County working with 2020 Vision on structure for courthouse lawn

Beautification of the courthouse lawn was the discussion between the county and 20/20 Vision recently.

County Judge Keith Umphress met with the group last week. The group is a community action committee focused on the beautification of the city and county as a whole. Umphress told commissioners at their regular meeting the board allocates funds to different groups for that purpose, but had never participated with the county.

Umphress had brought up the idea of a pavilion/stage area on the northeast corner of the lawn to commissioners recently. He said he hopes to have county officials regain the focus of what is in the best interest of the county in 2020 and the beautification is part of that.

The goal is to have the structure on the lawn, working in conjunction with the city of Jacksboro in an attempt to get the city nominated as a Main Street City. The city had applied for Main Street Texas designation late last year but was denied, City Manager Mike Smith said.

Umphress said anything done needs to be eye-catching.

“My wife told me that it needs to not just be an eyesore when it’s not in use,” Umphress said. 

Once complete, for which there is no timeframe, the stage could be used for theatre, One Act Play performances, cheerleading performances, church choirs or other performance groups.

“This would be a fantastic opportunity,” Umphress said. “This would be a collective effort and the vision would be fully funded.”

Umphress said he hopes to get two or three designs for such a stage and look for the best one.

In other news, the new tax collection attorneys have shown their mettle in just the first eight days of their contract.

Umphress told commissioners that Perdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott had already collected $52,000 of back taxes for the county. The firm replaced Linebarger & Associates late last year as many Jack County officials thought the firm was not doing a good enough job in collecting back taxes.

The county was the first to change. The City of Jacksboro, Jacksboro ISD, and others have filed suit since then.