Sunday, October 18, 2020

The Week of October 19th - 23rd, 2020 in the City of Waxahachie

Hello Friends!

Wasn't this past week just the most beautiful weather?!  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

This past week was also the beginning of early voting (Governor Abbott extended the original early voting of the 19th - 30th to include the 13th - 17th.)  We have seen great voter turnout (the picture shows the details), but we still need about 75% of Ellis County to cast their votes between now and November 3rd.

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Monday, October 19, 2020
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6:30 PM - City Council Briefing
Council Conference Room, City Hall
 

To conduct a briefing discussing items for the 7:00 PM regular meeting.

This meeting will not be live-streamed; however, it is open for the public to attend.
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7:00 PM - City Council Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall


There are a couple items I'd like to point out for this meeting.

Consent agenda 5c: Approve funding request by WCDC for site preparation of 1601 W Hwy 287.  I have a lot of questions about this item.  This is the location of the old Magnablend plant and when it came up for a vote before for the City to buy it, I voted against it.  Now, the city wants to put more money (sales tax dollars) into it, but I think that this could be better spent in other ways or kept on hand to make sure we have enough funding for the City due to revenue losses from COVID-19.  I'm actually meeting with the City Manager regarding this item to ask questions before the briefing on Monday, and will hopefully get some more clarity.  I just wanted you to be aware that this is on the consent agenda (which items routinely get approved without discussion).  There has been an article on the matter in the Waxahachie Sun as well: https://www.waxahachiesun.com/business/wcdc-approves-site-cleanup/article_6ce5a4fe-103f-11eb-9b63-4372e2eab3db.html

18 & 19: We have an executive session regarding two items Monday night.  One is to deliberate regarding real property and the other is to review the performance evaluation for the City Manager.  Item 19 is to reconvene and take any action, if necessary.

This meeting (except the executive session) is open to the public and will be live-streamed via the following link: http://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php
 
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Thursday, October 22, 2020
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3:00 PM - Mid-Way Regional Joint Airport Board Special Meeting
Upstairs Common Area, Mid-Way Regional Airport
131 Airport Dr., Midlothian, TX
 
 
The only items on this agenda are basically going straight into executive session to deliberate economic development negotiations and to reconvene and take any necessary action.
 
While this is a public meeting and you are welcome to attend, because the whole meeting will be in executive session, you may want to skip this one.  It will not be live-streamed.
 
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4:00 PM - Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting
Council Conference Room, City Hall
Conference Call as well (details in the agenda packet)
 

4. Consider demolition permits for 406 S. Rogers Street and 410 S. Rogers Street

5. Consider Certificate of Appropriateness for new City Hall Annex.

This is a public meeting, but will not be live-streamed.
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Please check back on the city's calendar to see if more meetings are added throughout the week.  The link to check is: http://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php

** Election times have changed from last week.  This week they will be: **

Monday - Friday: 8 AM - 6 PM
Saturday, 10/24: 7 AM - 7 PM
Sunday, 10/25: 1 PM - 6 PM

There are 6 Early Voting sites in Ellis County and because of electronic voting, you can vote at any of them.  The only one in Waxahachie is at the First United Methodist Church (Fidelis Hall) at 505 W. Marvin Ave.  Here is a link to the Elections Office early voting location/dates/times: http://www.co.ellis.tx.us/DocumentCenter/View/11929/Early-Voting-and-Election-Day-Locations-11-03-2020?bidId=
 
Thank you to everyone who is getting out and voting!  Your voice and vote matter!
 
Hope y'all have a great rest of your weekend and a wonderful week ahead!
 
Your Friendly Councilmember,
 
Melissa Olson
molson@waxahachie.com
(text) 817-507-5162
 




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Sunday, October 11, 2020

The Week of October 12th - 16th, 2020 in the City of Waxahachie

Hello Friends!
 
    We have a few meetings this coming week, but even more exciting is the beginning of early voting for the November 3rd election!  Governor Abbott extended early voting, which was originally to start on October 19th and changed the new first day of early voting to Tuesday, October 13, 2020.  I made a chart showing the dates/times for the only early voting location in Waxahachie which is at the First United Methodist Church - 505 W Marvin Ave.  Because we have electronic voting, you can vote at any location in Ellis County.  Here is a link to view those locations: http://www.co.ellis.tx.us/DocumentCenter/View/11929/Early-Voting-and-Election-Day-Locations-11-03-2020?bidId=
 
This is a picture of the sample ballot for the Waxahachie City Council race.  As you can see, we are now divided into places and voters are instructed to choose one candidate per place.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.  Texting my cell is probably the best way to reach out.  That number is 817-507-5162. I'm available via Facebook and Nextdoor as well, but I don't always see those messages as quickly.  If you'd like to see a full sample ballot for your precinct, please select from here: https://www.co.ellis.tx.us/702/Individual-Sample-Ballots
 




Moving on to the meetings for the week that have been noticed as of 10/11/20.

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Monday, October 12, 2020
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8:30 AM - Firemen's Relief & Retirement (FR&R) Fund Trustee Regular Meeting 
Fire Station No. 1
407 Water Street, Waxahachie


This looks to be a fairly short and routine meeting.  More details can be found in the agenda packet link above.

The meeting will not be live-streamed, but is open to the public, should you wish to attend.

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Tuesday, October 13, 2020     ** First Day of Early Voting **
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3:00 PM - Waxahachie Community Development Corporation (WCDC) Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall

 
A couple items worth mention are:
 
3 - Reorganize the Board
 
9 - Discuss and consider site preparation of 1601 W. Highway 287, Waxahachie, TX 75165 for future economic development opportunities. - I don't currently know what this is in regards to, but would be very interested in finding out at the meeting.

This meeting is not live-streamed, but is open to the public if you'd like to attend.
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6:15 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Briefing
Council Conference Room, City Hall
 

This meeting is to conduct a briefing to discuss items for the 7:00 PM regular P&Z meeting.  It will not be live-streamed, but is open to the public if you would like to attend.
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7:00 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall


Items of note:

4 - Reorganize the commission (this is done after board appointments, which were approved at the last Council meeting)

7 & 8 - Public hearing on a zoning change for a new business called Candy Shack Daiquiris at North Grove Business Park.

9 & 10 - Public hearing on a zoning change for the property at the SW corner of Butcher Rd. and US Highway 77 to create a planned development to allow for retail, commercial, office and townhome uses called Victron Park.

11 & 12 - Public hearing on a zoning change to mixed use non-residential, located at the SW corner of I-35 and Highway 287 to allow for industrial, multi family, retail and commercial uses.

This meeting will be live-streamed and available via the following link: http://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php

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Those are all the meetings so far for this week.  As always, please check back on the city's calendar to see if new ones are added. http://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php

I hope you have a great rest of your weekend and a wonderful week ahead!

Your Friendly Councilmember,

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




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Sunday, October 4, 2020

The Week of October 5th - 9th, 2020 in the City of Waxahachie

 Hello Friends!

I hope everyone is doing well this week.  I have scanned in the draft minutes of recent board meetings for your review.  For those who don't know, these used to be included in the City Council agenda packets and were taken out to be approved by each individual board, and because they're a great source of information, I provide them to you.  Here they are: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bVaA5kBIzRjBztpRIBiHZBWUD7hiRNzJ/view?usp=sharing
 
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Monday, October 5, 2020
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6:30 PM - City Council Briefing
Council Conference Room, City Hall 


This briefing is being held to discuss items for the 7:00 PM regular meeting. It will not be live-streamed, but is open to the public should you wish to attend.
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7:00 PM - City Council Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall


Here are some of the items that stand out on this agenda:

Consent Agenda Item C: Approval of the Homecoming parade for 2020 - I know a lot of folks have been wondering about whether or not we will be having a homecoming parade and this one is being set for Friday, October 30th, with a start time of 3:00PM.  

19 - Consider authorizing the City Manager to enter into a contract with Waste Connections for our garbage services which will go into effect on 04/01/21.  THIS IS SO EXCITING!  I know it's just trash, but this will hopefully be a great quality of life improvement for all of us at a reduced cost! Here are some of the enhancements:
    1 - replacing loose bag collection with a 95 gallon polycart (pickup once a week)
    2 - replacing the existing 16 gallon recycling container with a 95 gallon polycart (pickup every other week - I wanted pickup every week, but was outvoted on that, so hopefully this will work out just fine)
    3 - weekly bulk collection (currently we only get annual bulk collection)
    4 - yard clippings may go in the weekly trash collection
    5 - weekly household hazardous waste program for various chemicals, paints, and e-waste
    6 - cardboard will be accepted in the recycling bin
**Since this item is listed as "Consider" on the agenda, if you wish to speak at the meeting about it, please use the Public Comments in the beginning of the meeting to address this issue.**

There are various P&Z items and a few other routine city items on the agenda, but you can see the details under the agenda packet link above.

The meeting will be live-streamed at this link: http://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php but it is also open to the public, should you wish to attend.

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Tuesday, October 6, 2020
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-No meetings listed at this time. Please check the city's calendar, as meetings may be added. http://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php

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Wednesday, October 7, 2020
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None listed at this time

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Thursday, October 8, 2020
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3:00 PM - Mid-Way Joint Airport Board Regular Meeting
Upstairs Common Area, Mid-Way Regional Airport


The meeting seems routine with the exception of an executive session to deliberate economic development negotiations as permitted by the Texas Government Code, Section 551.087.

While it won't be live-streamed, the meeting is open to the public (with the exception of the executive session).
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5:30 PM - Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting
Council Conference Room & Zoom, City Hall
 
 
4 - Kick off Residential Design Guideline Project - I'm not sure what this is exactly, but it sounds interesting.
 
This meeting will be available via zoom at the following link: https://zoom.us/j/93476473348?pwd=anNvVG9yWHFDV2t4TDVhK3RxN0Z2QT09
Meeting ID: 934 7647 3348
Passcode: 633060
 
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Friday, October 9, 2020
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None listed at this time.

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There is going to be a candidate forum on Tuesday evening that I'm not taking part in; however, I have already done an online interview for residents to hear my stance on various subjects including taxes and growth.  You can view that here : https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2740807132854541
 
As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, please reach out to me.  Text is the fastest way, but please reach out in whichever way you are most comfortable.  I wish you all the best and hope you have a good rest of your weekend and a wonderful week ahead!
 
Your Friendly Councilmember,
 
Melissa Olson
(text) 817-507-5162
molson@waxahachie.com
Friend me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/molson625
 


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Sunday, September 27, 2020

The Week of September 28th - October 2nd, 2020 in the City of Waxahachie

Hello Friends,

 I hope everyone is doing well.  We have quite a few meetings this coming week, so let's get started.  As always, please refer to the City's website to see if new meetings have been added after this has been posted.  http://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php

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Monday, September 28, 2020
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4:00 PM - City Council Work Session
Council Conference Room, City Hall
 
 
2. Discuss Impact Fee Capital Improvement Plan Land Use Assumptions, Calculations and Recommended Fees
 
3. Discuss solid waste services proposals and staff recommendations - This is important because we will be discussing how we will go forward with our residential trash services and hear about what bids we received regarding this.  Formal action will most likely be taken the following Monday at our Council meeting.
 
This meeting will not be live-streamed, but it is open to the public, should you wish to attend.  The first part of the meeting might be kind of dry, but hearing the proposals for our trash service will be really interesting.  This is one example of how decisions made by the city council affect all our daily lives.
 
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Tuesday, September 29, 2020
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6:15 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Briefing
Council Conference Room, City Hall
 

This meeting is to conduct a briefing to discuss items for the 7:00 PM regular P&Z meeting

This meeting will not be live-streamed, but is open to the public should you wish to attend.
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7:00 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall


There are several items on the agenda, but they are all fairly routine.

This meeting is open to the public, but will also be live-streamed and will be accessible via the following link: http://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php

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Wednesday, September 30, 2020
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11:30 AM - Economic Development Commission Meeting
Council Conference Room, City Hall
 
 
3. Reorganize the Board
 
5. Consider tax abatement incentives for Nutrenare-AG for a proposed expansion at their current facility and take any necessary action.
 
6. Consider tax abatement incentives for Timco Logistics Systems for a proposed expansion at their current facility and take any necessary action.
 
7. Consider tax abatement incentives for Kinro Texas for a proposed expansion at their current facility and take any necessary action.
 
There is no additional information provided regarding these proposed tax abatement incentives.  Generally speaking, I'm not in favor of them unless they make a huge difference for the economy (like creating a LOT of good paying jobs).  Once this commission hears the information, they will send recommendations to the City Council for action. 

This meeting will not be live-streamed, but it is open to the public.  One note as is stated on the agenda, "The Economic Development Commission reserves the right to go into Executive Session on any posted item," so please be aware that this could occur, should you attend the meeting.

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Thursday, October 1, 2020
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12:00 PM - Civil Service Commission Meeting
Council Conference Room, City Hall


This is a fairly routine meeting, but all the details are in the agenda packet, linked above.

The Meeting will be open to the public, should you wish to attend, but it will not be live-streamed.
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I hope y'all enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a wonderful week ahead!

Your Friendly Councilmember,

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


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Sunday, September 20, 2020

The Week of September 21st - 25th, 2020 in the City of Waxahachie

 Hello Friends!

I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying this great weather!  There have been several meetings lately and I've scanned in the draft minutes for your review.  You can access them via this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AImtXlmU0C5-oYR8nol7e__VA2NoGykd/view?usp=sharing

The only meeting so far on this week's calendar is the regular City Council meeting on Monday.  We won't even have a briefing for it because there is such a short agenda and the items are pretty routine.  The only items not routine are items 10 & 11. 

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Monday, September 21, 2020 
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7:00 PM - Waxahachie City Council Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall


10 - Convene into Executive Session for deliberation regarding real property.

11 - Reconvene and take any necessary action.

I don't know what the topic of the discussion will be nor if we will take any action on that item.
 
The meeting will be live-streamed and accessible via this link: http://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php The meeting is also open to the public, should you wish to attend in person.

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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
molson@waxahachie.com
(text) 817-507-5162

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Sunday, September 13, 2020

The Week of September 14th - 18th, 2020 in the City of Waxahachie

Hello Friends!

For those who haven't seen my Facebook post, I want to update you on the tax rate.  The tax rate of $0.66 and budget were approved at the last meeting.  Even though I wanted the rate to be $0.64 or even better, $0.6304, I voted to approve the $0.66 tax rate because it was the lowest tax rate we've had in 9 years.  In 2011, there was a several cent tax rate increase and this is the first time, that rate has gone down at all during this time period.  This is what we've been fighting for so hard and therefore, I did vote for it.  It was not an easy vote, however, because the $0.66 rate will still increase the tax burden on residents approximately $37 per year; BUT, after prayer and reflection, knew that voting for that decreased rate was the right choice.  I appreciate your understanding and I will continue fighting for decreased spending and taxes at the City level. 

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Monday, September 14, 2020
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8:30 AM - Firemen's Relief & Retirement Fund Regular Meeting
Waxahachie Fire Station #1
407 Water St.

Agenda Packet:  https://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/document-uploads-001/uploads/video/agenda_file/75564/9-14-20_FR_R_Agenda_Packet.pdf

4. Consider Retirement Horizons, Inc. Letter of Engagement for an Actuary Study

5. Hear report from Ed Peschke, Frost Bank, and take any necessary action

6. Hear report from Claude Parenteau, Parenteau Analytics, and take any necessary action.

This meeting will not be live-streamed, however it is open to the public should you wish to attend.

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Tuesday, September 15, 2020
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5:30 PM - IFCIAC - Impact fee Capital Improvements Advisory Committee Regular Meeting
Council Conference Room, City Hall

Agenda Packet: https://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/document-uploads-001/uploads/video/agenda_file/75617/9-15-20_IFCIAC_Agenda_Packet.pdf

5. Presentation to disucss Impact Fee and Collection Rate (10-year and Full System)

6. Recommend to City Council the adoption of the Capital Improvement Plan Land Use Assumptions

7. Recommend to City Council approval of Capital Improvement Plan approach, and corresponding fees.

This meeting will not be live-streamed, but it is open to the public.

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

Agenda Packet: https://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/document-uploads-001/uploads/video/agenda_file/75616/9-15-20_P_Z_Agenda_Packet.pdf

There is actually not a briefing for this P&Z meeting as the agenda is very short and doesn't have any public hearings on it.  The only matters will be approving the past P&Z minutes and considering two plats in the city's ETJ (Extra Territorial Jurisdiction).

This meeting will be live-streamed and available for view via the following link: http://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php  It is also open to the public, should you wish to attend.

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That is all for this coming week. As always, please check back on the city's calendar to see if more meetings have been added.  That link is: http://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php

If you'd like one of my campaign signs or had one that blew away, please let me know (text is usually the best contact method) and we will get one out there for you. We are doing a round of signs this week.  We are in the home stretch now as there are only a few weeks left until early voting starts on October 13th (per Abbott's early voting extension).

I hope that y'all have a great rest of your weekend and a wonderful week ahead!

Your Friendly Councilmember,

Melissa Olson
molson@waxahachie.com
(text) 817-507-5162
www.olsonfortexas.com


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Sunday, September 6, 2020

The Week of September 7th - 11th, 2020 in the City of Waxahachie

Hello Friends!

Many thanks to those who came out to the Council meeting on Tuesday to let us know how you felt about the tax rate.  The tax rate and budget are set to be approved this coming Tuesday and the tax rate will probably be set at the $0.66 per $100 of valuation rate. 

Here are the draft board minutes from recent meetings: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g2YVd0NDPHe9H59kLTdYle5qeA2SV27l/view?usp=sharing

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Monday, September 7, 2020
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Labor Day
City offices will be closed, but residential trash service will run as scheduled. 

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Tuesday, September 8, 2020
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3:00 PM - Waxahachie Community Development Corporation (WCDC) Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall


4 - Discussion related to the WCDC departmental reports
 
5 - Continue discussion of current needs and future direction and priorities of the WCDC and take any necessary action.

This meeting will not be live-streamed, but is open to the public.
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5:30 PM - City Council Briefing
Council Conference Room, City Hall

 
This is where we will discuss items for the 7:00PM meeting.  Briefings are highly informational in a more formal setting than the regular meeting, but unfortunately, they are not live-streamed.  They are open to the public, however, and I strongly encourage residents to attend briefings - especially this one.

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7:00PM - City Council Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall


**If anyone wants to address the tax rate or budget, that must be done during Public Comments at the beginning of the meeting. The public hearings, where folks could speak directly on the issue, were held last week.**

16 - I like feedback on all items, but especially this one.  We will be considering amending the Code of Ordinances to modify and adopt new regulations on solicitation activities by repealing existing Chapter 23 "Peddlers" and replacing it with a new Chapter 23, "Solicitation Activities".  This deals mostly with those who go door to door.  The details of the ordinance are in the agenda packet link above.
 
17 - Approving the budget for fiscal year 2020-2021.  Unfortunately, as presented, there are some major expenditures that I just don't think now is the right time for such as the $1+ million for the demolition of the old Baylor hospital and $1.7 million just for design services on the new annex building.  With just ONE of those items deferred for a year, we could lower the tax rate to be at the no-new-revenue rate, so that residents wouldn't see an increase in their city tax bill.
 
22 - Consider a motion to ratify the property tax revenue increase reflected in the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 budget in accordance with the Texas Local Government Code.
 
23 - Adopting the tax rate of $0.66, which is effectively a 4.7% increase in the tax rate.- I do not agree with this tax rate. I’ve been a proponent for lower taxes since before I was elected and believe that this year of all years, we should not be increasing the tax burden on our residents. 

This meeting will be live-streamed and can be accessed through the following link: http://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php

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Wednesday, September 9, 2020
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There are currently not any meetings scheduled for today, but you can check back on the city’s website to see if any are added.  http://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php

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Thursday, September 10, 2020
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4:00 PM - Mid-Way Regional Airport Board Meeting
Upstairs Common Area of Mid-Way Regional Airport
 

This is going to be a very informative meeting with updates on many things including:

10 - Update on Hertz Rental Car Parking

11 - Update on Eagle Scout Project

This meeting is not live-streamed, but it is open to the public who wish to attend.

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5:30 PM - Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting
Council Conference Room, City Hall
Also via Teleconference


4 - Consider approval of plans for 201 S. College St., Ellis County Museum
 
This meeting is not live-streamed, but it is open to the public who wish to attend.
 
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Friday, September 11, 2020
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Patriot Day
We remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.  
 
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I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend and has a wonderful week ahead! 

Your Friendly Councilmember,

Melissa Olson
molson@waxahachie.com
(Text) 817.507.5162




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