By: Paul Schattenberg, 210-467-6575, paschattenberg@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Kathleen Greer, 830-278-9151, kl-greer@tamu.edu
UVALDE — More than 30 county commissioners, county judges and other elected officials from various Southwest Texas counties attended the annual District 10 County Commissioners Conference held Dec. 13 in Uvalde.
The conference, presented by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, which took place at the Uvalde County Fairplex Event Center, was attended by county officials representing Bandera, Bastrop, Blanco, Edwards, Gillespie, Kendall, Kimble, Kinney, Medina, Real, Sutton, Uvalde and Wilson counties.
“This conference gives representatives of county government the ability to network and discuss topics of mutual importance,” said Kathleen Greer, AgriLife Extension administrator for the agency’s District 10, which includes all of the counties represented at the conference, plus several others in Southwest Texas. “Some of these topics include infrastructure issues such as adequate housing and roads to accommodate growth. Others relate to workforce quality and competition. And probably the biggest issue of all is the drought and what to do about ensuring an adequate future water supply.”
Greer said the program’s first presentation, which was on the topic of impact of the Affordable Care Act and given by Kelly Kolodzey of the Texas Association of Counties, was perhaps the most time-sensitive and interesting to attendees.
“Starting soon, everything is going to change,” Kolodzey said. “My purpose here is to impart as much as I know about the ACA to you and to drive home the point that you must start to understand and prepare for these changes now.”
State Rep. Doug Miller said the event provided the opportunity to get feedback on how he and other elected officials are doing and to learn what they can do to better serve their communities and constituents.
Uvalde County Judge William “Bill” Mitchell spoke about the time and effort involved in having the new event center planned, funded and developed. He said the facility was an excellent example of what can be accomplished through vision, good communications, building a consensus by involving stakeholders and finding an acceptable way to fund the project.
“The community has really wrapped its arms around this facility and the vision we had of it for the purpose of economic development,” Mitchell said. “It’s great that we have this opportunity to show it off to others and let them see what might be possible with the same sort of support in their counties.”
During the afternoon, conference attendees heard from Dr. Rick Avery, director of the V.G. Young Institute, part of the Texas A&M University System, as well as from Ronnie McDonald, AgriLife Extension executive director for community relations and strategic partnerships. Avery and McDonald spoke about the need to further develop county leadership, with McDonald touting the Texas Rural Leadership Program as a means to help “develop progressive and dynamic leaders in Texas communities.”
Afterward, Jim Allison, general counsel for the County Judges and Commissioners Association, gave an update on the state’s 83rd Legislature, including the status of House and Senate bills relating to water, education, transportation, health care services, sewage disposal, revenue allocation, bond requirements, polling and more.
The final presentation, “Texas Water Issues,” was given by Dr. Raul Lopez, director of the Texas Water Resources Institute. Lopez noted that finding solutions to the challenges of current and future water use and availability depends on “finding a balance between the needs of the various stakeholders.”
“We have a number of things to consider in determining how to plan for future water use in this region,” he said. “For example, we have to consider endangered and invasive species, the needs of the oil and gas industry and other businesses, and the needs of growing municipalities in finding this balance.”
Greer said she was pleased AgriLife Extension continues to host these annual conferences in her district and others throughout the state.
“These conferences provide a unique opportunity for county commissioners, judges and others who serve the public,” she said. “I’m proud that AgriLife Extension hosts these events throughout the state and plays a role in helping public servants find solutions and discover new ways to serve their communities.”
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