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The Colorado County Commissioners Court approved to continue the burn ban despite recent rain, to authorize bid solicitation for renovations to the Columbus probation building and two proclamations, Monday, March 9.
Burn ban
Fol lowing discussion, the court approved to continue the ongoing burn ban first placed on Feb. 27 for public safety concerns. The court discussed recent rainfall over the weekend that ranged between negligible on a gauge to three-quarters of an inch across the county. Despite that and rainfall projected for Wednesday; Precinct 4 Commissioner Darrell Gertson said the county doesn’t meet drought conditions. Prause also expressed concerns over accumulated fuel and high winds.
“With the drought, we are not there yet, so we can’t put it on because of drought, so that would have to be under public safety,” Gertson said.
The Texas Local Government Code allows county commissioners courts to enact burn bans under drought conditions outlined by the Texas A&M Forest Service or if outdoor burning creates a public safety hazard. Prause noted that majority of Texas counties are currently under burn ban. According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, 179 out of 264 counties, around 70%, are under burn ban as of March 9.
Renovations
Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Robin Pean notified the court that the county’s probation building in Columbus requires renovations to separate adult and youth populations to adhere to state law. The separation must be “by sight and sound.” Currently, all probationers enter the front door and sit in a waiting room before meeting with their probation officer or completing intake.
“That starts right there,” Pean said. “In that area, that’s where we need to have two separate waiting rooms which can easily be done in that building…That needs to be separated where on the juvenile side they can come in and we can have an intake room… Pean said adult and juveni le drug test ing also needs to be separated. Pean pointed out the building’s original history as a gift store and said it’s not laid out for the 21st century. She said the proper framework is in place, so they can keep using the building if an architect can redesign and add partitions. County Judge Ty Prause questioned if the probation office would eventually outgrow the building, and Pean said she isn’t sure but would be able to answer properly in a few years.
The court approved an authorization to solicit bids for drawings of renovations for the building.
Proclamations and other The court issued two proclamat ions: Apri l 2026 as Autism Acceptance Month and April 24 as Texas Arbor Day honoring Linda Counts. For Texas Arbor Day, Karen Payne with Columbus Garden said club recently planted a magnolia tree on the square in honor of Counts, a friend and member who recently died.
The court also approved amendments to the county’s guidelines and criteria for granting a tax abatement. Prause said the changes were along the lines of reformatting paragraphs and numbering — the types of changes annually made.
