Mineral Wells Area News

By Amy Bearden

It took a run off to get to the table, but Richard Ralls is ready to get to work!

Ralls began his journey to the Commissioner’s Court not quite a year ago when he let it be known he was going to run for Palo Pinto County Commissioner Precint #1 Gary Glover’s seat when it was announced that he would not seek reelection.

Ralls began attending Court meetings along with two other opponents but Ralls was the last man standing at the end of the election. It took a runoff in May against opponent Mark Harrington, who Ralls lapped at the polls, taking home 75% of the vote.

Ralls was sworn in by Judge Shane Long in mid-June and took over Glover’s seat who retired early from the position. Ralls addressed the Court at his first meeting on June 24th and said he’s eager to get to work.

Other Meeting Notes:

Tax Abatement Guidelines

Commissioners adopted guidelines and criteria for granting tax abatements for economic development. The County has been approached by several entities seeking tax abatements for investing their business in the community. Last month, a consulting company seeking a tax abatement made a presentation to the Court about their client’s desire to build an energy substation in the southern portion of Palo Pinto County to store solar power for a large hospital corporation. Long noted that the Court has actually had several proposals of renewable energy projects, and even though the county has healthy tax revenues because of areas like Possum Kingdom Lake, they don’t necessarily “need” the revenue like some other counties and have delayed this type of development. However he noted in May that the time had come to discuss the idea. Today the Court voted unanimously to establish tax abatement guidelines to manage the growth the County is expecting.

“This is the process that has to be taken care of before we can abate anything,” stated Long.

A wind farm in another area of the County has also been discussed.

“We know things are coming, so we have to get prepared,” said Commissioner Mike Reed.

Emergency Services District News

New Chief

Danny Watkins, the new Palo Pinto County Fire Chief, told the Court he’s not originally from Texas but he got here as soon as he could. His love for firefighting is profound and we hope to share more of his dynamic story soon so stay tuned.

ESD Board Vacancy

Judge Long received a Letter of Resignation from ESD#1 Board Member Jessica Rangel. Applications are being accepted until noon on July 18th in the County Judge’s office.

Noteworthy

Sheridan Staying Longer

The County extended their agreement with King Street Productions(Taylor Sheridan’s group) will continue to utilize sets they constructed at Dempsey heliport and continue filming their show “Lioness” through September. The group inked an extension to their contract after their initial filming was successful in PPC earlier this month.

Budget Session

As organizational leaders brought their financial needs to the discussion at the budgetary workshop for next fiscal year, one thing was evident. More staff and more pay are needed.

The growth in the County means business is on the rise and elected officials are looking to balance the additional workload of their employees. The JP, Election, Tax Assessor and Sheriff’s office have all requested additional employees and/or pay increases for their staff in next year’s budget.

Sheriff Bret McGuire said they are hiring another investigator and says they also need a peace officer dedicated solely to Possum Kingdom Lake since the County has now taken over that jurisdiction. McGuire said he will use newly passed SB22 funds from the State for those salaries.

Also Notable: Palo Pinto County will experience an 8.9% increase in health insurance premiums next year for their employees, according to County Auditor Melissa Mahan.