PRESIDIO COUNTY — On Wednesday, the Presidio County Commissioners Court selected nine members for the county’s Historical Commission to restart the body with official appointees. It was a long overdue move after the previous slate of board members’ terms expired in 2022.
The court appointed the following as new members: Martha Stafford, Sam Karas, Anibal Galindo, Bobbie Meader, Jesusita Mondragon and Arian Velazquez-Ornelas. Appointed members who served previously on the board are Robert Arber and Terry Bishop. Officer positions will eventually be decided by the new court.
The court also accepted a last-minute bid from County Attorney Blair Park, whose family has a long history in the area. Park threw her name in the hat in the interest of having an odd number of members for voting. “You never want an even number on a board,” she said.
Precinct 1 County Commissioner Deirdre Hisler — newly elected and sworn in on January 2 — spearheaded the reboot of the commission last August. She said her constituents had raised concerns about the informal nature of the organization and lack of communication under former County Attorney Rod Ponton’s leadership.
In November, Hisler started collection applications for commission members. Ponton also launched a campaign in November to collect applicants but did not respond to a request for a follow-up.) He submitted a letter of resignation to Hisler that was effective December 31.
The commission serves a variety of roles, including promoting the county’s history, reviewing historical preservation efforts and applying for state historical markers. The Texas Historical Commission requires the county commission’s chair to sign off on state historical marker applications, and having an active organization can signal to potential funding sources that the county is serious about historic preservation.
Precinct 4 Commissioner David Beebe said that he and Park had recently traveled to Austin to try to drum up financial support for desperately-needed repairs to the county courthouse. While Presidio County was not selected by the state for emergency renovation funds, Beebe said that their presence made an impression on Texas Historical Commission leadership. “It was made very clear to us that having a very strong historical commission was key to getting any further attention from them,” he said. State law says a county “may” appoint a historical commission, and if it does it should be composed of at least seven members with two-year terms who are appointed by a county’s commissioners court every two years in odd-numbered years –– like 2025.
Hisler said most of the people currently serving on the commission were appointed in 2020 and their terms expired in 2022, and that former chair Ponton had not been selected and voted on according to the organization’s bylaws. Hisler said approving new bylaws will be the first task of the new commission.
While the court was excited about the revamped board, Beebe also took the time to thank former board member Mona Garcia, who worked closely with Ponton on commission business, for her leadership. “At some point we need to turn over a new chapter,” he said. “But she was very very active and very outspoken. She saved this commission from essentially dying.”