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After a brief executive session, during
the regularly scheduled DeLeon City Council meeting July 13, council
members announced that they’d selected one police chief applicant,
from Rockwall, from those received and then voted to pursue a personal
interview. By Monday morning though, council members had learned the
applicant had taken a job elsewhere and DeLeon would have to pursue
other options.
The July 13 meeting also found Council
members approving a resolution regarding the Texas Department of
Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) changes to the HOME program
rules, which were adopted February 15, 2006, for the owner occupied
assistance program. Jamie Welch, assistant city secretary explained
some of the changes in the program, and how the resolution came about.
“ARCIT (the Association of Rural
Communities in Texas) is an organization that fights for and tries to
protect rural Texas,” Welch said. “They’re trying to challenge some of
the changes in the HOME program. Instead of grants, they’ll be
deferred forgivable loans for five years. If an elderly person passes
away in that five years, the home must be sold, or the family must pay
the loan in full. As it sits right now, that’s your home, the grant
rebuilds it and hands you the key. Starting from this year forward,
things are going to change drastically...and for some people, this
home may be the only thing they’ve ever owned.”
Councilman Howard Gifford pointed out
another change. “It also states that if a beneficiary has to be
relocated to an assisted care facility, that the balance of the note
be called,” he said. “A lot of them probably don’t have family members
who could pay the note off in that situation.”
After a bit more discussion, Gifford made
a motion, “to pass and approve the resolution in an attempt to get
TDHCA to rescind some of their decisions regarding the HOME grant.”
Avery Carlisle seconded.
The council also heard a report from
Jamie Welch on progress at the Festival Park, in which she noted there
were “windows and doors up” and steel going up and that “we’re really
rolling on it.”
Mayor Owen also spoke about the Festival
Park project. “I asked Karen (Wilkerson, City Secretary) to type up a
letter and send it to each bank,” he said, “seeing if they’d be
interested in floating us a loan to keep this project going. We’re
down...to $9,000. We’ve got a lot of money to come back, but it’s
going to take some time. We’re looking at approximately $150,000 to
complete a lot of this. Hopefully we can get a low-percentage loan,
and as our money is reimbursed we can pay back the loan. I’m very
concerned that if our contractors have to pull off, to go to other
jobs to keep their employees paid, that we’re going to lose a lot of
valuable time. Right now, we’re keeping things paid, our contractors
are happy. But if we ever stumble here, we may not get them back in a
timely manner.”
Owen also noted that an extension had
been filed on the park work. “That will give us another year,” he
said, “and we’ll have until next August and hopefully that will be the
completion.”
In other business, Council members:
• Accepted a bid of $251, from Wofford's
Used Cars, for a Ford Escort station wagon which the city no longer
needed. The vehicle was donated to the city for use with the Hurricane
Rita evacuees. There was a total of two bids submitted.
• Tabled a request by Jerry Jones to
“build a concrete wall in the creek located at the corner of E. Juarez
and Bell to conform to the natural flow.” Although there had been no
objections expressed from residents in that immediate vicinity,
according to Karen Wilkerson, both TxDOT and the Corps of Engineers
had expressed concerns. Wilkerson said that plans would have to be
drawn up by an engineer, and a permit obtained from the Corps of
Engineers before any work could commence. Jones said that would “not
be a problem.”
• Tabled an agenda item described as a
request by Joe Salinas for a small auto and tire repair shop on Seguin
Street since Salinas was not able to appear at the meeting.
• Tabled a request by Todd Griffin
concerning “repairs to the scoreboards at all the baseball fields”
pending further information.
• Heard a report from Chamber Manager
Barbara Helberg in which she advised them that another “Doodle Bug”
train ride was scheduled for October 14, and asked for one of the
council members, or the city secretary, to attend some of the
organizational meetings.
• Approved the minutes from the June 22,
2006 meeting.
• Approved the June 2006 tax statement.
• Heard a report from Jamie Welch on the
current HOME grant program in which she noted that “everything is
going great, and the homeowners seem to be very pleased.”
In the open staff discussion Mayor Owen
spoke about an effort to get the town cleaned up, including mowing and
trimming, with the help of volunteers from several organizations.
There is a tentative plan to implement the clean-up on Saturday, July
29, in conjunction with the previously planned debris removal
schedule. “Another thing,” Owen said. “The lawyer is working on the
property that Birdsong is going to lease to the city for $1 a year.”
He then noted that the Chamber of Commerce had indicated a willingness
to help with signage and advertising for, perhaps, a monthly flea
market or trade days on the property.
Rob Duncan, Public Works Administrator,
informed the mayor that weed killer had been sprayed in several
problem areas around town, and he spoke to the council about several
customers on the east end of town who were having trouble with
corroded water pipes (showing the council very rusty water samples).
Councilman Johnnye Howell wanted to know
who was in charge of code enforcement and was informed that at the
current time, very little was being done. “I think the officers we
have right now are not very comfortable with that, because they’re not
that knowledgeable in some (code enforcement) areas” Owen said. “But
we’re going to have to work on that, because there are some areas that
need attention in a hurry.”
Council member Norma Locke announced that
she’d like to meet with Cemetery Committee members to discuss several
concerns at the DeLeon Cemetery.
Councilman John Holdridge asked if the
council needed to issue a statement or resolution approving the
proposed use of the old DeLeon Nursing Home building. Holdridge was
referring to a recent CCMC Hospital Board story about the property
perhaps being used for “mental health rehabilitation services.”
“I think that’s coming up on a future
agenda,” Mayor Owen said.
Wilkerson confirmed that the subject of
the nursing home sale was on the agenda for July 27. She also said she
had talk to the attorney and TML to inquire about any potential
problems with such a facility being near an elementary school. “I’ve
had several phone calls from people with that concern,” she said.
“That’s what made me call them.” |
