Historical Commission openings being advertised by county

Gonzales County commissioners agreed Monday, June 12, to advertise in the Gonzales Inquirer this week for people interested in being on the county’s Historical Commission.

This will be the first time the county has advertised a position available for appointment on a board or commission since the court adopted a policy in April requiring all future positions to be advertised so the public could can have the opportunity to apply.

Applications can be picked up at County Judge Pat Davis’ office in the Gonzales County Courthouse. Commissioners agreed upon a deadline of 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 21, for applications to be returned to the judge’s office so they can be shared with Historical Commission Chair Glenda Gordon prior to the next court meeting on June 26, when the court will formally appoint two new commission members.

Gordon appeared before the court Monday in anticipation that they might appoint at least one of the candidates she had previously brought before commissioners.

Commissioners had tabled the appointments to the GCHC at their April 24 meeting with the understanding that their new policy regarding advertising appointments would apply to the Historical Commission.

However, as of June 12, the open positions had not been advertised formally yet in the newspaper — something that did not happen until this edition of the Inquirer. Also, the way the agenda was written did not allow commissioners to take action on what was simply an update on the Historical Commission by Gordon, which included a document explaining the expectations the Texas Historical Commission has for new appointees as well as a copy of the board member application created by the county.

The court assured Gordon that once the position had formally been advertised in the Inquirer, they would be able to take action and the candidates who had already applied for the position still would be considered for the appointment. They noted that this first time would likely create some growing pains.

“It’s going to be a little hard to start with but once we get this one done, it should go smoother in the future,” said Precinct 2 Commissioner Donnie Brzozowski.

“Right, this one is still tedious because we’ve already had some candidates’ names, but we have to do the process,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Collie Boatright agreed.