Commissioners review facility upgrades

Ozona — Crockett County commissioners reviewed bids for Care Center electrical and air-conditioning improvements and pool renovations while considering additional building space for West Texas Rehab and relocation of the WIC office.

The discussions included replacement of older air-conditioning equipment, changes to generator connections, and pool slide and water-feature repairs. Commissioners also addressed website modernization, employee policies and funding pressures facing Helping Hands.

Care Center and pool 

Commissioners opened bids for electrical and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning work at the Crockett County Care Center and renovations at the county pool.

While discussing the Care Center, they spoke about electrical-infrastructure upgrades, generator connections, and lighting work. Some of the center’s windowair-conditioning units use older refrigerants and others are experiencing problems. The Commissioners discussed the removal of remaining window units. 

Commissioners separately reviewed a pool-renovation proposal and discussed restoring the existing slide instead of replacing it. They also discussed damaged palm tree features and whether some work could be performed in-house.

Questions included what would be required to remove or replace the water features and how to maintain the pool’s condition while controlling costs.

Rehab seeks space 

Commissioners considered giving West Texas Rehab the remaining space in its building and relocating WIC to the old clinic’s front-office area.

Rehab representatives said services had grown from physical therapy offered two days a week to a broader operation that includes full-time physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and school-based speech services. They said audiology services are expected to begin in December.

The representatives said they were requesting additional space, not additional funding. West Texas Rehab had not inspected the additional office area and did not yet know whether modifications would be necessary.

Commissioners discussed the old clinic’s waiting room and reception area as a possible location for WIC. They spoke about allowing time to reach personnel and arrange the relocation.

Website modernization 

The court reviewed a proposal to migrate the county website through the Texas Association of Counties and change to a .gov domain.

Commissioners discussed options for county-managed posting, assistance with document conversion, and a service that would also post the material. Some commissioners raised concerns about assigning conversion and posting duties to employees with existing responsibilities. 

Storage agreement 

Commissioners discussed a memorandum of understanding with the Ozona Ministerial Alliance for storing materials used in home repairs.

They estimated that about eight houses still need repairs and described the need for space to store supplies. The discussion concerned an unused county building and what would happen if the county later needed that space.

Capital improvements 

Commissioners discussed designating wind-energy PILOT funds received in 2025 for capital improvements.

The discussion included an explanation that funds committed to a specific purpose would be shown separately from money available for general operations.

Commissioners considered distinctions involving personal vehicles, county vehicles and travel on county business. They also debated situations in which worked hours and personal time off could produce weekly pay exceeding the hours budgeted. Court members sought additional information on the issue.

Helping Hands 

Commissioners discussed rising food and meal-supply costs at Helping Hands and sought a clearer accounting of the organization’s expenditures and funding sources.

Commissioners have requested and are waiting for a spending report to help them assess the organization’s needs.

During the burn-ban discussion, commissioners heard a report that described a fire in the county’s northeastern area. They discussed reports of rainfall and continuing the burn ban for another month.

Other business included options for employee-appreciation meals, and possibly hiring part-time help to assist with gathering information for FEMA. 

This article was created with artificial intelligence and edited by staff.