The Scurry County Commissioners’ Court, today, approved guidelines for tax abatements on projects inside and outside the Snyder city limits.
The court approved two sets of guidelines and criteria — one for projects outside the Snyder city limits and one for projects inside the city limits.
The abatement guidelines were discussed at the Oct. 4 meeting when Jimmy Chandler, of Midwest Solar Power, LLC, checked to see if the company qualified for a tax abatement for a proposed solar farm at the SnTx Industrial Park. The court tabled any action until County Attorney Mike Hartman reviewed the guidelines and criteria for granting tax abatements in reinvestment zones. Hartman said at the time he believed the county did not have the authority to designate reinvestment zones for projects within Snyder’s city limits.
The Snyder City Council approved a 10-year, 100 percent abatement for the solar farm Monday night. The county commissioners’ court did not vote on an actual abatement for Midwest Solar Power today.
The county guidelines for projects inside the city limits state that in order to be eligible as a reinvestment zone and receive a tax abatement, the project must be an eligible facility, add at least $50,000 to the tax roll of eligible property, be reasonably expected to have an increase in positive net economic benefit to Scurry County of at least $100,000 over the life of the abatement and not be expected to solely or primarily have the effect of transferring employment from one part of the county to another.
Also during today’s meeting, Scurry County Judge Ricky Fritz suggested dividing the golf course’s finances into separate line items to make them easier to track.
Fritz said he talked with Randy Weaver, who is currently contracted to take care of groundskeeping at the course. During the summer, three major and five minor leaks were reported and Weaver said it would be best to wait for cooler weather to make repairs.
Weaver suggested hiring an irrigation company that specializes in the water systems. Weaver estimated the cost could range from $2,500 to $5,000. Fritz said he trusted Weaver’s opinion. Pct. 1 Commissioner Terry Williams said the court should look at estimates from at least three different companies.
Fritz said the temporary contracted work at the golf course has lasted longer than the county expected and said he would like to see a permanent solution soon. He asked the court whether they wanted to bid the golf course as a whole to an entity who would oversee all aspects of the property or bid pieces of the operation, like groundskeeping, pro shop and restaurant, separately.
Williams said he would like to see it bid together but said he believed asking companies with a groundskeeping expertise to oversee a restaurant and pro shop could prove problematic. Commissioners agreed to bring lists of criteria for groundskeeping to the next meeting.
The court approved a request from Scurry County EMS Director Jason Tyler to sell a surplus ambulance, accepted donations to the Scurry County Senior Citizens Center and Scurry County Library and approved a resolution authorizing a county grant for the Scurry County Senior Citizens Center’s Texans Feeding Texans home-delivered meals program through the Texas Department of Agriculture.
The court also approved a request from the Snyder Lions Club International to donate a bench along the walking path in Towle Park as part of Lions Internation’s centennial celebration in 2017.
Club President Charles Ragland and Vice President Barry Martin asked to place a bench near the volleyball courts, though they said they will talk with Parks Superintendent Larry Thompson about the placement.
The court will ask financial advisor Vince Vialle, of Specialized Public Financing, to attend the next meeting and discuss refinancing 2009 certificates of obligation.
The court approved the certification of $131,686 in new revenue for Scurry County EMS from the Ambulance Supplement Payment Program. The money was put into the EMS department’s capital expenditures of more than $5,000 line.
The court approved the certification of $26,629 in new revenue for the Scurry County Sheriff’s Office in the form of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) reimbursement through a West Central Texas Council of Governments grant. The money was put into the sheriff’s office’s capital outlay of more than $5,000 line.
The court approved the following line-item transfers:
• $25,052 for Scurry County EMS from capital expenditures of more than $5,000 and fuel and oil to vehicle expenses and professional services to cover PST Services, Inc., for the services provided through the Ambulance Supplemental Payment Program and Ambulance Billing Systems, and to cover vehicle expenses.
• $18,000 for the Scurry County Sheriff’s Office from food to equipment to purchase replacement radios for dispatchers.
• $4,800 for the Scurry County Jail from utilities and other equipment less than $1,000 to equipment greater than $1,000 and maintenance, repairs and miscellaneous to cover unforeseen maintenance costs at the facility and to replace a motor for a grinder.
• $4,500 for the Scurry County Senior Citizens Center from utilities, auto and fuel and oil to janitorial supplies and maintenance, repairs and miscellaneous to cover insufficient funds in the budget for the remainder of the year.
• $249 for the Scurry County Clerk’s Office from equipment to other equipment to purchase a new filing cabinet.
• $200 for Pct. 2 from fuel and oil to repair and maintenance to cover costs of oil equipment repair.
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