The janitorial contract with Members Cleaning was renewed Tuesday by the Commissioners Court, but the company’s days working for Orange County may be numbered. The contract was due to expire in the next five days.
Only about half the county’s buildings are even being occupied in the days after Tropical Storm Harvey, so the need for cleaning them is at a minimum. Satisfaction in the work done by Members Cleaning during the previous three years of the contract has been very mixed.
The Court unanimously approved renewing the contract, but the consensus of the Commissioners is they will hold workshops during the next 90 days to consider going back to hiring county employees to do janitorial work in the county buildings. If this is done the county has a clause in the contract with Members Cleaning that it can invoke a 90-day termination of the contract without cause.
The Commissioners approved redirecting $150,000 from the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) that was to be used for land acquisition and development to help provide small business disaster recovery grants. EDC Executive Director Jessica Hill said she would add another $50,000 from her funds with the EDC to bring the total to $200,000 for grants to small businesses damaged in Harvey.
A Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) is operating at the parking lot of the Administration Building of the Orange County Courthouse. Representatives from FEMA will answer questions of citizens concerning recovery from Harvey between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM. The DRC is composed of several tables with chairs under white tents.
The lease with State Representative Dade Phelan to use the Precinct 2 Commissioner’s office has been suspended indefinitely. Commissioner Barry Burton stated his office was devastated by Harvey and is not useable at this time. Assistant County Attorney Doug Manning indicated he will follow up with the State of Texas to see how it wants to handle the lease for September which had already been paid. The building on Highway 62 has been unoccupied since Harvey hit the area on August 30.
Human Resource Director Lori Ardoin introduced Ashley Cureton with the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) who gave a presentation to the Commissioners on the Wellness Program for county employees as part of their county provided health insurance through TAC. Because of the turmoil resulting from Harvey, the Commissioners approved at the recommendation of Ardoin waiving the surcharge fees this fiscal year for employees who are unable to commit to the Wellness Program guidelines.
September has been proclaimed Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in Orange County. The Commissioners Court approved the proclamation and presented it to Monique Sennet and her co-workers with the Spindletop Center in Beaumont which works to help people with mental issues. Sennet said in the wake of a disaster such as Harvey thoughts of suicide can be even stronger than normal for many people. The Commissioners thanked her and the other employees at the Spindletop Center for their work during this time of crisis.
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