Precinct 3 Constable Larry Armstrong announced his upcoming resignation and recommended his replacement during a Tuesday, July 14 meeting of the Hill County Commissioners Court.
Constable Armstrong announced his resignation effective July 31, citing health concerns and a desire to spend more time with his family after more than five decades in law enforcement.
In a letter to the commissioners court, Armstrong said that he had wanted to become a peace officer since he was 12 years old, after sitting in his brother’s Fort Worth police car. He said that experience convinced him law enforcement was his calling, a career he has pursued for the past 52 years.
Armstrong thanked County Judge Shane Brassell and the commissioners for their support over his past decade as constable and expressed appreciation for the opportunity to serve the citizens of Precinct 3 and Hill County.
The constable noted that he and his wife, Jackie, have lived in Hill County for 42 years, with Armstrong serving the county and Jackie working at Hill College. He said resigning was “not an easy decision,” but a necessary one because of his health and his desire to devote more time to his family.
Armstrong submitted a second letter recommending Deputy Constable Kyle Cox as his successor. Armstrong told commissioners that Cox has served as his deputy for the past four years and 10 months and has become “a valuable asset” to the county’s constables’ offices by assisting all four precincts with serving civil papers, supporting justice of the peace courts and performing other duties as needed.
Armstrong wrote that appointing Cox would allow for a seamless transition because he is already familiar with the responsibilities of the office and has handled many of the day-to-day duties of the Precinct 3 constable’s office, including work for Justice of the Peace Precinct 3. He said Cox has demonstrated a strong commitment to serving the citizens of Precinct 3 and Hill County and is well qualified to assume the position.
Following Armstrong’s resignation announcement, commissioners unanimously appointed Cox to serve as Precinct 3 constable. Cox will fill the remainder of Armstrong’s term beginning August 1 through 2028.
In other action, commissioners heard a presentation on the county’s fiscal year 2025 audit from Todd Pruitt of Pattillo, Brown and Hill.
Pruitt told the court that Hill County received a “clean” audit and issued an unmodified opinion, which is the highest opinion given to a governmental body. There were no significant deficiencies identified.
The court also observed and recorded financial audits submitted by the Hill County Appraisal District and Hill County Emergency Services District (ESD) 1, both of which received clean audits.
Commissioners observed and recorded the resignation of Jimmy Johnson from the ESD 1 board. Johnson was the latest ESD 1 commissioner to resign, leaving the five-member board missing three members.
The court appointed Justin Shultz to fill one of the vacancies on the ESD 1 board, and the appointment of Robert Matthews was tabled.
The court discussed requests from Gransolar Texas Ten, which approached the county about extending deadlines for the company to complete its solar projects southeast of Hubbard under its tax abatement agreements with the county.
Prior to the meeting, the company withdrew one of its requests, which was to extend the completion date of a 83.6 megawatt solar electric generating facility from December 2025 to December 2027.
The second request was to extend the deadline for the company to complete its 135.12 megawatt AC battery energy storage facility from the third quarter of 2026 to the third quarter of 2029. Gransolar says that the project has experienced construction delays.
County Attorney David Holmes said that it had been communicated to the company that the court was unlikely to have an appetite for such agreements. Commissioners voted to reject the extension.
Commissioners selected the county’s health insurance and ancillary insurance providers after hearing a report from Scott Estill of ANCO Insurance.
Estill told the court that it has been a challenging year for health insurance, and high premiums are currently a national issue. The renewal cost for the county’s current health insurance provider, Curative, was over 59% higher than last year.
Estill said that the switch to Curative over the past two years saved the county about $600,000 over other options, but this year, he recommended a Baylor Scott and White plan with a Nonstop Health benefit add-on to eliminate in-network copays and deductibles.
Commissioners approved this plan, with the cost to the county 25 percent higher than last year’s plan.
The court also approved Guardian to continue as the county’s ancillary services provider, including dental, vision, long-term disability and similar coverage.
Appointments to the Hill County Child Protective Services Board were also approved, with Jennifer Ryan and Susan Popp named to the board.
Among the other routine expenditures and agenda items approved were $18,694 in previously budgeted funds for the purchase of used first responder radios from Command Communications for Hill County Emergency Management; $8,032 in previously budgeted funds for repair of large doors in the kitchen area of the county jail; a $250 transfer from miscellaneous line item to postage for Hill County Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 due to postage rate increases; and a $217,499 budget amendment from one line item to another in the auditor’s office to cover professional services related to the transition to a new county auditor and increased bonding and insurance fees.
The court set a public hearing for Tuesday, August 11, during the court’s regular meeting to discuss the closure of a portion of Harbor Lane and Cedar Patch Lane, formerly known as Comber Lane, in Precinct 1. The roads were included in the original plat for Lakeside Resort but were never developed or maintained by the county.
A public hearing was held on a proposal to close a portion of HCR 1216 near the intersection of HCR 1300 in Precinct 1. One area resident spoke in favor of the closure, saying that the area attracts trespassers and those illegally dumping. The court approved the closure.
Commissioners approved a preliminary plat for phase one of the FG 1 subdivision. Frankly Grace LLC requested to subdivide 20.36 acres off of HCR 4105 into 11 lots ranging from 1 acre to just over 3 acres.
Also approved were final plats for Hill County Ranch Estates, involving 11 lots of approximately four to five acres at the corner of Farm Road 933 and HCR 4122, and Treadwell School Subdivision, involving the subdivision of 10 acres at the corner of HCRs 2340 and 2313 into two approximately four- to five-acre lots.
In other updates, Brassell reported that his meeting with the City of Hillsboro regarding the city’s fire marshal also doing work for the county went well, and the county is working on a memorandum of understanding as the negotiations continue.
The court’s next regular meeting will be Tuesday, July 28, at 8:30 a.m. in the county courtroom of the Hill County Courthouse.
The Lakelander 