Commissioners accept Pct. 1 JP’s resignation

By Lindsey Vaculin

General Manager

Milam County Commissioners approved abatements for two new businesses and accepted the resignation of Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Rick Gommert during its meeting on March 27.

Gommert resigned his post in a letter to the court. Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Sam Berry will cover Gommert’s duties until the March 2018 election. The magistrate duties and on call duties will be split among the remaining three JPs.

Milam County Judge David Barkemeyer said that depending on March’s primary election the court may make an appointment at that time.

Barkemeyer said that if there is no Democratic challenger in the primary the court will probably appoint the winner of the Republican primary to the position until January’s election. If there is a challenger, they will look at leaving Berry with those duties or finding another resolution.

Commissioners also approved tax abatements for two new businesses coming into the county: Rockdale Senior Care Realty LLC and Livestock Nutrition Center. Both abatements are 80 percent for four years.

Rockdale Senior Care Realty will build a new nursing home facility in Rockdale. They are currently operating in Rockdale in an old facility. The facility currently has 35 residents. The new facility will have room for 88 residents. They employ about 45 people currently. There will be the possibility of hiring an additional 26 people for the new facility. The land the facility will be built on was purchased from the Rockdale School District.

The current unit is a locked unit that services patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s. The new facility will have facilities for rehabilitation and full-time residence. The cost of the new building will be around $6.5 million.

The City of Rockdale has already approved a tax abatement for 80 percent for four years for Rockdale Senior Care Realty.

Livestock Nutrition Centers is building a new facility in the Cameron Industrial Park.

“We have been working with them for quite a while,” Cameron Industrial Foundation Executive Director Ginger Watkins said. “They will be acquiring the land the Cameron Economic Development Corporation currently owns in the Cameron Industrial Park. They will be building a custom feed blending facility here. This is a great fit for Milam County with our large agricultural base here.”

Watkins said this will be putting this property back on the tax rolls as the Cameron EDC does not currently pay taxes on the property.

Representatives from Livestock Nutrition Centers said the facility will be a 350-foot-by-118-foot warehouse. The company blends custom products for pre-feed lot cattle. 

They currently have nine facilities in Texas and Oklahoma. The closest facility to this area is in Saginaw, a northern suburb of Fort Worth. The company has been looking for a location in Central Texas for some years and said Cameron was a great fit for them.

Livestock Nutrition Centers will build the site from scratch including rail track and a switch.

They said they will employ 10 people very quickly and feel they can provide a service to the county to help people feed their cattle and grow their business also. They do currently provide 44 Farms with most of their feed. 

The Cameron City Council has already approved an 80 percent abatement for four years.

In other business commissioners also: heard a county and district court update; approved bids for CR 421; opened and approved bids for CR 442 bridge; approved the public sale of abandoned 2.596 acre roadway in Miguel Davilla Survey; and approved the addition of Zane and Eunice Stigall of San Gabriel to the Milam County Historical Commission.