Navarro County Emergency Services District 1

The board focused extensively on planning for the upcoming district election, approving measures such as a local sales and use tax election, election service contracts, bilingual voting requirements, and the adoption of an election calendar. Financial business included the review of the treasurer's report, approval of monthly expenses, and the addition of a new bank account signatory. Discussion also covered the applicability of the Open Meetings Act to the Volunteer Fire Department, status updates on fire station facility projects, and internal operational improvements like digital access security. Additionally, board members provided reports on the SAFE-D conference, updates on the Active 911 service, and progress regarding the Texas Forest Service grant program.

The primary focus of the meeting was the introduction and subsequent adoption, by majority vote after discussion, of an Order Calling Election to Adopt a Local Sales and Use Tax within the District. The certification confirms that the Order was adopted at the meeting, duly recorded in the District's minutes, and that all board members were properly notified and consented to the meeting for this purpose.

Key discussions included a presentation from a fetal monitoring system start-up, which suggested contacting the Navarro County Volunteer Firefighters Association for outreach. The Treasurer's report for December 2025 was reviewed and accepted, along with a P&L update reflecting a budget transfer for vehicle maintenance. Current ESD expenses totaling $19,039.47 were reviewed and approved for payment. Fire reports noted a burn ban implemented on January 11. Regarding grants, the board plans to bring bids for a TFS $45,000 replacement slip-in unit to the next meeting, with funding coming from contingency funds initially, and will schedule a special meeting concerning a TFS $300,000 grant for a new water tender. Action items related to facilities included finalizing the contract with M&M Painting for interior work at the ESD/Armory and continuing refinement of the bid package for the new facility project. The board signed the Sales Tax Election Questionnaire related to the May 2026 election. Updates were given on the status of repairs for ESD Powell VFD unit 4660, and a directive was issued to update the debit card information for the ncesd1.com domain registration by the next meeting to prevent loss of the domain.

Key discussions during the meeting included an overview of training and insurance programs provided by the State Firefighters' and Fire Marshall' Association. The Board reviewed the November 2025 Treasurer's report and addressed maintenance needs for the ESD Powell VFD's large tanker truck, approving a motion to transfer $5,000 from the contingency budget to cover repairs. Expense payments for the ESD were approved. Monthly fire reports were reviewed, noting the implementation of new standardized report categories aligning with FireConnect, including for Mutual Aid incidents. The Board confirmed all departments signed new Service Provider Agreements. For the Fire Station Project, specifications for the new facility were to be further refined, and a bid from M&M Painting for the Armory interior painting was accepted. All current Board members agreed to continue in their positions for the 2025-2026 term. Open action items were discussed, including updates on a digital access lock conversion, ADA compliance for entrance steps, the target date of May 2026 for the Sales and Use Tax Election, ESD1 funding for Active 911 licenses, and updating the website domain registration contact information and payment method.

The meeting included general acknowledgments regarding inter-departmental cooperation and noted the availability of a free push-to-talk application, Zello, for first responders. Key actions involved reviewing and accepting the September 2025 Treasurer's report, which also marked the end of the fiscal year, and unanimously approving ESD expenses totaling $84,730.91. Fire department reports covered maintenance activities, including repairs for tanker truck #4560 and maintenance on truck #4651, along with station lighting upgrades. Discussions regarding service provider agreements led to the decision to remove a clause concerning personnel titles from future contracts and confirmed the process for conducting DPS background checks for service providers. Furthermore, updates were provided on the new Fire Station construction bid package and re-bidding interior painting for the Armory. Open action items status updates included completion reports for the ESD Armory front door/windows and the Fire Station hydrant installation. The Board discussed setting guidelines for active/inactive volunteer personnel, targeting a Sales and Use Tax Election for May 2026, and addressing domain registration for the NCESD1 Website. The Board entered and exited an Executive Session to discuss personnel matters, following which it was noted that a Chief stepped down due to medical necessity.