Operating on skeleton crews at the courthouse and meeting with barely a quorum convening in a special called meeting on December 19, the Fisher County Commissioners voted to approve the contract with Isaac Castro and rescinded a 2020 motion that would once again bring pipeline agreements through commissioners court for approval.
With the tensions among Fisher County officials remaining high going into the holidays, the court convened in a special called meeting in late December with only three commissioners present.
With a 3 – 1 majority vote in early December, the court approved hiring outside legal counsel to work with the county regarding a series of standard county-related legal issues. Although Fisher County Attorney Michael Hall would typically provide many of these services, a majority of the court said they lack confidence Hall will resolve the issues they say he has been aware of for some time and has continuously failed to act upon.
Commissioner Preston Martin — who has engaged in numerous debates with Hall over the years — said he and Commissioner Dexter Elrod had an opportunity to visit with Castro — an attorney out of Hamlin—in the weeks before the meeting. “It was a breath of fresh air to be able to talk about county business with an attorney without being yelled at or threatened,” said Martin.
Commissioners have faced numerous issues revolving around excessive road usage as energy companies increase activity throughout Fisher County. Officials have engaged in countless debates during the past few years, none of which have been as lengthy or as explosive as road use agreements and pipeline permits.
Although the commissioners approved the contract with Castro to draft new agreements and permit applications, the court tabled any further consideration of the new agreements until a few amendments are updated. It is anticipated the new agreement will be ready for the court’s consideration when commissioners meet again next week.
While not taking action on the new business, the court did take action to rescind prior motions. Martin explained that in 2020, the court was dealing with a lot of pipeline agreements coming before the court for approval. He said to expedite the process, based on his 2020-motion, the court approved allowing the judge and precinct commissioner to award the pipeline permits in lieu of convening court to approve each one.
“It didn’t work the way it was designed,” said Martin, saying the county is now seeing numerous permits issued without a commissioner being notified. As a result, he motioned to rescind that order, which would again bring all such applications before the court for approval. The subsequent vote was also unanimous.