Sunday, May 30, 2021

The Week of May 31st - June 4th, 2021 in the City of Waxahachie

Hello Friends!
 
I want to let y'all know that city offices will be closed Monday, May 31, in observance of Memorial Day. For non-emergency needs during this time, please call the Waxahachie Police Department at 469-309-4400. For emergencies, please dial 911.
 
There aren't too many meetings this week, but here is a link to the city's calendar in case more are added after Sunday: https://www.waxahachie.com/calendar_app/index.html   Also, we have a couple of out-of-the-ordinary meetings this week, so let's get started.
 
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Wednesday, June 2, 2021
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Noon - Civic Service Commission Regular Meeting
Waxahachie Police Department, Strategy Room
630 Farley Street, Waxahachie
 

The only action item on this agenda is for the Waxahachie Police to certify police entrance examination eligibility list created by written examination on May 15, 2021.

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5:00 PM - City Council Work Session
Council Conference Room, City Hall
 
 
The only item on this agenda is to discuss the AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) project.  This was discussed in more detail at the Council retreat and has to do with the potential for going to smart meters for our water service.  I am anticipating that the results of the smart meter analysis will be presented to Council to see if going to smart meters are even an option.  The study was conducted to see if the change would at least break even with the costs of implementation. 
 
There are some upsides to doing this change.  The one that I'm most excited about is the detailed usage information for city staff and citizens (web based and mobile apps) with leak and tamper alerts in near real time.  If you've ever had a leak at your house, you know that the water bill costs can easily reach into hundreds of dollars and there isn't much the city can do to write that off because the water was used. This has the potential to alert you whenever there is a leak so that you can catch it nearly right away and save a lot of money.

This meeting will most likely not be live-streamed, but it is an open meeting and residents have the ability to attend.  

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6:00 PM - CPAC - Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall


3 - Present summary of CPAC introduction survey and community assessment results

4 - Facilitate group discussion of CPAC members on various topics (listed in the agenda packet link above)

5 - Next steps and scheduling of community kickoff presentation

I'm not aware of whether this meeting will be live-streamed or not (most likely it will not), but it is open to the public, should you wish to attend. 
 
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8:30 AM - Cemetery Board Regular Meeting
Council Conference Room, City Hall
 
 
4 - Discuss cemetery activities and take any necessary action
 
5 - Discuss cemetery capital improvement projects and take any necessary action.
 
This is an open meeting and you are welcome to attend, but it will not be live-streamed.
 
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Please remember the last day of early voting for the City Council runoff is Tuesday, June 1st from 7a - 7p only at the Elections office.  
 
The Election Day voting will be held only  at Marvin Elementary School from 7a - 7p on Saturday, June 5, 2021.  The times and locations are on this document: http://www.co.ellis.tx.us/DocumentCenter/View/14422/Runoff-Early-Voting-and-Election-Day-Polling-locations?bidId=  
 
 
I hope that y'all have a great rest of your weekend and a wonderful week ahead!
 
Your Friendly Councilmember,
 
Melissa Olson, CMO
(text) 817-507-5162
molson@waxahachie.com 
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Sunday, May 23, 2021

The Week of May 24th - 28th, 2021 in the City of Waxahachie

 Hello Friends!

All we have on the calendar so far for this week is the P&Z briefing and meeting Tuesday night.  You can check back on the city's calendar to see if more meetings are added.  That link is: https://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php

The big news for this week is the City Council runoff election!  Early voting begins Monday, May 24th -Thursday, May 27th from 8a-5p at the Elections office. Friday, the hours will be 7a-7p and Saturday they will be 8a-4p.  For the rest of the early voting schedule and the hours/location for the actual Election Day on June 5th, please see this page put out by Ellis County Elections: http://www.co.ellis.tx.us/DocumentCenter/View/14422/Runoff-Early-Voting-and-Election-Day-Polling-locations?bidId=  It is costing over $13,000 to hold this runoff election, so please take 5 minutes (if that long) to vote and have your voice heard.  Here is a sample ballot for the runoff:  http://www.co.ellis.tx.us/DocumentCenter/View/14436/Waxahachie-Sample-Ballot?bidId=  I put an event in my phone so that I don't get too busy and forget.  Voting is important and local elections matter!
 
 
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Tuesday, May 25, 2021
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6:15 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Briefing Session
Council Conference Room, City Hall


This briefing session is held to discuss items for the 7 PM regular P&Z meeting.  Residents are welcome to attend this informal Q&A session between the commission and staff, but it is not live-streamed at this time.

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7:00 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall

 
All the cases, which you can review in the agenda packet above, are pretty standard with one exception.
 
17 & 18 - Public hearing on a request by Shea Kirkman for a zoning change from Commercial to PD-Light Industrial, located just North of 1800 W Highway 287 Bypass. The applicant is requesting approval of a PD (Planned Development) to allow an industrial business park on 93 acres. Per the concept plan, the applicant is proposing to construct three industrial buildings which are proposed to be constructed based on the tenants that will use the property.  At this time, the applicant has stated no tenants are currently known and the phasing has not been determined.  Please note there is a maximum height of 6 stories for all structures. Also, staff will not support access from US 287 to Patrick Road.  There have been 5 letters of opposition for this case submitted as of the time the agenda packet was created.  Staff is recommending denial.

This meeting is open to the public should you wish to attend, but will also be live-streamed at the following link: https://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php
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It looks like we may be having a bit more rain before it clears out, so don't float away! I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a wonderful week ahead!

Your Friendly Councilmember,

Melissa Olson, CMO
molson@waxahachie.com
(text) 817-507-5162


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Sunday, May 16, 2021

The Week of May 17th - 21st, 2021 in the City of Waxahachie

 Hello Friends!

I hope that y'all stay dry this week, as we are expected to have quite the rainy forecast!  As far as city business goes, I have scanned in the draft minutes from the most recent board meetings for your review.  They cover 6 meetings and 1 briefing and can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZfQrIjAJQvJAaGnKh79RJpqnTA72Ddq4/view?usp=sharing

As far as meetings for this week, we only have the Council briefing and meeting so far on the calendar.  You can always check back on the city's calendar to see if more meetings have been added here: https://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php

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Monday, May 17, 2021
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6:00 PM - City Council Briefing
Council Conference Room, City Hall


This briefing is to discuss items for the 7:00 PM regular Council meeting.  It is a great way to hear Council Q&A in a less formal setting and before decisions are made in the actual meeting.  It is open to the public to attend; however, the briefing is not live-streamed at this time.
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7:00 PM - City Council Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall


5(f): Authorize supplemental appropriation funding the runoff election on June 5, 2021.  The amount requested is not supplied in the agenda packet, so I'll find out at the briefing Monday evening, but I think it is worth noting because these runoff elections are costing the taxpayers.  I also think it might be a good idea to amend the charter so that the person with the highest vote in each place wins the race, thereby avoiding runoffs.  Since this charter amendment has been effective, we have had at least one runoff per Council election.  Just some food for thought.  I'd like to know your thoughts on this as well.
 
18-20: Public hearing on a request by George Salvador, Lilian Custom Homes, for a zoning change from SF1 to PD-SF3.  Staff is recommending approval per comments.  More details can be found in the agenda packet link above.
 
24 & 25: Convene into Executive Session to discuss the positions of City Secretary and Municipal Court Judge as permitted by TGC, Section 551.074 and reconvene and take any necessary action.  Your City Council has the power to appoint 3 city positions.  These agenda items are in regards to two of the three positions.  The third position is that of City Manager. I cannot give details regarding executive session items, but can say that we will most likely be taking action when we reconvene from the executive session.  

As always, please feel free to read through the whole agenda packet to get the details on every item.  I just try to pick those which I feel are the most relevant or of interest to citizens to highlight.

This is a public meeting and is open to the public to attend.  It is also live-streamed and can be viewed through the following link at the time of the meeting: https://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php
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I hope that y'all have a great rest of your weekend and a wonderful week ahead!

Your Friendly Councilmember,

Melissa Olson, CMO
(text) 817-507-5162
molson@waxahachie.com



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Sunday, May 9, 2021

The Week of May 10th - 14th, 2021 in the City of Waxahachie

Hello Friends!
 
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, grandmas and great-grandmas out there!  I hope you have a wonderful day today!
 
If you're a fan of city meetings, then you are in luck this week! We have meetings scheduled every day but Friday, including a special Council meeting on Tuesday.  Here is a link to the city calendar: http://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php
 
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Monday, May 10, 2021
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8:30 AM - Waxahachie FR&R Fund Board of Trustees Regular Meeting
Waxahachie Fire Station No. 2
1601 Cleaver Street

3: Honor former board member John Tillery

4: Consider appointment of civilian member to the FR&R Board

5: Administer oath of office to civilian board member

6: Reorganize the board

The rest of the meeting items can be viewed in detail on the agenda linked above.  These are fairly routine in nature.  This meeting is open to the public should you wish to attend, but is not going to be live-streamed.

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Tuesday, May 11, 2021
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*** 12:00 PM - City Council Special Meeting ***
Council Chamber, City Hall


4: Public comments
 
5: Canvass and accept votes of City Council election held on May 1, 2021.
 
6: Consider and take action on proposed ordinance ordering a runoff election for at-large council member places 4 and 5.  Place 4 runoff will be between Billie Wallace and Paul Christenson and Place 5 runoff will be between Travis M. Smith and Charles "Chuck" Beatty and will take place on June 5th. Here is a link to a generic sample ballot.  Those in Waxahachie will only have the Waxahachie race on their ballot.  http://www.co.ellis.tx.us/DocumentCenter/View/14423/210605_Runoff-SampleBallot?bidId=

As all our Council meetings are live-streamed, this short meeting should be as well.  The link to the live-stream is here: http://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php
 
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3:00 PM - WCDC -Waxahachie Community Development Corporation Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall 


This is a standard meeting, hearing updates of activities from the CVB, Civic Center, and Sports Complex, in addition to an update of community beautification.  There is a great amount of information in the agenda packet above regarding these items.

8: Consider request for funding for city hall landscape improvements

This meeting is open to the public but is not live-streamed at this time.

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6:15 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Briefing Session
Council Conference Room, City Hall


Conduct a briefing to discuss items for the 7 PM regular meeting.  This is a public meeting and residents are welcome and encouraged to attend.  It is however, not live-streamed at this time.

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7:00 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall


15 & 16 - Public hearing on a request by George Salvador, Lilian Custom Homes, for a zoning change from SF1 to SF3, located at 401 Ovilla Road.  The applicant is requesting to create a Planned Development, known as Dominion Park, to allow for the development of 209 single family detached homes.  Staff is recommending denial due to staff concerns.

This is a public meeting, which you may attend, but is also live-streamed at the following link: http://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php
 
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Wednesday, May 12, 2021
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12:00 PM - Animal Care Advisory Committee Regular Meeting
Training Room at Waxahachie Police Department
630 Farley Street

5 - Update on recent activity (numbers)

6 - Introduction of Kelley Gelsthorpe, Animal Services Officer

7 - Discuss impact of COVID on overall Animal Services activity

8 - Discuss plan for public service campaign to educate on summer care of animals

This is a public meeting, but is not live-streamed.

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Thursday, May 13, 2021
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4:00 PM - Mid-Way Regional Airport Joint Airport Board Regular Meeting
Upstairs Common Area of Mid-Way Regional Airport
131 Airport Dr., Midlothian


5 - Discuss starting a "Be a Good Neighbor Program"

6 - Consider future Airport events

7 - Update on Airport ground leases

Please feel free to attend this public meeting; however, it will not be live-streamed.

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5:30 PM - Heritage Preservation Commission Regular Meeting
Council Chamber / Council Conference Room, City Hall
 

6 - Consider approval of Certificate of Appropriateness for 607 W. Jefferson Street
 
7 - Workshop on draft residential design guidelines
 
This meeting is open to the public to attend, but will not be live-streamed.  Logistically, live-streaming this meeting is more difficult as the commission will often go between both the Council Conference Room and Council Chamber during the course of the meeting.
 
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 These are all the meetings posted so far for this coming week.  It will be a busy one for sure!  I hope that y'all have a great rest of your weekend and a wonderful week to come!
 
Your Friendly Councilmember,
 
Melissa Olson, CMO
(text) 817-507-5162
molson@waxahachie.com
 



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Sunday, May 2, 2021

The Week of May 3rd - 7th, 2021 in the City of Waxahachie

 Hello Friends!


First things first! We had an election on Saturday, May 1st. The results can be found on Ellis County Election's website:  https://www.co.ellis.tx.us/DocumentCenter/View/14369/May-2021-Summary-Cumulative-Results  There will be a runoff for Council.  In Place 4 we'll have Billie Wallace and Paul Christenson, and in Place 5, the runoff will be between Travis M. Smith and Charles "Chuck" Beatty (incumbent).
 
Thank you to everyone who got out and voted!  The candidates will need your support in this runoff election, which should be June 5th, but I'll be sure to update you closer to the date and once the runoff elections have been ordered by the City Council.  There will be a meeting either at the end of this week or the following week for Council to accept the voting numbers (canvassing the votes).  You can check back on the city's calendar to see when it is added.  http://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php

We also have draft minutes from the various recent board meetings that I've scanned in for your review.  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o6wfMqyBGD-xFXy74RSOvIQ8BH3SvR0v/view?usp=sharing One of the meetings was that of the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee.  If you'd like to stay informed on what is happening with the update of our comprehensive plan for the city, please check this link on the city's website: http://www.waxahachie.com/departments/planning_department/comprehensive_plan_update.php  The city will be updating this link as new information becomes available.  For example, the presentation given at the first meeting of the committee has been uploaded at the bottom of the page through the link above.  It's really interesting stuff!
 
Let's get into the meetings for this week! 
 
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Monday, May 3, 2021
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6:00 PM - City Council Briefing
Council Conference Room, City Hall
 

This briefing is being held to discuss items for the 7:00 PM regular Council meeting.  It will not be live-streamed at this time, but it is open to the public, should you wish to attend.  Briefing sessions are often when Council hold discussion on items.  No votes are ever taken in the briefing sessions, but there are lots of questions asked about various agenda items.  I highly encourage residents who are interested, to attend at least one briefing so that you get a feel for how they go and listen in on the discussions. 
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7:00 PM - City Council Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall

 
Some items of particular interest this meeting include:

5d : Authorization of a supplemental appropriation funding the Planning Manager position.

13-15: Public Hearing on a request by Nicholas Balsamo, Kalterra Capital Partners, for a zoning change located at the SW corner of Garden Valley Parkway at Goodnight Lane.  For this case, these are the senior living apartments that were already approved in 2019, but they are making a few changes to the layout concerning garages.

16-18: Public hearing on a request by Mathew Williamson, MBW Engineering, for a zoning change located just South of 865 Cantrell Street.  This land is already zoned for Multi Family 1 and they are requesting a change to Multi Family 2.  Staff is recommending approval per comments.

19-21: Public Hearing on a request by George Salvador, Lilian Custom Homes for a single family residential-3 planned development, called Dominion Park, located at 401 Ovilla Road has been continued to the 05/11/21 Planning & Zoning meeting agenda and the 05/17/21 City Council meeting agenda.  We will not hear any details of this case at Monday night's meeting.

** 23 - Authorizing the demolition, abatement and inspection of the former Baylor Hospital, and the associated supplemental appropriation to the General Items budget.  Staff is requesting a $300,000 supplemental appropriation due to the budgeted amount not including associated campus structures or environmental abatement.  The total amount for the work shall not exceed $1,450,000.  I have a problem with this because there is no set plan for the land once this demolition/abatement occurs.  I was also advised that apparently there is a provision that if we were given the land, it had to be demolished/redeveloped within 3 years and we are running out of time on that.  I don't think that giving this land to developers is a good idea. I'm not sure whether I support more money going into this project, as is being requested.  I would like to see a development that will serve the citizens of Waxahachie for many years to come, perhaps in the form of a recreation center.  What better location than at our beloved park.  I will continue to mull this situation over and take into account information presented at the briefing and meeting Monday.  I always welcome resident input as well.
 
25-26: Convene into Executive Session for deliberation regarding real property as permitted by Section 551.072 of the Texas Government Code and reconvene to take any necessary action.
 
This meeting will be live-streamed, but is also open to the public if you wish to attend.  There will be an item on our agenda, as with every meeting, for public comments if you would like to address the Council on any item, whether on the agenda or not. The link to view the live-stream is here: http://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php

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Thursday, May 6, 2021
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3:00 PM - Park Board Regular Meeting
Council Conference Room, City Hall


4 - Consider seasonal vendor permit at Lake Waxahachie

5 - Discuss park events and activities and take any necessary action

6 - Discuss park projects and take any necessary action

7 - Update on Eagle Scout complete project

The Park Board meeting is not live-streamed at this time, but it is open to the public, should you wish to attend.
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That's all for this week!  I hope that you enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a wonderful week ahead!

Your Friendly Councilmember,

Melissa Olson, CMO
molson@waxahachie.com
(text) 817-507-5162
 
 




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