ROCKWALL —
The commissioners met in a workshop session this week to discuss some long lasting issues before they start planning for next year’s budget.
With the spring election season coming to a close the issue of elections signs on right-of-way public roads came up for the third time in the court.
Two agreements were reached regarding the issue. The commissioners and County Judge Jerry Hogan all saw safety issues with signage in public road right-of-ways. They also had concerns over sign placement on county property.
“Political signs on the courthouse lawn are presumptuous and in poor taste,” Precinct Four County Commissioner David Magness said.
Hogan proposed the idea of including an ordinance in any legislation passed regarding right-of-way placement that would make it illegal to place political signs on the courthouse lawn.
County Attorney Jon Thatcher suggested making the courthouse a polling place, which would eliminate any problems with the signs.
The court also addressed citizen concern over the relocation of the driver’s license office.
“I think the county made a mistake moving them here,” he said.
The office used to be located in the Brookshire’s shopping center, but was relocated to downtown Rockwall in September of 2011. Safety concerns have recently come up over pedestrian traffic heading toward the office. Hogan said he spoke to a representative from the state and that overall the move has worked out well for Texas. Regarding the crosswalk, Hogan said he would speak with Rockwall City Manager Rick Crowley about speaking with the state to get yellow warning lights at the intersection of State Highway 66 and South Fannin Road.
“I think over the next five years we should look at using the current location as more of an interim,” Precinct One County Commissioner Jerry Wimpee said.
The relocation of the driver’s license office by the county has caused parking concerns with downtown tenants as well. Hogan said despite the move, county employees take up very few spaces on the square.
“We are taking some heat we probably don’t deserve,” he said.
Hogan also gave an update on the Regional Healthcare Partnership that Rockwall County has entered into with Denton and Collin counties.
“There is some good and bad here,” he said. “The good is we have been successful in linking up with Collin and Denton, which keeps us out of Parkland’s RHP. They have the same objective as we do in wanting to keep indigent healthcare costs low.”
Hogan said he received the final map, which showed every RHP district, June 4. Hogan said districts could use a county, or a hospital district as an anchor. District 18 elected for Collin County to be the anchor, since there are no public hospital systems in the district.
“At this point in the game we are as up-to-speed on this as anyone else,” Hogan said.
Library Director Marcine McCulley ended the meeting with a presentation over what other libraries did to handle out of district members. The court has been playing with the idea of charging out of county library members a fee to possess a library card and borrobooks.
McCulley said she received information from more than 45 different libraries, eight of which charge out of district fees.
“I prefer that we don’t charge, but if we do I want to make sure that it is presented so they know they’re paying what the taxpayers are paying for the library,” McCulley said.
Hogan suggested charging $25 a year for the card, which would yield close to $150,000 a year in revenue for the library given current out of county membership.
There are currently 30,570 people in Rockwall County registered with the library and about 6,000 registered that don’t live in the county.
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