WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS TO REVISIT ON-SITE SEWAGE FACILITY REGULATIONS

  

Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday will bring back an item from a previous meeting in April that drew lengthy discussion and led to a split vote by the court.

Commissioners will hold a public hearing for comments on proposed rules for on-site sewage facilities within the county, after which they will vote on adopting the regulations.

The order is meant to put into place more stringent standards for the installation and maintenance of septic systems. 

On April 15^th, commissioners voted 3-2 against the order.  Much of their discussion pertained to rules that would restrict the ability of septic system installers to submit new applications should they fail two inspections during a 12-month period, starting with a three-month block on new applications for the first infraction and escalating up to a 12-month suspension of new applications for three or more infractions.

Also on Tuesday, commissioners will consider stipend pay for employees who have been assigned additional duties due to vacancies in the Human Resources Department.  They will then canvass the results from the special emergency services district election on May 3^rd.

In other regular session items, the court will consider:

• Accepting the 2023 annual comprehensive financial report for Washington County by the outside auditing firm Crowe, LLP.
• Declaring some Engineering and Development Services equipment and items as surplus property and agreeing to sell through GovDeals, the county’s online auction service.
• Authorizing updated pricing through the OMNIA cooperative for the county’s rental service agreement with Cintas for uniform and workplace services products.
• Approving a contract with the General Land Office for the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation Program.
• A subdivision variance request for a land division fronting Caney Creek Road, consisting of 27.427 acres and 27.445 acres in Precinct 2.
• Formal notices from Industry Telephone Company for new service line installations across the county right-of-way of Koether Road, Raymond Lehmann Lane and Sandtown Road in Precinct 4. The items are only for discussion, with no action needed.

Following regular session, commissioners will open a workshop for a presentation on the Texas Association of Counties health and employee benefits pool mid-year review for the 2025 plan year.  They will also discuss and review TextMyGov, which is texting software meant to open up communication between municipalities and citizens.

Commissioners will meet Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Washington County Courthouse.