At its regular meeting on May 8, the Blanco County Commissioners Court passed a resolution recognizing May 2012 as Older Americans Month in Blanco County. The resolution which passed unanimously reads as follows:

Whereas Blanco County is home to more than 3,000 citizens aged 60 and older and; Whereas Blanco County is committed to helping all individuals maintain their health and independence in later life and; Whereas the older adults in Blanco County have an important role in sharing knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of the history of our community through interactions with children, youth, and adults from other generations and;

Whereas the fruits of knowledge and experience can be effectively transferred from generation to generation through meaningful social interactions and; Whereas their

Interactions with family, friends, and neighbors across generations enrich the lives of everyone involved and;

Whereas our community can provide opportunities to enrich citizens young and old by:

Emphasizing the value of including elders in public and family life; Creating opportunities for older Americans to interact with people of different generations; Providing services, technologies, and support systems that allow older adults to participate in social activities in the community

Therefore, be it resolved that on behalf of the more than 3,000 Senior Citizens in Blanco County, the Blanco County Commissioners Court does hereby declare the Month of May 2012 to be Older Americans Month 2012—“Never too Old to Play.”

Commissioner Chris Liesmann made the motion to approve the resolution stating that he was the only one on the Court who didn’t fall into the category of “Older Citizen.”

In other business, County Tax Assessor Collector Hollis Boatright requested that the Commissioners consider a three year Electronic Government Payments Service Agreement with GovPay for the purpose of accepting electronic financial transactions such as Credit Cards, Debit Cards and Electronic Checks for the Tax Office Motor Vehicle Department and authorization for the County Judge to sign the agreement. She said that using credit cards will add 2.65% to the cost of the services while using a debit card will add 1.95% to a person’s fee. The cards to be accepted will be Visa, MasterCard and Discover. The system will work off the internet and will not require any additional telephone lines. The item passed unanimously.

Judge Guthrie asked Commissioners to consider his report on the status of Homeland Security Grants. There are three grants presently being negotiated that will allow the construction of the Mountain Top communications tower. Commissioner Liesmann emphasized the importance of the tower that will be located between Johnson City and Blanco which will provide mobile coverage for 100% of the Blanco County service area.

Judge Guthrie said that the County was seeking to reduce the cost of the project by using reconditioned components to be provided by Motorola.

The Homeland Security grants are a joint venture between Blanco, Llano and Burnet Counties. Commissioners gave Judge Guthrie the authority to accept the grants with the knowledge that matching funds will be necessary in an amount that will be determined when the final grant amounts are known. The match is expected to be in the ball park of $13,000. The motion carried.