevenger explained that large housing companies buying land are making purchases and going through the necessary processes they have to. However, Clevenger explained that the court is trying to add more guidelines and regulations to better serve and help the county when dealing with larger companies. Concerns centered around the shear size of land in the Tiger Farms plat has the commissioners worried for towns such as Smyer.
“For the last 50 years, people have been moving out of the county and the sheer size and scope of this area can present problems,” explained Commissioner Clevenger. “We never want to restrict population from coming into the county, but this just creates a lot of issues we’ve haven’t had to deal with before.” Clevenger explained that the numbers have continued to reduce for a long time, but in the past two years it’s gone from a small number of land being bought into a large explosion that can cause hardships on school districts and the county. “In the past, if someone wanted to build themselves a new home we could build them a turnin off of a county road,” said Commissioner Clevenger. “Now we can’t spare the man power or the equipment to something of that nature for over 600 plus houses.” With subdivisions and projects of that nature being set around small towns such as Smyer and Ropes, there can be issues as those areas and lots are filled with families who have children. “Scenarios like that have required us to change some rules in the past and that is something we are going to have to address soon rather than later,” said Clevenger. “That is the issue we are currently facing and nobody likes problems. I sure hate restricting people who want to move into the county and that is why we did make the approval.”
The commissioners are in the process of developing guidelines with the help of our attorney to address these types of situations.
“As we are in the process of creating and making sure these guidelines are appropriate, we want to make sure we are protecting the people who are buying these homes and lots,” said Commissioner Clevenger.
Clevenger explained that not all companies are purposefully trying to take advantage of the system currently in place, but there are a few. “There are companies out there that are buying junk land, splitting it up and selling it to people over the internet without taking a good look at what they’re buying,” said Clevenger. “All of sudden, they bought a beach front in Arizona and they make the trip to their newly bought land it’s not what they expected.” Commissioner Clevenger explained that they have already had two instances where individuals have purchased land and it is located in a playa lake and in flood zones. “After getting a few days of rain, they’re going to be under water when its all said and done,” said Clevenger. Commissioner Clevenger encourages individuals who are looking into purchasing land and dumping their investments into those areas to talk to their precinct commissioner and gathering all the information they can. Commissioner Clevenger says there is going to be more land purchases from large companies in the future. For the guidelines the Commissioners Court are trying to put together, those rules and regulations which will include permits that are necessary for larger companies to follow in order to reign in those buyers.
Clevenger explained that the process to get the guidelines in affect take a good amount of time, but the goal is to get them right legally and for the county to do their jobs efficiently for its citizens.
Also discussed in the meeting was the approval of an election plan along with making September 20 National Voter Registration Day.
The Hockley County Elections Administrations Office has made the effort to recognize and celebrate Voter Registration Day which is a national holiday.
Hockley County Elections Administrator Jody Rose presented the item to the Commissioners Court with the unanimous approval of all members.
Additionally, the court was pleased with the election plan Rose presented in case of emergency during an election or for certain scenarios if needed.
Continuing with the meeting, the court approved the purchase of a 2022 Caterpillar 150 Motor Grader to be bought through the Buy Board. The Caterpillar will be replacing a 2017 Caterpillar 140M3 Motor Garder and will be used in Precinct 1.
Levelland City Manager discussed the agreement of the Texas Department of Transportation for the fiscal year of 2022-2023 for the Routine Airport Maintenance Program.
The Commissions Court unanimously approved the agreement of the program.
During the discussion, Anderson explained that the Airport Board had not met yet as they will soon announce the meeting set for the board. Additionally, there no urgent tasks that need to be handled immediatley by the county or the board. The contract for the manager of the airport will be culminating soon and that will be a point of focus to discuss in the next meeting. County Judge Sharla Baldrige asked if there was any projects that needed to be done or if any came to mind. City Manager Anderson explained that the current manager of the airport is forming a list of possible projects or areas that need to be addressed.
That list will be presented at the scheduled meeting for the board.