The Lampasas County Commissioners Court recently awarded a bid of $98,618 to Wilson Office Interiors for furnishings and fixtures for the Lampasas County Office Building and the two-story addition under construction.

Wilson Office Interiors offered the third-lowest of the seven bids commissioners considered. The second lowest bid did not meet the specifications set by county officials, and the lowest bidder -- which offered a price $7,200 less than Wilson Office Interiors’ -- proposed several substitutions on filing cabinets.

The winning bid meets the county’s budget of $114,000 to furnish the new annex building being constructed on Pecan Street. Only a few offices in the existing county building on Pecan Street will get new furniture, County Auditor Jack Clark said.

Commissioners voted to table consideration of changes to the county’s rabies and animal control ordinance. At the court’s previous meeting, commissioners considered increasing animal control fees, adopting a new definition for a “dangerous animal” that must be euthanized and removing a policy provision that allows commissioners to enter a person’s property to kill a dangerous animal.

The court also tabled discussion of new personnel and sick-leave pool policies, as well as a possible $10 annual fee for aerobic septic system maintenance contract renewals.

In other business, the Commissioners Court approved a master mutual aid agreement required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster aid reimbursement. The county’s agreement is with the cities of Lampasas, Kempner and Lometa, as well as with the Adamsville Volunteer Fire Department, Rollins Brook Community Hospital and Capital Ambulance.

At their recent meeting, commissioners voted 4-0, with County Judge Wayne Boultinghouse absent, to pass a resolution supporting a U.S. Highway 190 bypass project under consideration for the city of Copperas Cove. The resolution, recommended by the Killeen-Temple Metropolitan Planning Organization, calls for the re-designation of U.S. 190 as “Business 190” in preparation for bypass construction.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack B. Cox said he considered the suggested name change odd. “Business” routes, the commissioner said, normally pass through cities’ downtown areas. A highway usually is designated “business” only if another main highway exists nearby, he added.

“TxDOT [the Texas Department of Transportation] isn’t going to change anything until there’s an alternate route,” the commissioner said.

Because the proposed route for a Copperas Cove highway bypass has changed, new right of way will have to be purchased, said Precinct 1 Commissioner Robert Vincent, a Killeen-Temple MPO representative. The new route may pass through a small part of Lampasas County near Taylor Creek Elementary and south of the Cedar Creek subdivision, he said.

In a final item, the Commissioners Court approved Cammy Burns, Debbie Cain, Katie Lockhart and Margaret Lovett as new members of the Lampasas County Child Protective Services Board. CPS board officers are Jacque Pickard, chairman; Mrs. Burns, vice chairman; Gail Long, treasurer; and Mrs. Lovett, secretary.