 Why did you decide to seek this office?
I have decided to seek re-election because I believe my experience gained from 30 years as a public servant for state and county governments makes me the most qualified candidate for the position. I would like to continue to serve Wise County for four more years. We have made progress in so many areas during my first three years of office yet many tasks have not been completed. I would like to continue to serve so that I can effectively work with a county engineer to improve our infrastructure, work with and support the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, oversee the completion of the animal shelter, and the building of a centralized courthouse annex.
Please identify a major issue dealing with the position you are seeking and your solutions or views about that issue. Please be as specific as possible.
Precinct one currently has 230 miles of county maintained roads. Approximately 160 miles are gravel. It has been my goal to increase the quality of work conducted and the number of miles paved each year while trying to properly maintain our gravel roads. I have taken a proactive approach by setting high expectations and goals.
2005 - I set the goal of paving 15.5 miles. This goal was accomplished.
2006 - I set the goal of paving 21.3 miles. This goal was accomplished.
2007 - I set the goal of paving 28.5 miles. This goal was not accomplished due to heavy flooding in the month of June. However, we still managed to pave over 18 miles in addition to spending many man-hours repairing massive flood damage to the infrastructure.
I have worked toward these goals by implementing the following:
1. Being a full time commissioner.
2. Increasing personal from 10 full time employees to 12 full time employees and 2 part time employees
3. Adding a jail industry employee, which utilizes 2 inmates for road repair daily.
4. Implementing an equipment unit system in which road-building equipment is purchased and utilized by all four precincts.
5. The establishment of a County Thoroughfare Plan, which allows for additional funding to each Precinct for asphalt roads.
6. Identifying the need and lobbing for a full time county engineer, which was approved by the Commissioner's court and will be hired in the near future.
I have not paved all the roads or solved all the problems but as your full time commissioner I will continue to pursue improvements in our county road system.
What experience qualifies you to serve in the position you seek?
I have 28 years in law enforcement with the Department of Public Safety. Twenty years were in a management position. I was accountable for the effective and efficient operation of an entire highway patrol sergeant area. My duties included managing state and county budgets, and supervising state and county employees. I have training and experience in conflict resolution, employment laws, supervision, management, problem solving, cause analysis, fair employment law, high performance management, techniques of group instruction, cultural diversity, performance evaluations, incident command system, and the BJ method of problem solving.
I have developed effective communication skills, which includes listening, and understanding.
I have applied these skills during the last three years as your Precinct One County Commissioner.
I believe the knowledge and experience gained from 30 years as a public servant in state and county government, my proven honesty, integrity and credibility qualifies me to continue to serve as County Commissioner for Precinct One.
If elected, what will be your most important goal?
My most important goal is to be a fair and impartial steward of the taxpayer's dollars. I will apply conservative values and properly research all issues in an effort to find the solutions that will best benefit Wise County and it's citizens.
Reader JP from Wise County asked the following question(s):
Being new to Wise County and a retired federal senior exective, you know I have to love the place to make it my home. My question is this: How will you interact and monitor the state maintenance roads to insure that the state keeps up and follows up on state actions? Seems to me that the Hwy. 380 project is a sad case of not meeting goals and appears to the state needs to step up and get it finished. How would you work this action with the state?
The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) by state law is the agency responsible for all maintenance and construction of roads in the Texas Highway System. These include Farm To Market Roads, State Highways, US Highways, and Interstates. Avenues which allow local government to interact with TXDOT do exist. I have and will continue to participate in them. Included in these avenues are Pre-Construction Conferences, North Central Texas Council of Governments meetings on Transportation issues, TXDOT Regional meetings on Transportation issues, Regional Transportation Council, Trans-Texas Corridor Meetings, and the Corridor Advisory Committee. I have been selected by the Wise County Commissioners Court to serve as a member of the Corridor Advisory Committee.
TXDOT is the sole government agency with authority over the US 380 project. The contractor exceeded the completion time allotted in the written contract. This has resulted in financial penalties being placed on the contractor. As County Commissioner, I have no authority over the US 380 project. I have interacted with TXDOT officials and elected state officials reference the long term completion of the project. I have recommended increasing the financial penalties applied to the contractor for exceeding the completion time frame on future contracts.
OK, last question, what formal training do you have in project management? Or construction management?
I have never received any formal training specifically addressing project management or construction management. I have twenty years experience in management with the Texas Department of Public Safety which included many hours of formal training in personnel management. My duties with the Department of Public Safety included managing the Decatur DPS office for 18 years. During this time I supervised the construction of an expansion and remolding project for the DPS office. I have also served as County Commissioner for the last three years. I have managed numerous road and bridge projects.
Wise County Commissioners Court recently hired a staff Civil Engineer. This position will serve the numerous engineering needs of our county government including construction and project management.
Thank you
Robert Rankin
County Commissioner
Precinct 1
Reader B.C. from Precinct 1 asked the following question(s):
What future provisions do you propose to adequately maintain current county accepted roads in driveable conditions eroded due to the heavy traffic from oil industry and continued county growth.
Wise County Commissioners Court is currently addressing the issue of road damage caused by heavy truck traffic. We have hired a county engineer. He will be on staff in less than a week. One of his duties will be to provide assistance on building roads which will withstand heavy truck traffic.
A committee has been formed to research and analyze the damage to county roads caused by commercial enterprise and the legal avenues by which the county could recover funds for repairing these damages from the responsible party.
How receptive are you to listening to without derogatory commentary issues presented by the "littleold lady on the cul de sac"?
It is my policy as Commissioner of Precinct 1 to return all phone calls and answer all emails. My office phone number is 940-627-5810 and my email address is comm1@co.wise.tx.us . Because my duties often require me to be out of the office it is necessary for me to utilize an answering machine however, I personally return messages. I have worked hard to provide an open communication line with the public because the issues and concerns of my constituents are very important to me. I listen to people respectfully and I take their problems seriously.
What is your plan for working with existing neighborhoods that have sustained this damage?
I visit the neighborhood so I can examine the damage and explain to the people what I can or can not legally do. I discuss their options with them and come up with a plan to repair the damage. I schedule the roads for repair if they are public roads within my jurisdiction and have been accepted by Wise County Commissioners Court as county maintained roads.
How receptive are you to working with county neighborhoods that have had their "road issues" stinted by the actions and viewpoints of past politicians?
I am very receptive to working with anyone or any group. I listen to anyone and view myself as a public servant.
Thank You
Robert Rankin
Wise County Commissioner
Precinct One
Reader B.A. from Decatur asked the following question(s):
Question: I have asked one candidate already but While looking at the bio's of all of the candidates for my precinct, I am disappointed that only one mentions the problem we are having with the Animal control situation in Wise County. I am sure that through your travels of the roads of Wise County you have witnessed the problem of animal cruelty and people dumping helpless dogs to fend for themselves. How do you think that Wise County got in the condition it is in currently?
Answer: The animal control problem is being addressed in Wise County. Wise County Animal Control has been without an open animal shelter since July 2007. The ground breaking for a new shelter is on the horizon. Here is a history of our animal shelter.
The Wise County animal shelter was built in the early 1990s when the Commissioners Court (at that time) moved it from under the direction of Public Works to the Sheriff's office. Since then the state guidelines for animal shelters has changed a lot and the population of stray animals being picked up by Animal Control Officers has grown a lot.
Repair to the shelter was conducted in August of 2004. Inmate labor was utilized to repair such items as door cables and water leaks, and new air-conditioning was installed.
I took office as precinct one County Commissioner in January 2005. Sheriff Walker notified the Commissioners Court in April of 2005 that the animal shelter was in need of repair again and that the population of stray animals was beginning to out grow the building.
After touring the shelter, Commissioners Court authorized the repairs and began the process of researching the building of a new shelter.
County Judge Dick Chase established an animal shelter committee in mid 2005. Sheriff David Walker and I were on this committee with Judge Chase as the chairman. Several citizens from the community were also on the committee.
Over the next several months the committee conducted extensive research. We looked at other animal shelters including public and private facilities. We looked at cost effective construction and proper design that would maximize the life of the structure and minimize employee hours yet provide proper care for the animals. We obtained information and advise from the Texas Department of Health (The State agency which regulates animal shelters). We looked at volunteer assistance programs and explored the possibility of utilizing inmate labor for daily duties.
During this process the Texas Department of Health conducted a routine annual inspection of the existing animal shelter in early 2006. They identified some action items such as bad lighting, air conditioning, rusted interior and exterior walls. The Commissioners Court authorized the funds to conduct the needed repairs. A local contractor was utilized and worked directly off the list from the last Texas Department of Health inspection report. Sheriff Walker and I visited the shelter during and after the completion of the repairs. The work conducted exceeded our expectations.
Commissioners Court acquired the assistance of an architect in July of 2006 to assist in developing an initial design for a new shelter. The architect attended Commissioners Court meetings and presented suggestions and recommendations. Toward the last part of 2006 the Commissioners Court reorganized the Animal Shelter Committee because Judge Chase was leaving office at the end of 2006. I was not placed on the new committee because I was on the Groundwater Protection Committee and we were preparing a bill to be introduced during the 2007 Texas Legislative Session. I did attend the new committee's first formal meeting and briefed them on the findings of the previous committee.
Judge Bill McElhaney joined the Commissioners Court on January 1, 2007. The architect came to Commissioners Court shortly thereafter to discuss the design of the new shelter. He signed a contract in April 2007 that allowed him to proceed with designing a new shelter. The Commissioners Court stressed the need to be cost effective.
The Animal Shelter Committee continued researching other avenues, including a Multi-Agency animal shelter. They also began researching the option of a Design-Build structure.
The Texas Department of Health conducted another inspection of the animal shelter in July 2007. They ordered the shelter closed. The Texas Department of Health would not allow the shelter to be reopened despite efforts from the county.
The architect returned to Commissioners Court and presented his design with a projected cost that well exceeded a million dollars. The Court did not accept nor reject this design. We took no action. We wanted to conclude the research on the Design Build process to see if it was a more cost effective means of building the structure.
The extensive legal research on government entities using Design Build construction was concluded and Sheriff Walked talked to several Design Build companies in August and September of 2007. During this time frame the Commissioners Court concluded the Design Build process would be more cost effective than the design previously presented by the architect. We terminated the architect's services. The architect understood and did not bill us for his services.
The Commissioners Court reviewed the Design Build process on October 29, 2007. A representative from a Design Build company was in court and estimated the cost of an animal shelter as requested by Wise County to be around $600,000. Commissioners Court approved the Design Build process on October 29, 2007 by authorizing the process of Request for Qualifications(RFQ), which is required by law.
After completion of the RFQ process, the Commissioners Court selected a Design Building Company in January 2008 for the construction of the new animal shelter. The funds have been allocated for the new shelter. The site has been selected and surveyed. Construction will begin as soon as Commissioners Court receives and accepts the design.
Question: What will you do if anything to help solve this problem?
Answer: I was placed back on the Animal Shelter Committee in December of 2007. I will insure that the new animal shelter is built as soon as possible and by cost effective means. I will insure that the new shelter will be an asset to the community which promotes adoptions and meets the needs of our rapidly growing county.
Question: How far up on your priority list is this problem?
Answer: During the initial planning and designing phase of a new amimal shelter the philosophy was to explore all options and keep the existing shelter open by conducting repair and maintanence. The new animal shelter moved from a planning phase to a must build phase in July 2007 when the existing shelter was closed by the Texas Department of Health. The new animal shelter is at the top of the MUST DO list until it is completed.
Thank you
Robert Rankin
Wise County Commissioner
Precinct One
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