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Electricity providers for the city was
the chief topic of discussion when the DeLeon City Council met in
regular session, Thursday, June 28, and addressed a rather lengthy
agenda. The meeting began at 6 p.m. and lasted until after 10 p.m.
David Bane, from TXU, and Liberty
Electric representative Frank Garza presented bids to the council in
person. Star-Tex also sent a bid, and council members communicated via
telephone with their representative several times during the meeting.
After more than two hours of discussion,
a vote was taken to table the item pending further research. While at
times expressing frustration at the many variables and unknowns -- and
the length of time involved -- council members agreed that rate
differences between the companies involved could result in a
significant savings for the city.
Council members also approved the first
reading of an amendment to the noise ordinance.
“Our intention is that this is for live
performers, of that nature, that was oversighted,” Mayor Owen said.
Council members also addressed ordinance #007-07 regarding the new
Recreational Vehicle park.
“This is an ordinance setting up charges
and fees for our RV park,” Owen said. “I did notice…that it said tent
camping is not permitted in the RV park, and that no tent may be
erected in the RV park at any time, or for any reason.”
Owen said that that was not exactly what
he had in mind.
“We only have 10 sites with full
hook-up,” Owen said, “and just didn’t want someone with a tent to take
up those spots. But we do have spots available for tent camping. So,
I’m going to ask that we reword that, because that would eliminate the
Scouts, or anybody that wants to do that.”
Wilkerson suggested “tent camping is
available in designated areas only.”
“There you go,” Owen said, and the vote
to approve was unanimous.
The park project was also discussed.
“Everybody should have a copy of the
letter I got from Robin Colton (Texas Parks and Wildlife rep),”
Wilkerson said. “She gave me a list of everything we had to accomplish
by July 15. She did let me know that this parking area (looking at a
map) can be grass, we thought it had to be base. So that was a relief.
Exercise stations have been ordered and they will be delivered and
installed by the company. The benches are here, and I need to get a
group to help volunteer to put those in. The horseshoe pits, game
tables and shuffleboard courts and sand volleyball, I will try to get
this weekend. Wilkerson said the concession stand, pavilion and
restrooms still had to be completed.
“And Hively has framed out the entire
inside of the ticket booth,” Wilkerson said. “The ceiling is all
completed except for the men’s bathroom and the framing of the
amphitheater still needs to be done. Mr. Perkins is going to come run
the electricity and give me a bill for the electric, so that will help
with the reimbursements. So that’s a good thing. Hively said he would
try to be back over in the next couple of days, but he had lost a
truck, a tractor, his dog and some farm equipment in the rains that
have come through. He’s actually staying out of a hotel in
Stephenville right now, he can’t get to his home (in Bluff Dale.) He’s
trying. Wilkerson also discussed flag poles and flags that were needed
at the park, as well as the plaque that would designate the area a
Texas Parks and Wildlife project.
“I thought the plaque could be mounted to
the front of the ticket building,” she said. “But it has to be put in
front of that flag pole. And she (?) said that most of the time it is
put on granite. Sterling Monument has given me quotes. For just the
granite, it’s $1,020.” She noted that those who were involved in the
project would be named on the plaque. A bronze marker mounted on
granite was also discussed, but Wilkerson said she’d been told that
bronze would turn green and that it was actually more expensive. She
recommended just going with the granite. “And that’s been approved by
the state,” she said. “I think we need to just get it ordered,” Owen
said.
Wilkerson also discussed final
reimbursements to still be filed with the state.
“We’re running out of time,” Wilkerson
said. “We’ve had lot’s of rain. We’re doing the best we can. It’s been
hard on Rob and the guys. The rain has not let them work like they
need to work. It’s been very stressful these last three weeks. Worse
case scenario is I don’t have all the reimbursements because people
can’t turn in invoices or whatever. But we don’t have to pay back the
$500,000 -- we just won’t get anymore money. But we still have to
complete what we promised.”
“But we don’t need to leave money on the
table on that grant,” Gifford said.
“Right,” Wilkerson agreed. “What Robin
said the other day is that if we can 100 percent complete this part,
close it out, then next year we can apply for another grant which will
finish the other proposed areas within this park – your four-diamond
baseball, your parking lots and things like that. But you can only be
eligible for that grant, if you 100 percent close this grant.”
Wilkerson and the council then discussed
extremely expensive fencing options -- including a bid of $78,000 for
fencing at the amphitheater, the ticket booth and tractor pull.
“The fencing around the dance floor we’ve
got to have, right?” Gifford said.
“Yes, we’ve got to have that,” Wilkerson
said.
“But the fencing around the tractor pull
area is optional?” Gifford said.
“Yes,” Wilkerson said.
Wilkerson then said that other bids on
fencing were still expected, and all agreed to let she and Mayor Owen
make a final decision, “because there’s not enough time to wait for
council meetings.”
“I appreciate the time and effort you’ve
put in on this,” Gifford then said to Wilkerson.
“Karen’s been a trooper on it,” Owen
said. “I’ve been proud of her.”
In other business, Council members:
• Voted to remove Chief Ralph Dickey from
his six months probationary period.
• Approved a request by Art Valencia to
have a dance at City Hall on July 7.
• Approved a 30 day waiver for Billy
Russell to renovate the outside of a mobile home on Alamante Street.
Russell had the fire damaged home moved into DeLeon before being made
aware of an ordinance prohibiting fire damaged mobile homes from the
city limits.
• Approved a request by Feltz Terrill,
Jr., representing Developing DeLeon Today, to pursue grants for
auditorium and bathroom renovations at City Hall.
• Voted to accept the annual Consumer
Confidence Report on the water quality for DeLeon. Copies of this
report were mailed to DeLeon residents.
• Voted to abandon 20 feet of roadway
between Ross and Labadie, and split the property between owners on the
east side and west side. The land in question belongs to the city, but
has never been maintained by the city.
• Approved a request by Chief Ralph
Dickey to allow Anna Vawter to do volunteer work at the DeLeon Police
Department.
• Approved a request by Dewaine Lane to
build an RV shed in the alley way behind his home at 500 S. Lamar. To
do this, Council members voted to abandon the property, and divide it
between two adjacent property owners.
• Voted to make no changes at this time
to the city handbook policy on overtime pay, and to review the policy
at a later date.
During the open discussion between city
officials and city staff, Ray Helberg, Comanche County Emergency
Management Coordinator, spoke of the recent rain, saying that the bad
news is that there was more rain forecasted.
“There’s water in the houses at Buffalo
Springs now,” Helberg said.
After discussing the rising water at the
Sabana and Leon rivers, and Rush Creek, Helberg briefly addressed
emergency planning.
“We’ve moved all the cots out of the old
hospital and moved them to the Methodist Church,” Helberg said. “And
I’ve contacted Red Cross and they will be here to open a shelter, if
we need a shelter, and we’ll do it in the church.”
Helberg noted that this time, if a
shelter is needed, it will be for local people. “But whoever washes
in, we’ll put them up,” he said.
He then discussed several rescues in the
area.
“We’ve had four swift water rescues,”
Helberg said. “One of them was a DeLeon fireman. And we had a report
today that a car ran off a bridge that was washed out, coming out of
Hamilton County into ours, but we could never find anything. It’s not
looking good, but it could be worse.”
Mayor Owen then noted that there were a
lot of areas that emergency vehicles can’t get to at the current time,
without “going the long way around.”
“There are some serious issues in the
communities,” Owen said.
“The county roads are bad,” Helberg
agreed. “Some of them are impassable -- you can’t even get down them.
It’s making our job pretty hard.” |
