In anticipation of Independence Day, July 4, Commissioner Precinct 2 John Moore opened the meeting with a reading of the Declaration of Independence. (AP)

Smith County Commissioners approved seeking aid for clearing storm debris, appointed board representatives and amended policies during its weekly meeting Tuesday.

In anticipation of Independence Day, July 4, Commissioner Precinct 2 John Moore opened the meeting with a reading of the Declaration of Independence.

Moore read iconic lines from one of America’s founding documents, saying, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that their Creator endows them with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

The court approved the purchasing department to receive bids for emergency management debris cleanup and emergency management debris monitoring after recent storms left thousands of trees down in the county.

“Our crews have been out daily, picking up,” County Engineer Frank Davis said. “We’ve had crews working on the weekends doing this… It’s overwhelming on some of these roads.”

As of Thursday, Smith County Road 2110 had been reopened after Road and Bridge crews repaired the washed-out road and replaced the culvert damaged from the severe weather earlier this month.

Several Smith County roads suffered wash outs and undermined culverts or bridges caused by storms in late May and early June throughout the county.

CR 3203 and 381 remained closed while the Road and Bridge Department is waiting on new pipes to replace the culverts that were undermined by severe weather.

The storm damage on CR 336 at Wiggins Creek has been cleaned up, and the Texas Department of Transportation is planning to build a bridge there, which was scheduled before the weather, according to the county.

The bridge on CR 452 at Mill Creek remains closed due to a washout, and TxDOT will build a new bridge there.

Crews are currently working on the bridge rail on CR 471 at Prairie Creek, and TxDOT will build a new bridge there.

Smith County has an interactive map that lists all Smith County road closures. You can find up-to-date road closures by visiting www.smith-county.com and clicking on “County Road and Office Closures” under Citizen Resources.

The weather-related disaster of spring 2024 highlighted that some department heads, who are essential to building-related operations and subject to 24/7 on-call duties, live farther outside the county than the current 15-mile limit of the vehicle take-home policy.

The Smith County Take-Home Vehicle Policy was extended to 25 miles outside the county line to include those employees who live outside the current mile radius.

Also, Judge Neal Franklin recommended appointing Howard Patterson to serve on the Northeast Texas Regional Mobility Authority Board of Directors for the remainder of a term ending in September. Patterson will replace Larry Kellam, who recently resigned. The court approved his appointment.

In other businesses:

• David Quin, Program Manager of the Texas Conference of Urban Counties Public Power Pool (P3), presented on savings and future budget projections. Smith County has saved about $983,371 on electricity since 2019.
• The court approved the 2025 MVCPA Catalytic Converter Program Grant application for the East Texas Auto Theft Task Force.
• Three interlocal agreements were approved for conducting elections between Smith County and the City of Whitehouse, Emergency Service District No. 1 and No. 2.