The appointment of new representatives to the Hays County Historical Commission was met with opposition on Tuesday, Jan. 17 amid procedural concerns.
Fifteen returning and three new members applied to serve on the HCHC for fiscal year 2023–2024, according to the HCHC Applicants List.
Anita Collins, executive assistant to Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra, said the county judge specifically requested the new member applications be presented to him and the court for review and the process be “more inclusive directly with the community’s interests in diversity.”
“We submitted [that] agenda on January 31, but we were told that it was on for today,” Collins said.
According to Collins, HCHC leadership also did not inform the Commissioners Court that former Chair Kate Johnson had resigned.
Commissioner Lon Shell (Pct. 3) said he was “not aware” of Johnson’s resignation, “but I don’t see why we couldn’t at least allow the current group and those new members that have applied already to get started.”
“If there are additional members that come around, they can be brought to court at any time,” Shell said.
Commissioner Walt Smith (Pct. 4) agreed with Shell, adding, “if we know anything from our appointments as commissioners on our [Emergency Services Districts], our other appointments, we have people rotate on and off quite regularly.”
“I’ve done research whenever we’ve had those appointments open because I was very concerned about the functionality of those commissions,” Smith said.
There is a maximum of 25 members allowed on the HCHC, according to the 2021 HCHC Bylaws, and each commissioner is allowed to appoint up to five members to the historical commission.
Smith said he would like to see his colleagues bring back additional recommendations for appointment and “have [the appointees] go through the same process that these folks are sitting here waiting on appointment today.”
“Having them go through that application where they send it into the Historical Commission so we have a background on why they want to be involved or what they’ve done in the past, I think that would be helpful,” he said.
Smith, who already has five members representing his precinct, also said he would forgo the appointment of new member Joe Ramirez, “because those [returning members] have been serving, [and] they’ve done a good job.”
Becerra proposed that his colleagues wait for him and Precinct 2 Commissioner Michelle Cohen to come up with five names before making any appointments.
“Mine aren’t ready and neither are Commissioner Cohen’s, and so I would hate for meetings to go on without the full body meeting for the first time,” he said.
While Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe (Pct. 1) said she was okay with waiting until Jan. 31 to make her appointments, she also expressed concern over how putting them off might stall ongoing HCHC projects.
“Can someone share what some of those are that maybe are pressing that y’all are looking at?” Ingalsbe asked.
Applications Chair Pat Gibson said the two big projects that HCHC is working on are the Kyle Railroad Depot and Heritage Center and the Hays County Historic Courthouse Museum.
“Right now we’re just sort of doing it on a wing and a prayer as holdovers, but we would like to stabilize this, to make sure that we’re going to be installed as officers of the commission,” Gibson said.
After hearing from Gibson and others, the commission voted to approve the Precinct 1, 3 and 4 nominees and forward Ramirez’s application to be considered by another board member.
According to the commissioners’ agenda packet, members approved in Precinct 1 include returning members Robert Frizzell and Linda Coker, both of San Marcos. Returning members in Precinct 3 include Cindy Meyer, Ralph Meyer, Ryan Patrick Perkins and Rosina Ruiz Valle, all of San Marcos. A new member from Precinct 3 is Echo Uribe of Wimberley. Approved members in Precinct 4 include returning members Sally Ramirez, of Dripping Springs; Cynthia Allison, of Buda; Marie Bassett, of Driftwood; Delbert Bassett, of Driftwood; and Jo Landon, of Buda.
Cohen and Becerra will come back with their nominees on Jan. 31.
The Hays County Historical Commission is a group of volunteers appointed by the Hays County Commissioner’s Court for a two-year term to preserve the history and cultural resources of Hays County, according to the HCHC website. Since its establishment in 1953, HCHC has erected markers at important sites across the county, inventoried every cemetery in the county, and conducted a survey of historic locations in Hays County.
To learn more about the Hays County Historical Commission, visit hayshistoricalcommission. com.
