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Averitt hosts town-hall meeting
By Denise Schoppe
Staffwriter
The Marlin Democrat
November 08, 2004
State Senator Kip Averitt (R-McGregor) made a trip to Marlin on Friday, December 3, to discuss Marlin’s water issues in a special session of the city council and then hosted a town hall meeting in which he commented on school finance and other issues facing the state. He invited attendees to share thoughts on their community, local issues and the upcoming legislative session.
“The town hall format allows us to come together to discuss issues that are important to you and your community,” Averitt said. “We were able to talk about big picture issues like school finance, and I was able to hear firsthand about the issues that affect the families who live and work in this area. Because of our discussion here, I feel better prepared to tackle the upcoming legislative session. This year’s town hall meeting was a success.”
In addition to addressing school finance, Averitt discussed his efforts to fully restore the Children’s Health Insurance Program, economic development, the status of the state’s workers compensation system, local water issues and strategies for bringing more manufacturing jobs to Texas.
During the question/answer session, the status of the VA Hospital was brought up.
“I asked the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to come and look at the Marlin VA and see if they could make it useful,” Averitt said. “They did come over a look at it and their initial run-through they said it was one of the best offers they ever had of that nature, and so they wanted to take a serious run-through and file a report to see what it would take to make it useful for them. They are in the process of doing that right now and they promised me a report before session about how much money it would take to retro-fit it to their needs. When I get that document, then I expect to have a game-plan. We’ll know how much money we have to come up with in legislature, we’ll know what it will be used for and we’ll know what types of issues have to be addressed in the process.”
Averitt said, though, that the number one concern he knows the TDCJ will have is quality of Marlin’s water.
The Marlin meeting is one of many town hall meetings being hosted during Averitt’s ten-county, ten-day tour of Senate District 22. The 79th Session of the Texas Legislature begins on Tuesday, January 11, 2005.
By Denise Schoppe
Staffwriter
The Marlin Democrat
November 08, 2004
State Senator Kip Averitt (R-McGregor) made a trip to Marlin on Friday, December 3, to discuss Marlin’s water issues in a special session of the city council and then hosted a town hall meeting in which he commented on school finance and other issues facing the state. He invited attendees to share thoughts on their community, local issues and the upcoming legislative session.
“The town hall format allows us to come together to discuss issues that are important to you and your community,” Averitt said. “We were able to talk about big picture issues like school finance, and I was able to hear firsthand about the issues that affect the families who live and work in this area. Because of our discussion here, I feel better prepared to tackle the upcoming legislative session. This year’s town hall meeting was a success.”
In addition to addressing school finance, Averitt discussed his efforts to fully restore the Children’s Health Insurance Program, economic development, the status of the state’s workers compensation system, local water issues and strategies for bringing more manufacturing jobs to Texas.
During the question/answer session, the status of the VA Hospital was brought up.
“I asked the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to come and look at the Marlin VA and see if they could make it useful,” Averitt said. “They did come over a look at it and their initial run-through they said it was one of the best offers they ever had of that nature, and so they wanted to take a serious run-through and file a report to see what it would take to make it useful for them. They are in the process of doing that right now and they promised me a report before session about how much money it would take to retro-fit it to their needs. When I get that document, then I expect to have a game-plan. We’ll know how much money we have to come up with in legislature, we’ll know what it will be used for and we’ll know what types of issues have to be addressed in the process.”
Averitt said, though, that the number one concern he knows the TDCJ will have is quality of Marlin’s water.
The Marlin meeting is one of many town hall meetings being hosted during Averitt’s ten-county, ten-day tour of Senate District 22. The 79th Session of the Texas Legislature begins on Tuesday, January 11, 2005.
