Ganado approves DPS contract

By Darlene Tise, Contributing Writer     Ganado City Council members approved a contract offered by the Texas Department of Public Safety to accommodate Chapter 706 of the Texas Transportation Code at the May 11 meeting. With the contract, the City’s Municipal Court has a new tool for anyone who does not take care of a citation in a timely manner.     

The contract allows for the court clerk to submit a past due citation to a Failure to Appear/Failure to Pay Program called Omnibase Services. The vendor will put a hold on the driver’s license of the person who has failed to respond to their citation. Administrative fees are added to the underlying traffic citation to cover the cost of placing the hold on the license and releasing the hold. The individual will not be able to renew their license until all  fees and paperwork are taken care of with the local court.   

 In other business, City Secretary Kristi Rodgers administered the oath of office to elected officials, Blake Petrash, Calvin Callies and Sergio Lara. Lara was the only person to sign up for the seat vacated by Robin Bauerle who decided not to run after 14 years of service. Lara is a 2007 graduate of Ganado High School and is employed by YK Communications as a technician manager. The new council member has previously served on the Ganado Community Development Corporation Board on one of the citizen seats. The City was able to cancel the May 1 election and called the three men duly elected. Petrash was re-elected as Mayor Pro Tem.     

Council meets the second Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.