Three new BCISD trustees were sworn in and Elizabeth Hewitt explained Bay City ISD Education Foundation goals at the school board’s regular meeting Monday, May 20.
   New board members James Scardami, Trent Tinnin and John Dewitt took their seats while the board reorganized with Robert Klepac returning as president, Frankie Cole as vice president and Jerry Manning as secretary.
   Outgoing trustees Crystal Allison and Bobby Kimball were recognized for their service with plaques, as Klepac noted their votes in support of students, teachers and district employees.

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   Van Vleck ISD trustees unanimously approved a maximum price of $4,269,789 for high school gym and auditorium renovations during their regular meeting, Monday, May 20.
   With that price point, that puts the total bond project at just over $83 million so far, with about $4 million left to spend – the original amount passed by voters in 2017 was $88.2 million.
   “We went out for bids May 8 and are just under budget and are able to get all five of our alternate projects met with this bid,” said Sofia Dusek, PBK architect project executive.
   “We came in at about $400,000 under and we’re really proud of that.”
   “We had a really good subcontractor turnout and we’re very pleased with the numbers,” said PBK Architect Ron Bailey. 

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   1. In the last few years we have had a high turnover of mostly hourly employees that has greatly hampered the city’s ability to execute work. What steps could be taken to improve this situation?
   Answer
      At this time I don’t know why there is a high employee turnover. It is usually money, benefits, management issues or perceived injustices. This is something we would have to investigate and find out why. At that point, together with the council and City Manager, we would find the best solution to address the employee turnover concerns. 
   2. What’s the difference between leadership and management, and what demonstrated experience do you have in these areas.
   Answer

1.  In the last few years we have had a high turnover of mostly hourly employees that has greatly hampered the city’s ability to execute work. What steps could be taken to improve this situation?
   Answer
   We must insure our pay and benefit packages are competitive. I support a compensation study to determine if and where we need improvement.  
   Some vacancies exist because employees leave to return nearer their home towns.I support grow your own programs that give locals a clear path to employment. Our police department is showing the way by implementing a grow your own program. This department is  doing a good job recruiting local individuals and offering incentives to earn credentials. We should adopt this approach in each department.
   2. What’s the difference between leadership and management, and what demonstrated experience do you have in these areas?
   Answer

Tidehaven High School’s class of 2019 Valedictorian is Anisa Cornett.
Anisa is the daughter of Jack and Annette Cornett and sister to Anna Brown and Grant Cornett.
   Cornett plans on attending Texas A&M University next year and majoring in kinesiology.

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   Van Vleck High School’s class of 2019 Salutatorian is Kathryn Willy.
   Willy is the daughter of Louis Willy Jr. and Charlene Willy and the sister of Christopher, Aaron, Ryan, and Jonathan.
   She will attend Sam Houston State University in the fall and has chosen Bio-medical science as her major.

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   Madison Woolsey is the Valedictorian of Van Vleck High School’s Class of 2019.
   Madison is the daughter of Danny and Lee Ann Woolsey and a member of the Van Vleck High School National Honor Society and POWERSET.
   Woolsey will attend the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in the fall and plans on pursuing a degree in biology.

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   Emergency management, dispatch services, housing and community beautification and “sense of county as community” and transportation were the top five issues identified at the recent forum, Dr. Aaron Sumrall told commissioners court Monday, May 20.
   There was a “very good response” for the May 7 Texas Community Futures Forum at the Center for Energy Development (CED), said Sumrall, Matagorda County’s Extension Agent-Agriculture.
   The forum – an event the Extension Service holds every five years - included about 45 minutes of brainstorming and then voting for the top issues, he said.
   Breaking down the top five:

•     Emergency management discussions from those attending focused on correcting the 911 addresses.

   “Some residents can’t be found on the new 911 system, but are shown on the old 911 addresses,” Sumrall said.

   Bay City Community Development Corporation hosted about 20 people May 15, as part of the first lunch and learn of the year.
   The basics of forming and running a Municipal Utilities District (MUD) and what advantages it could offer Bay City and Matagorda County was presented by Angie Lutz with Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP.
   MUDs are created over a limited area to provide water, sewer, drainage, and roads.
   “MUDs are a political subdivision of the State of Texas like a county or school district,” said Lutz.
   “MUDs develop water, sewer and drainage facilities to be compatible with the long-range utility plans of the city for eventual annexation.”
   Lutz said that there were over 1,000 MUD districts in the city of Houston alone.
   “Some are so large that they have their own trash services, schools, parks, and volunteer fire departments,” she added.