PRESIDIO COUNTY — The newly formed Presidio County Historical Commission (PCHC) had its second meeting of the year Monday and continued to work getting organized and addressing historical markers and surveying for new historic sites in the county.
The Commissioners Court reconstituted the commission in January, after members of the previous commission were not officially appointed after expired terms. Arian Velázquez-Ornelas now serves as chair.
The commission adopted new by-laws, which were reviewed by County Attorney Blair Park — a member of the commission — to ensure they followed state law and requirements of the Texas Historical Commission (THC). By state statute, the commission’s main function is proposing and applying for state historical markers from the THC, but the organization also serves as a booster for all things historical in Presidio County.
Park noted that an annual report to THC also was required by the end of the year. She was unable to locate records detailing the last time that a full inventory of historic locations and markers was completed and asked the board to start cataloging sites. “We have over six months to pull it together, but I don’t want it to sneak up on us,” she said.
The bylaws call for quarterly meetings, although special meetings can always be called. The bylaws also added term limits for members — four two-year terms. Park said members who go past that eight years on the commission could always continue to participate informally but an official marker of a final term would help since the prior commission had “people that were on so long that they forgot that they were on it, and everyone kind of forgot about it.”
The commission unanimously rejected a request from the Alamo Letter Society to erect a bronze plaque at the courthouse recognizing the Alamo. The plaque would include Colonel William Barrett Travis’ “Victory or Death” letter and would also “honor the two leading Tejanos of the Texas Revolution, Jose Antonio Navarro and Juan Seguín.” The society intends to fund plaques for every county willing to install them. The Commissioners Court would have the final say in the matter, but requests on historical issues typically go to the PCHC for its input.
Commissioners noted that the county shouldn’t agree to plaques for everything that happened historically in Texas. “We have so much here,” Velazquez-Ornelas said. “We have to concentrate on the history of the area.”
Mike Green, president of Friends of the Ruidosa Church (FORC), asked the commission to recommend to county commissioners that they reimburse the nonprofit $2,300 for the cost of a historical marker at the historic adobe church. The nonprofit had already paid for the marker fabrication last fall. Commissioners unanimously agreed to the request with abstentions from two members — Terry Bishop and Martha Stafford — who also are FORC board members.
The approval spurred a conversation among commissioners about being plugged into the county’s budget process, which will begin soon in Commissioners Court. The commission traditionally received $4,000 each fiscal year, which starts on October 1.
Stafford said the commission needs to develop its own budget and then base a request to the county based on it. With an active commission, more money may be needed than in the past. Historical markers generally cost $2,300 or more, but there may be costs associated with THC training and other events. “I find that going to trainings from Presidio County gets really expensive, so that’s another thing to consider budget-wise,” Stafford said.
The commission will meet again on August 2 at 4:30 p.m. in the courthouse jury room. All are invited to attend. With a recent resignation of one member, the commission is looking for a replacement. If you’d like to be considered for a seat on the commission, or if you’d like to help compile historical records for the county or add new ones, contact PCHC Secretary Sam Karas at samantharkaras@gmail.com.