Hempstead County Quorum Court

The Hempstead County Quorum Court held their regular monthly meeting for April on Thursday April 27th. Following the prayer and pledge, the JP’s approved the minutes and financial report.

The JP’s discussed options concerning a vacancy for the seat held by J.P. Robert “Whit” Whitlock. Whitlock has moved from the county and will no longer be eligible to serve.

An appropriation ordinance for APSCG grant funds was approved. This was part of the general OEM Budget and the amount of a little over $28,000 was transferred for small equipment with the passing of the motion.

The JP’s approved an ordinance amending the budget for $77,000 earmarked towards Computer Services for the jail. The issue was that Microsoft will no longer service the current systember because of it’s age. This service is essential for the keeping of records.

David Boone from David Boone Ministries, contractor for the Hope Senior Citizens Center had asked to speak but was absent. Sylvia Brown spoke about the Juneteenth Celebration expanding to include Historic Washington State Park and also discussed the parade from Yerger to Fair Park. Brown asked for a resolution for Juneteenth to be a consistent celebration and for sponsorship from the Court for $500 and Individual Members of $175.

Next Hannah Humphrey spoke noting she had spoken last month on behalf of concerned Hempstead County residents in regards to the site submissions for potential prisons in the country. She said she was there for the same purpose this month as this is an ongoing process and no final decisions have been made by the state. Humphrey expressed concerns that the Hempstead County Economic Development Corporation continues to push the narrative that there are nothing but positive impacts brought on economically if a prison were to be built. Humphrey expressed disappointment that the majority of the folders with the research Kathy Woll had prepared for last month’s meeting were left on the table after last month’s meeting adjourned. Humphrey related that at last Friday’s Hempstead County Economic Development Corporation board meeting Dr. Lester Sitzes stated the EDC did not know where the money to fund the purchase of the land would come from. She stated the county would be giving away $1.5 million and expressed concern about the idea of using federal COVID relief money as an option given all the unmet needs of the county. Humprhey said no one she had talked to had been in favor of using the funds for this purpose. She further noted it had been stated at the EDC meeting that all the potential sites had faults. Humphrey noted they had been told they didn’t need to worry since the Blevins site wouldn’t be a good selection; however, the state authorities have made clear the site-selection process is nowhere near to ruling out a site. Humphrey quoted an article published earlier this week in which Steve Harris was quoted about the potential prison saying “It’s all positive.” He was asked about the governor’s push for a potential 3,000 inmate facility and said he didn’t see any problem with the facility growing to 3,000 inmates. Humphrey stated the residents will not be pacified and will continue to show up and have their voices heard. In response to Ms. Humphrey’s remarks, Judge Crane and the JPs concurred that there were other costs to be considered. JP Jessie Henry asked about the statement that the county was funding the prison. Henry said if that was the case, tonight was the first he’d heard of it. Judge Crane stated this was not the case and a few members had promised the state the county would fund it. Judge Crane stressed nothing had been decided yet and the state would have to approve any prison site.

The Court considered the financial needs of fixing or replacing a 30 year old fire sprinkler system and smoke detectors that need to be replaced in the jail. Sheriff James Singleton said they need to be fixed immediately and would cost under $10,000. The storm warning system is an urgent need with the code red program as the tornado sirens are unreliable in some areas.

The meeting closed out with the mention of Eddie Brazzel’s death. It was noted he was a good member of the community. The Sheriff stated that we had lost a good citizen and asked for a prayer to be said on his behalf. The meeting then adjourned.