Commissioners approve agreement to help pave Apache Field parking lots

Gonzales County commissioners on Tuesday, Nov. 12, approved an interlocal agreement with Gonzales ISD and the city of Gonzales that will pave the way to a better parking lot for Apache Field by the end of April.

The three governmental bodies have been working since July to get an agreement in place that would have the city and school each pay for half of the cost of materials while the county would provide the labor and equipment necessary to perform the work.

The stadium is owned by the district, but sits on property owned by the city which the school district leases for a nominal amount. The dirt-base parking lots at the stadium are especially difficult to traverse for persons in wheelchairs or those with mobility issues and present other safety issues. They are also not properly striped and what loose gravel there is can be a hazard, including for windshields if rocks are kicked up into the air by car tires.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Kevin La Fleur asked GISD officials present about the dates that are in the agreement. He said the county would not be able to start by Nov. 30 due to a heavy workload at this time.

“The only objection I have is your start date on there,” La Fleur said. “Right now we can’t get to it by November due to the holidays coming up. What we have a problem with is we have Thanksgiving coming up so that kills that week. Then all the road and bridge is going to be off from like the 16th of December to the first of the year, so it will be January before it gets going.”

“The only reason we put that date is because our board took action at the end of October,” GISD chief financial officer Amanda Smith said. “Do you think you could get to it by April 20? I think that was the latest date completion date we had for it.”

“Our main goal is to have it done in time for graduation,” added GISD operations director Gene Kridler. “We wanted to give some window in there. Soccer is our next sport, but we can move with that, because they can park in other places.”

Commissioners indicated that they would feel more comfortable with a start date around Jan. 15, 2025, and they will work to complete the work by April 20, 2025, as long as weather allows.

Under the terms of the agreement, the county will be responsible for turning over a list of necessary materials so the district can procure them, providing any necessary permitting and then providing all labor/personnel and equipment needed to perform the project.

The school district will have to consult with a design professional to make sure the parking lot meets Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, including striping and an accessible route from parking to entrance. The school will also provide access to the lots and procure all necessary materials at a total cost of $112,691.76.

The city will reimburse half the materials cost, or $56,345.88, back to the school district and make sure any necessary permits are obtained without cost.

In other action, the court will keep the burn ban in place for Gonzales County due to a high fire danger and a lack of substantial precipitation.

County Emergency Management Director and Fire Marshal Jimmy Harless told commissioners the county’s Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) average is 673, down only 15 points from the 686 average in the county on Oct. 15, the day commissioners adopted the burn ban. That includes a low of 601 and a high of 728.

Texas A&M Forest Service (TFS), which monitors wildfire conditions for the state, uses KDBI for determination of drought conditions within the State of Texas. KBDI was developed by John L. Keetch and George Byram with the US Forest Service Southeastern Research Station to correlate the effects of drought on wildfire potential.

The KBDI is based on a daily water balance, where a drought factor is balanced with precipitation and soil moisture (assumed to have a maximum storage capacity of eight inches) and is expressed in hundredths of an inch of soil moisture depletion. 

The KBDI attempts to measure the amount of precipitation necessary to return the soil to full field capacity. It is a closed system ranging from 0 to 800, where 0 represents a saturated soil, and 800 an absolutely dry soil. At any point along the scale, the KBDI value indicates the amount of precipitation it would take to bring the moisture level back to zero, or saturation.

When the KDBI falls between 600-800, this is often associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurrence. Intense, deep-burning fires with extreme intensities can be expected. Live fuels can also be expected to burn actively at these levels.