At the January 9 Preston City Council meeting, Police Chief Matt Schultz informed council members that he met with USDA Wildlife Supervisor John Hart this past Monday. Hart again requested permission to allow sharpshooters to hunt within the Preston city limits as had been done in 2017.
The hunt is part of the continuing effort to control the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) among the wild deer population. Schultz said the requested hunt poses no concern from law enforcement.
Sharpshooters will not hunt on any property where they don’t have the property owners permission. The hunt will be primarily on orchard property and in the outskirts of the city. Councilman Robert Maust asked whether sharpshooters would be able to shoot from a vehicle. Schultz said he believed in this case they would be able to only if they had permission to hunt from the land owner.
A motion to allow the deer hunt was approved, with Maust voting no.
Veterans home
City Administrator Joe Hoffman reported that late last year he was contacted by the veterans home design team, who have now completed the preliminary layout for the home. The designers didn’t feel the need for or want a second access to the site. They would only include a second access in the plan if the city required a second access.
Hoffman noted lots of neighborhoods only have one access. If the city did require a second access, the state would only build it to the property line. He asked if a second access will benefit the community.
Councilwoman Holly Zuck said if the design team doesn’t see a need for it, she doesn’t know if we need it. Mayor Kurt Reicks seemed to agree and noted there would be an added expense for the city. The potential bike trail or cart trail was also discussed. Hoffman said no action need be taken if we don’t require the second access. A motion was approved to let the design team know that the city will not require the second access, but it reserves the right to add a second access at a later date.
Other business in brief
•The council has discussed the possible acquisition/cleanup of the former Preston Oil Products site in past meetings. Hoffman offered three options this day including doing nothing and leaving the site contaminated, the clean up by the county while in tax forfeiture (allowing them to later auction the site after cleanup), or the declaration of the site by the county as blighted and the sale to the city for less than market value ($1). The last option would require the city to have the site cleaned up and after cleanup the city would be free to sell the property.
The process will require them to go through the abandoned tank program, then work through Petrofund cleanup. The question is, is it better working through the process with ownership by the county or the city. Hoffman was looking for direction from the council as to whether to keep pursuing cleanup or do nothing. The council directed Hoffman to get more information on costs, including an estimate for removal of the building and an estimate of the probable cost for cleanup of the site. The Petrofund must be consulted to get their approval before testing for contaminates.
•Luhmann Law will again be the city’s attorney. Option two with an annual retainer of $19,440 was approved. The rate is the same as last year.
•The city adopted a fee schedule in 2011. No changes were recommended by staff. The fee schedule is set in ordinance. No action was taken.
•A resolution was adopted authorizing mayor, mayor pro-tem, city administrator and deputy city clerk to sign financial documents (two signatures required on checks). The resolution will be forwarded to F & M Bank.
•Two additional physically disabled parking spots were requested by St. Columban Church on Preston St. in front of the church. Two physically disabled parking spots are currently in front of the church. The council directed staff to draft an ordinance to be considered by the council for the additional parking spots at a future meeting.
•A listing of 2019 appointments for boards and commissions was presented. The Emergency Management Commissioner was changed from the current fire chief to Mayor Reicks. Maust volunteered to fill a vacancy on planning and zoning. Zuck already serves on the commission. Planning and Zoning will consider whether or not two council members can serve on the commission at the same time.
•An ad honoring Preston businesses was approved to be in the News Leader. The cost for the add is $59.
•Payment of 2019 Preston Chamber of Commerce membership was approved ($110).
• Maust stated that the Preston Historical Society is in need of a home for its historical items. The city does not yet own the former Dairy & Farm site. Dairy & Farm is waiting for the Department of Agriculture on clean-up issues. Maust will check with Dairy & Farm to see if it will be alright with them to store historical items there while waiting for issues to be resolved.
Terry Singeltary says
MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2019
Evaluation of iatrogenic risk of CJD transmission associated with Chronic Wasting Disease TSE Prion in Texas TAHC TPWD
It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is NOT, an area which we call the Twilight Zone, but an area that believes junk science, and the very industries and lobbyist some Texas Hunters, the cervid industry, that insist on shoving the fake news down their throats, we call this ted nugent junk science, and in TEXAS, sometimes you just can’t fix stupid, this is where the rubber meets the road, here’s your sign!
chronic wasting disease cwd tse prion aka mad deer elk disease, if you consume a cwd tse prion positive cervid, then months, years, decades later, go on to have surgery, dental, ophthalmology, endoscopy, donate tissue, blood, organs, you then expose those medical theaters and tissue, blood, organs, that are incubating the infectious cwd tse prion disease, to everyone that comes in contact.
these are not memes, these are actual statements from hunters/industry in Texas about CWD tse prion.
God help them, and us…terry
”Got a call today from TPWD, I’ve got a mule deer that tested early positive for CWD. I’m soon to turn into a zombie because I have already been eating it. They advised not to consume any of the meat…too late! They want to come confiscate what meat is left once they get more results back from another lab.”
snip…
https://chronic-wasting-disease.blogspot.com/2019/01/evaluation-of-iatrogenic-risk-of-cjd.html