News

Special Called Meeting
Agenda
Aransas County Alliance Local Government Corporation
May 26, 2020

Printable version of the agenda – LGC Agenda 5.26.2020 Special Called Meeting

Notice is hereby given that a meeting of the Aransas County Alliance Local Government Corporation will be held on Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at 12:30 P.M. Due to COVID-19, the meeting will be held by video conference via the ZOOM app and streamed on YouTube for viewing. If you would like to attend, please contact Kim Foutz at least 24 hours prior to the meeting at www.kfoutz@aransascounty.org or 254-493-1293. You will be asked to complete a public participation form, and upon receipt, provided with a meeting invitation.

The following subjects will be discussed and acted upon:

1. ROLL CALL AND CONFIRMATION OF QUORUM

Introduction of Town of Fulton’s new representative board member – Kelli Cole, Mayor of Fulton

2. WORKSHOP/PRESENTATIONS:
   1. Presentation on the TEAM Center report (Technology, Entrepreneurship, Arts, and Maker Space) issued by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in cooperation with IC² of the University of Texas at Austin

1. 2. Presentation on a grant opportunity through the Department of Commerce-Economic Development Administration for a workforce development and entrepreneurship center

3. CONSENT AGENDA:

All Consent Agenda items listed are considered to be routine by the LGC and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Director so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the Agenda.

1. 1. Discussion and possible action on ratification of Election of Officers – Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer, and Secretary including election of the following:
      1. Chairman – C.H. “Burt” Mills Jr. (Aransas County Judge)
      2. Vice Chairman – Kelli Cole (Town of Fulton Mayor)
      3. Treasurer – Pat Rios (City of Rockport Mayor)
      4. Secretary – Malcolm Dieckow (Navigation District Chairman)

1. 2. Discussion and possible action on ratification of designation of a bank depository, designating American Bank of Rockport Texas.

1. 3. Discussion and possible action on ratification of filing for an Employer Identification Number (EIN), such ratification authorizing Kim Foutz to follow up on the item and have the appropriate board member sign and submit the required form.
   4. Discussion and possible action on the meeting minutes from the April 6, 2020 meeting.

4. REGULAR AGENDA

1. 1. Presentation, discussion, and possible action on authorizing preparation of a grant application for funding through the Economic Development Administration (EDA) for construction of and equipment for a workforce development and entrepreneurship center in Aransas County.

1. 2. Presentation, discussion, and possible action authorizing issuance of a Request for Proposals, following federal procurement standards, for grant application and administration services for an Economic Development Administration grant.

1. 3. Presentation, discussion, and possible action authorizing development of a draft Memorandum of Understanding with the Aransas County Partnership Economic Development Corporation for a joint grant application with the Economic Development Administration.

1. 4. Presentation, discussion, and possible action on a request to the Aransas County Partnership Economic Development Corporation to form an Exploratory Committee (TEAM Center Exploratory Committee) to oversee research, development, and submittal of the EDA grant application.

1. 5. Presentation, discussion, and possible action on Consulting Services Agreements between the Aransas County Alliance Local Government Corporation and each of the Sponsoring Entities.

1. 6. Discussion Regarding Regional Economic Development Initiatives:

• • • COVID-19 business assistance
    • Update on micro-hospital
    • Update on downtown parking lot
    • Update on Rockport Harbor RFP
    • Texas General Land Office economic development study

5. REPORTS FROM DIRECTORS: NO ACTION WILL BE TAKEN

6. ANNOUNCEMENTS: NO ACTION WILL BE TAKEN

7. ADJOURNMENT

05-20-2020 Amended Order To Stay At Home

Printable document of 05-07-2020 Amended Order To Stay At Home

Printable Format for AMENDED ORDER TO STAY AT HOME

WHEREAS, pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 418. l 08, Aransas County Judge C.H. Burt Mills, Jr issued a Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency on March 16, 2020, due to a novel corona virus now designated SARS-CoV2 which causes the diseaseCOVID-19;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 418. 108, the City of Rockport Mayor Patrick R. Rios issued a Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency on March 16, 2020, due to a novel corona virus now designated SARS-CoV2 which causes the diseaseCOVID-19;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 418.108, the Town of Fulton Mayor Jimmy Kendrick issued a Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency on March 17, 2020, due to a novel corona virus now designated SARS-CoV2 which causes the diseaseCOVlD-19;

WHEREAS, on March 16, 2020, President Donald Trump acknowledged the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic, releasing strict new guidelines to limit people’s interactions, including that Americans should avoid groups of more than 10 people;

WHEREAS, on March 23, 2020, the Aransas County Judge issued an Extension of Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency that affirmed the activation of the Aransas County Emergency Management Plan and extends the Declaration of Local Disaster until rescinded by order of the Commissioners’ Court;and

WHEREAS, on March 20, 2020, the City Council of the City of Rockport issued an Extension of Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency that affirmed the activation of the Rockport Emergency Management Plan and extends the Declaration of Local Disaster until rescinded by order of the City Council; and

WHEREAS, on March 24, 2020, the Town Council of the Town of Fulton issued an Extension of Declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency that affirmed the activation of the Fulton Emergency Management Plan and extends the Declaration of Local Disaster until rescinded by order of the Town Council;and

WHEREAS, on April 27, 2020, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an order to Re-Open Texas allowing for certain types of businesses to re-open with limited capacities and specific guidelines and restrictions.

WHEREAS, the on-going evaluation of circumstances related to the corona virus and the updated recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and the Texas Department of State Health Services warrant further Order.

NOW THEREFORE, UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 418.108, ARANSAS COUNTY JUDGE, CITY OF ROCKPORT MAYOR, AND TOWN OF FULTON MAYOR ORDERS:

 Effective as of 12:00 m. on May 1, 2020, and continuing until 11:59 p.m. on May 17, 2020:

• All individuals currently living, renting, staying (long-term or short-term) within Aransas County, the city limits of Rockport, and the town limits of Fulton are recommended to shelter at their place of residence, rental, or area of stay. For the purposes of this Orde residences, rentals, and areas of stay include homes, condominium townhomes, apartments, duplexes, hotels, motels, shared rentals, recreational vehicles, motor homes, and similar facilities. To the extent individuals are using shared or outdoor spaces, they must at all times as reasonable as possible maintain social distancing of at least six (6) feet from any other person when they are outside their
• All short-term rental locations can return to normal business as long as they are in compliance with CDC and Texas OHS
• All Retailers, Restaurants, Movie Theaters, Libraries, Museums, Churches, and Offices operating within Aransas County, the city limits of Rockport, and the town limits of Fulton are allowed to open at 50% capacity as long as they are in compliance with Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s GA-18 and Phase l of The Governor’s Report to Open
• All public or private gatherings of any number of people occurring outside a single household or living unit are prohibited, except as otherwise provided herein. Nothing in this Order prohibits the gathering of members of a household or living
• Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s GA-19 allows elective medical, surgical and dental procedures to continue with at least 15% of the hospitals capacity for treatment of COVID-19
• All public beaches, boat launches, boat ramps, bulkheads, docks, piers, and wharfs within the geographic boundaries of Aransas County, the city limits of Rockport, and the town limits of Fulton are now
• Beginning May 4, the Aransas County Courthouse will open to the public with certain limitations. Please visit the website for information. The offices of the City of Rockport and Town of Fulton will remain closed to the public.
• All City of Rockport parks are closed to the public. All Town of Fulton parks are open with limited equipment as a safety
• There is no curfew at this

9. Due to the public health emergency, the Offices of the Aransas County Judge, hereby advises the Aransas County Justices of the Peace to suspend eviction hearing and writs of possession for at least the next sixty (60) days to prevent renters from being except as otherwise authorized by the Texas Supreme Court Order of March 19, 2020. Moreover, as authorized by the issuing court the Offices of the Aransas County Judge, Rockport Mayor, and Fulton Mayor hereby advises the Aransas County Sheriff, Rockport Police, and Fulton Police to suspend all extraditions for at least the next thirty (30) days to further deter the spread of the virus.
10. lf someone in a household has tested positive for coronavirus, the household is ordered to isolate at home for a period of at least 14 days after the person has tested negative for coronavirus or left the household or such longer period as determined by the Health Department. Members of the household cannot go to work, school, or any other community
11. Nursing homes, retirement, and long-term care facilities are instructed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to prohibit non-essential visitors from accessing their facilities unless to provide critical assistance or for end-of-life
12. Additionally, the Offices of the Aransas County Judge, Mayor of Rockport, and Mayor of Fulton, instructs all employees to remain at home if sick, and to promptly communicate with an appropriate health care
13. This Order shall be effective until 11 :59 p.m. on May 17, 2020, or until it is either rescinded, superseded, or amended pursuant to applicable
14. The County of Aransas, City of Rockport, and the Town of Fulton must promptly provide copies ofthis Order by posting in front of their respective posting locations, posting on their respective websites and to provide a copy to any member of the public asking for a copy. In addition, the owner, manager, or operator of any facility that is likely to be impacted by this Order is strongly encouraged to post a copy of this Order onsite. If any subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this Order or any application of it to any person, structure, gathering, or circumstance is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction, then such decision will not affect the validity of the remaining portions or applications of this
15. This Order of Aransas County Judge C.H. Burt Mills, , Rockport Mayor Patrick R. Rios, and Fulton Mayor Jimmy Kendrick applies to all incorporated and unincorporated areas of their respective County/City/Town. To the extent of a conflict between decisions of Aransas County Judge C.H. Burt Mills, Jr., and a Mayor of any city within the geographic boundaries of Aransas County, the decisions set forth in this Order prevail (to the fullest extent allowed by law pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 418.108(h).
16. A violation of this Order to Stay At Horne is a violation of the emergency management plans of Aransas County, the City of Rockport, and the Town of Fulton. A violation by any person of any provision of this Order to Stay At Home is punishable by a fine of up to $500 per violation and separate day of violation, and additional amount as authorized by law. A second offense after warning in which intent to commit all elements of an act prohibited herein is proven may result in a fine of up to$ l ,000 per violation or separate day of violation or up to 180 days in jail.

SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS EFF APRIL 27 EXPIRE JUNE 1 2020

Printable document – Message from Aransas County #7

April 27, 2020

At a press conference this afternoon, Governor Abbott noted that there has been a decline in the number of confirmed cases. Additionally, the state is in the top three across the country of recoveries.

As a result, the “Stay at Home” Order will expire on April 30 throughout Texas. It is still recommended that individuals wear masks when they are in public spaces, but the mandates in other parts of the state will no longer be in force.

After much study and direction from data and doctors, the Governor has announced a two-phase program that incorporates a strategic approach, so “we don’t reopen only to close back down again.” Each phase includes an occupancy and safety standards mandates. It does not require a business to open if the owner feels unsafe.

Components of Phase 1 go into effect on Friday, May 1:

• All retail stores, restaurants, malls and movie theaters
• Museums and Libraries, however all interactive, hands-on displays must remain
• Churches
• Outdoor sports so long as there are no more than four (4) participants
• All licensed healthcare professionals
• Hospitals, but must reserve 15% of beds must be set aside for COVID-19
• Occupancy limited to 25% of capacity

 The Governor also stated that counties registering five (5) or less positive cases, MAY increase their capacity to 50%, which Aransas County, the City of Rockport and the Town of Fulton will follow.

As for parks, beaches and boat ramps, we need to confer with the Governor’s office to get more detailed information. This will be announced by April 30.

Please note that bars, gyms, spas, beauty salons and barbershops ARE NOT being allowed to open at this time. The Strike Force team continues to look at best management and safety practices before they can reopen.

Phase 2 is dependent on what happens over the next two weeks. If there are no flare-ups in cases, the occupancy rate will be expanded to 50% effective May 18. The 64-page report is available at https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/organization/opentexas/OpenTexas-Report.pdf.

NEWS Release

Printable versions of News Release – News Release – Aransas County Coronavirus Testing 200424

 CORONAVIRUS MOBILE TESTING SITE WELL RECEIVED

 ROCKPORT, TX – Approximately 140 residents of Aransas County, Rockport and Fulton were able to get free coronavirus tests through a mobile drive-in program established by Governor Abbott and the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.  Aransas County was included in the initial roll-out, which was designed to help underserved counties within the state.

The announcement of the testing on April 23rd and 24th, which was held in the portico of the new Fulton Convention Center, was made Wednesday afternoon.  Within minutes, the phone lines were jammed with callers seeking to get more information and to register for the event.

Initially, the plan was to provide testing from 9 am – 5 pm, which would accommodate 50 tests per day.  Based on the response, the testing was extended later Thursday and from 7:00 am – 7:00 pm on Friday.  The estimate of 140 is based on 63 tests done on Thursday and an additional 80 registered for Friday.

“We have been very limited as to what we could do to ensure the safety of our residents,” noted Aransas County Judge C.H. “Burt” Mills,  “The Stay at Home Order was a big step, but we had no testing facilities or way of knowing exactly what the infection situation was in our community other than the two cases that were reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services (TxDSHS).”

“From the beginning, Judge Mills, Mayor Rios and I have been very vocal about the need for testing in our community – probably to the point where some of our State leaders were getting tired of hearing from us,” stated Fulton Mayor Jimmy Kendrick.  “But, we always knew they were listening.”

Results from the tests will take between 5 – 7 days and be reported directly to TxDSHS.  If there are any positive cases, contact and care will be coordinated by the Department and regional health district.  The County will only receive notification as to how many positive cases, age/gender of the individual, and, if confirmed, the means of infection, i.e. family member, traveling, community spread, etc.

“We were very pleased to be one of the initial counties in this aggressive testing program,” Rockport Mayor Pat Rios added.  “While it may be limited in scope, it will provide us with some understanding of what is really happening in our community and help us as we move forward.”

In addition to TxDSHS, other agencies involved in the program include the National Guard, Texas Department of Emergency Management, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Parks & Wildlife, and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

April 22, 2020

At the Governor’s Press Conference on Tuesday, there were two specific items for which we would like to share additional information.

1. Virus statistics and testing. Texas has one of the highest recovery rates of any state in the nation. Figures show that approximately 10% of individuals who have been tested are positive. Still, the percentage of people tested is low. This week, a deployment of mobile testing sites is underway.  When the program is completely rolled out by the end of this week, there will be an additional 3500 tests administer per day.

The program began in Fredericksburg and Floresville.

ARANSAS COUNTY TESTING INFORMATION

April 23 – 24           9 am – 5 pm

Fulton Convention Center (aka Paws & Taws)

ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED — CALL- 512-883-2400.

2. Unemployment. More than 1.5 million unemployment claims have been administered.  The process has been ramped up and over $1.4 billion has been distributed. The Governor is hopeful that furloughed individuals may find some respite when the “Retail to Go” program kicks off on April 27. Additionally, he reminded residents that the Texas Workforce site has more than half a million jobs available right now. In looking at the site (workintexas.com), we’ve found there are 500 jobs listed that are within 25 miles of the 78382 zip code.

For those of you who have received an unemployment check, please remember that the income is considered taxable.