County agrees to work on public recreation projects

Orange County Commissioners Court Monday agreed to two separate plans to help develop recreation areas in the county, one in Vidor, and for the new fairgrounds-community center off FM 1442.

Last week in a closed-door executive session to seek legal advice, commissioners talked about possible problems of having the county use county equipment on private property for the city of Vidor.

Monday, Vidor City Attorney Guy Goodson said the property has a public egress area in deed records and the county wouldn’t be on private property.

Vidor has a grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to develop land into a park, Goodson said. The land, at the end of Sparrow Lane near Rose City, had been a city landfill at one time, but has been closed for about 30 years.

The city was asking the county, through its interlocal agreements, to supply heavy road equipment to work at the park site.

However, County Engineer Les Anderson had been concerned about county equipment crossing private property to get to the park site.

Goodson said the private property, about two acres, has changed ownership a few times in the past years, and each time, the deeds included a conveyance allowing access to the public property.

Also, Commissioners Court agreed to have the Orange County Drainage District help in the site preparation for the CHAMPS organization, a local non-profit group which is overseeing the construction of a community center and fairgrounds off FM 1442.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Owen Burton said he wanted to make sure citizens know the public equipment is being used for a public project. Assistant County Attorney Doug Manning said the county has a lease on the land so public equipment can work on it. That includes the Drainage District, which has an interlocal agreement with the county.

Also Monday, Commissioners Court met in a closed-door meeting with Bobby Fillyaw, director of the Orange County Economic Development Corporation, to discuss a business prospect locating in the county. The Texas Open Meetings Act allows closed-door sessions to “deliberate the offer of a financial or other incentive to such a business prospect.”

County Judge Carl Thibodeaux said he could not comment on the business or what was discussed in the meeting.