Sunday, September 12, 2021

The Week of September 13th - 17th, 2021 in the City of Waxahachie

Hello Friends!
 
    I hope y'all are doing well.  We have quite a few meetings this week so let's jump on in!  As a reminder, please check the city's calendar to see if any meetings are added after this newsletter goes out.  The link for that is: https://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php 
 
    As always, I'll highlight items that I think you may be interested in or are out of the ordinary for each particular meeting.  Please review the agenda packets per meeting to get more detail on each item and what other topics may be considered/discussed for that meeting.
 
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Monday, September 13, 2021
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8:30 AM - Waxahachie FR&R (Firemen's Relief and Retirement Fund) Board of Trustees Regular Meeting
Fire Station No. 2
1601 Cleaver St., Waxahachie


5 - Discuss and act on possible new investments

6 - Discuss and act on rebalancing the financial portfolio

8 - Discuss and act on possible benefit changes

This is a public meeting and you are welcome to attend; however, this meeting is not live-streamed.

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Tuesday, September 14, 2021
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3:00 PM - WCDC (Waxhachie Community Development Corporation) Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.
 
 
8 - Hear update from City of Waxahachie Economic Development Director
 
9 - Hear update on improvements at Wags-a-Hachie dog park
 
This meeting is open to the public to attend; however, it is not live-streamed at this time.
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4:00 PM - WCDC Work Session
Council Conference Room, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.
 

This work session is being held to conduct a discussion of current needs and future direction and priorities of the WCDC.  This should be a very interesting work session.  The WCDC is funded by a  portion of sales tax.

This is a public meeting which you are welcome to attend, but will not be live-streamed.
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6:00 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Briefing Session
Council Conference Room, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.


This briefing is being conducted to discuss items for the 7:00 PM regular P&Z meeting.  Residents are welcome to attend the briefing session, but it will not be live-streamed.
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7:00 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.
 

16 & 17 - Public hearing on a request by Hunt Restoration for a Specific Use Permit (SUP) to allow for a drive-thru window at an existing restaurant, Ta Molly's.  Staff is recommending approval as presented.

18 & 19 - Public hearing on a request by Brad Yates, Colonial Restoration Group for a Planned Development to allow a Private Club (an event center to be used for class reunions, family gatherings, wedding and baby showers, corporate events, weddings and small gatherings) located at 716 Dunaway Street.  Staff is recommending approval per comments, including a required development agreement; 6' ornamental fencing with landscaping along the front and sides of the property; and, a detailed site plan packet which shall be reviewed administratively by staff.

22 & 23 - Continue public hearing for a zoning change from planned development commercial and future development to planned development light industrial. The applicant intends to create a PD (planned development) to allow for an industrial business park located at the SW corner of I-35E and Butcher Road (where Buc-ee's was going to be).  Per the concept plan, the applicant is proposing to construct one industrial warehouse that can be up to 1,215,200 sq. feet in size. City staff is recommending denial for multiple reasons as outlined in the agenda packet. One such reason is that "staff is concerned that the overwhelming presence a building of this size will have will disrupt efforts to make the I-35E gateway to the city more visually appealing. City staff views the intersection of I-35E and Butcher Road as one of the most important intersections in the city." The applicant understands staff's concerns and intends to state their reasoning at the P&Z meeting.

This is a public meeting and therefore residents are welcome and encouraged to attend.  The meeting 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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Wednesday, September 15, 2021
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12:00 PM - Animal Care Advisory Committee Regular Meeting
Training Room at Waxahachie Police Department
630 Farley Street


5 - Discuss options for moving the animals at the shelter  (There is no additional documentation in the agenda packet with further details.)

6 - Discuss impact of COVID on overall Animal Services activity.

7 - Discuss Clear the Shelter pet adoption campaign from August 23 to September 19, 2021.

This is a public meeting and you are welcome to attend.  It will not, however, be live-streamed.
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That's all so far for this week!  I hope that you have a great rest of your weekend and have a wonderful week ahead!

Your Friendly Councilmember,

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

 
 
 

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Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Recap of the Budget and Tax Rate Hearing on September 7, 2021

Hello Friends!
 
    I don't normally do recaps of meetings, but last night's meeting was so important, I felt that you should know what happened.  First of all, if you haven't had a chance to watch the meeting, I strongly encourage you to at least watch the comments by Council at the end.  Here is a link to the video: https://waxahachietx.new.swagit.com/videos/136436    It is hard for me to imagine people speaking FOR MORE TAXES, but that's exactly what is happening.  There are some who spoke against as well, but one council member considered them the "squeaky wheels".  If you want lower taxes, you must be willing to get involved in some way.
 
    There has been a lot said about how long the budget process goes on for.  Council isn't involved in it from the beginning.  While there were a couple of opportunities to bring up lowering the tax rate, I did contact the City Manager back at the beginning of July and discussed my problem with the tax rate.  He knows, as do all the Council, that leaving our tax rate at 0.66 - the same as last year, was still going to increase the tax burden on our residents due to the rise in appraisals.  While the city doesn't set appraisal values, the city is given the numbers to know how much tax revenue is anticipated for the next year BEFORE setting the tax rate so that they have the ability to raise/lower the rate as needed.

    The votes were as follows: #19 - Approving the FY22 budget: 4-1, me voting in opposition; #21 - Ratifying the property tax revenue increase: 4-1, me voting in opposition; #22 - Setting the tax rate for FY 22 at 0.66: 4-1, me voting in opposition.  I have received cold shoulders, rude comments and harassment for voting for the taxpayers.  Voting against the rest of Council is never an easy thing to do.  I don't enjoy it at all, but I have to do what I can and what is right.  I have heard from my constituents who say they don't want their taxes raised.  I voted for you.
 
    There has to come a point when people are willing to put a stop to the tax increases, but it takes more than one vote to do so.  Yes, the city is growing but the city could still adopt the no-new-revenue rate and grow the budget with all the new properties added to the tax rolls.  I requested the next budget presented to Council be based on the no-new-revenue rate.  I don't know if there is any other Council support for this as nobody addressed that comment last night.  Our budget is growing MORE than the city is growing.  The FY 2013 General Fund Budget was $27,168,025. The budget for FY 2022 that was approved last night was for $52,737,125. While sales tax has increased, the city's budget is primarily paid for by property taxes. This is why your property tax bill has steadily increased.  Even though the rate was kept at 0.68 for all that time except for last year, property values have steadily increased and Council has not lowered the rate.  Many infrastructure items are not paid through the General Fund - they are paid with debt, which is also backed by property taxes.  Unlike WISD who has elections to take on debt, the city has chosen to do general obligation bonds, which don't require elections.  I would like to see the city do certificates of obligation to allow the voters to weigh in on what you think is important to the city.

Being a council member is hard.  The decisions we have to make are hard and last night was difficult.  I know in my heart that I made the right decision for the citizens and the city.  The best advice I can give to any resident is to be involved by coming to meetings and/or contacting your council members and to hold your elected officials (myself included) accountable for their votes.

Your Friendly Councilmember,

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

    
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Saturday, September 4, 2021

The Week of September 6th -10th, 2021 in the City of Waxahachie

Hello Friends!
 
    I hope you're all doing well and enjoy the long Labor Day weekend!  First item to note is that City Hall will be closed on Monday, September 6th due to Labor Day.  For non-emergency needs during this time, please call the Waxahachie Police Department at 469-309-4400. For emergencies, please dial 911.
 
    Please refer back to the city's calendar to see if any new meetings are added after this newsletter goes out.  To do that, please visit: https://www.waxahachie.com/calendar_app/index.html
 
    Council will be approving a tax rate and budget for the City of Waxahachie this Tuesday.  If you were unable to come to the public hearing about it, please feel free to speak Tuesday night during the Public Comments section of the agenda.  These items are NOT listed as public hearings again. I originally requested a detailed copy of the budget the other day when I realized that all Council has seen to date is a budget summary.  I wanted to review the in depth budget for myself, but due to increasing questions and demand from my constituents to see the detailed budget, I'll provide this link so you can review it as well: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-3e3ND7hbbWSOG4G0RrW7sUEubrR3PA8/view?usp=sharing
 
    Let's get started on this week's meetings!  Please take note, that due to Labor Day, our Council briefing and meeting have been moved to Tuesday evening.
 
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Tuesday, September 7, 2021
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6:00 PM - City Council Briefing Session
Council Conference Room, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.


In this briefing session, Council and staff will discuss items for the 7:00 PM regular meeting.  This briefing session is not live-streamed, but you are welcome to attend in person.  They are an invaluable source of information about how the decisions we make in the regular meeting are made.
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7:00 PM - City Council Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.
 
 
Items 6-13 are all P&Z items that have been continued.  Council will not consider these items nor take any action other than continuing the hearing to each respective date.
 
19 - Consider proposed ordinance approving revised budget figures for FY 21 and approving the budget for FY 22.  Part of the ordinance states "Whereas, the City Council has studied the budget and listened to the comments of the taxpayers at the public hearing therefore and has determined that the budget attached hereto is in the best interest of the city,". As stated above, I have requested and read the entire budget.  The budget was presented to us as being bare bones and only having those items which are essential.  I have previously issued support for this budget but in reviewing the detailed version and after listening to the taxpayers, I feel that there are areas that could be reduced or cut altogether.  As much as I appreciate the work of the employees, using taxpayer funds for employee Christmas gifts ($8000) and the $6000 for the employee Christmas party just seem like too much.  There are lots of companies that show appreciation without this level of taxpayer expense, and I would like to explore other cost-effective options.  There are auto allowances throughout the budget (there might be a perfectly good reason for this, but at first glance, this looks like something that is above the bare bones), a $40,000 appropriation to the Chamber of Commerce, $5000 for Council work sessions/meetings (for what? food? staff costs? Council members do not get paid for meetings.) 
 
I'm not an expert in budgets and don't pretend to be, but I have proven to be competent in listening to the taxpayers.  You can decide for yourself. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-3e3ND7hbbWSOG4G0RrW7sUEubrR3PA8/view?usp=sharing
 
You might say that it's a lean budget and there's nothing to cut. You might think there are some things that could be reduced or might not be the best use of taxpayer funds. I'd love to hear from you about it either way!  Just an FYI- when reviewing the document, Fund 100 - General: that one is funded primarily from property taxes and sales taxes.  Other departments like the WCDC and Hotel/Motels are funded through other sources, so that may change how you feel about the way those funds are handled.

20 - Consider proposed ordinance amending Water and Wastewater fees and setting an effective date of 10/1/21.  Every year these numbers have gone up -     EXCEPT this year!  The FY 22 budget does NOT include a rate increase to customer water or sewer-related rates!
 
21 - Consider a motion to ratify the property tax revenue increase reflected in the FY 22 budget in accordance with the Texas Local Government Code.  Make no mistake that keeping our .66 tax rate this year - even though it's the same as last year - IS a property tax increase.  The Texas Local Government Code requires that "adoption of a budget that will require raising more revenue from property taxes than in the previous year requires a separate vote of the governing body to ratify the property tax increase reflected in the budget." Per the city's notice of public notice: "This budget will raise more total property taxes than last year's budget by $2,919,240 or 11.3%, and of that amount, $1,276,903 is tax revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year.  The revenue from new property added to the tax roll represents approximately 4.9% of this increase."

22 - Consider proposed Ordinance adopting the tax rate for FY 22.  Tax Code 26.05 (b) requires that the following language be used in adopting the tax rate: "I move that the property tax rate be increased by the adoption of a tax rate of 66 cents, which is effectively a 5.5% increase in the tax rate."  Don't be fooled by hearing "we kept the tax rate the same".  Prior to last year,  your city tax rate had been the same for about 9-ish years, but I would bet that you've been consistently paying more in city taxes every year because appraisals have been on the rise.  The no-new-revenue rate for FY22 is $0.625875, but that is not what is being presented for adoption.  $0.66 is the tax rate being presented for adoption and what the budget was based on.  Again, the public hearing for this has passed so if you do want to address Council on the matter, you must do so either by emailing us https://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/index.php or by speaking during the public comments Tuesday night.

24 - Consider proposed ordinance approving an interlocal boundary and ETJ agreement adjusting the current and ultimate boundaries of the City of Waxahachie's Extraterritorial Jurisdictional and Corporate limits between Waxahachie and the City of Midlothian.  More details on this in the agenda packet linked above and staff will discuss this more in the Council briefing Tuesday evening.

26 - Consider appointments to Boards and Commissions.  Waxahachie is an incredible community where people want to give back and serve.  Serving on our city boards and commissions is a great way to do that and we receive many applications for folks to do so.  Unfortunately,  the leadership of Waxahachie has been very set in its ways and not been very accepting to change.  That means that many have not had the opportunity to serve the city in this capacity.  The city's website states "Appointments are made by City Council in August/September each year." but this isn't exactly accurate.  Appointments are largely made by the mayor, even though the mayor is not elected outright by the people.  He/she may take input from the Council on the matter, especially from the Council liaison to each board, but in the end, it's up to the mayor.  A person in the position of mayor must be willing to make hard decisions for the betterment of the community and residents. We have some amazing residents who have been serving on our boards and commissions for 1 - 2 DECADES.  While grateful for their dedication and participation, we need to allow other residents the same opportunity. I'm happy to report that there will be new faces on our boards/commissions this coming year - more than I've seen in the past.  Unfortunately, there are some positions that are being reappointed even after serving decades.  Again, there's nothing against these residents who have served the city so long.  I greatly admire and appreciate them very much; but, we also need to have new voices and new input. 

This meeting is open to the public to attend, but will be live-streamed as well.  The link to view the live-stream is: https://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php

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Thursday, September 9, 2021
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4:00 PM - Mid-Way Regional Airport Board Regular Meeting
Upstairs common area of Mid-Way Regional Airport
131 Airport Dr., Midlothian, TX

 
5 - Discuss upcoming event "Wings-N-Wheels"
 
6 - Recognition of outgoing board member, Kent McGuire
 
This is a public meeting and you are welcome to attend; however, the meeting is not live-streamed.
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5:30 PM - Heritage Preservation Commission Regular Meeting 
Council Chamber, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.


4 - Consider sign application for 201 E. Main Street

5 - Consider Certificate of Appropriateness for 329 Virginia

6 - Consult with Kevin Strength and Diane Shaw regarding awning for downtown property

This is a public meeting and you are welcome to attend; however, this meeting will not be live-streamed at this time.
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As always, I appreciate and look forward to your input regarding city matters and am available to answer questions.  My contact information is below.  I hope you have a fantastic long weekend and a wonderful week ahead!

Your Friendly Councilmember,

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



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Sunday, August 29, 2021

The Week of August 30th - September 3rd, 2021 in the City of Waxahachie

Hello Friends!
 
    Before we get into the city meetings, I'd like to just make a quick reminder about the Tuesday, 08/31/21 being Election Day for the HD10 race.  So far, only 4.5% of registered voters in Ellis County have turned out to vote and Tuesday is the last chance to do so.  http://www.co.ellis.tx.us/DocumentCenter/View/14806/Special-Election_EVDaily-Report_Master  Here are the times and locations that you can vote Tuesday: http://www.co.ellis.tx.us/DocumentCenter/View/14762/ED-Locations-August-31?bidId= Also, if you'd like to see a sample ballot, you can view that here: http://www.co.ellis.tx.us/DocumentCenter/View/14770/210831-Sample-Ballot?bidId=  Now let's dive in to this week's meetings!
 
To view the city's calendar directly, please visit: https://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php
 
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Tuesday, August 31, 2021
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12:00 PM - Civil Service Commission Regular Meeting
Council Conference Room, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.


This is a pretty standard meeting with the exception of item 7b - Item for discussion (no action will be taken on discussion items) i. Notice of disciplinary action resulting in suspension.  There is no additional information regarding this item.

This is an open meeting, which means that residents are welcome to attend, but it will not be live-streamed at this time.
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***** 6:00 PM - City Council SPECIAL Meeting *****
Council Chamber, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.


This is your opportunity to speak directly to the City Council and tell us what you want us to do regarding your proposed city taxes and budget.  There will only be this one public hearing for you to provide this input, so please come if you're able to do so.  We even moved the meeting, which is routinely held at noon each year, to 6:00 PM so that more people would be able to attend.

*** 5. - Public Hearing on the proposed Tax Rate for fiscal year 2021-2022
Let me provide some information on this topic.  Last year, the City Council reduced the tax rate from 0.68 to 0.66.  This year, the proposed tax rate is 0.66 again.  The budget is based on the tax rate.  Due to appraisal values, which are set by Ellis County Appraisal District, you will most likely pay MORE taxes if this 0.66 rate is set.  Officials like to say that you're paying more in taxes due to appraisals, but appraisals are what they are.  The city is given notice of what the appraisals are so that they can calculate the tax rate BEFORE it is set, giving the city the opportunity to adjust the tax rate. In the presence of rising appraisals, taxing entities can lower their tax rate to get the same amount of revenue as the previous year.  For example, the no-new-revenue rate for Waxahachie this year is $0.62588.  That means that if we set our tax rate at $0.62588, then we will bring in the exact same amount of revenue as last year.  That tax rate is not being proposed.  The proposed tax rate is set at $0.66.  To put things in perspective - if the city were to set the tax rate above $0.66050, the law would require an election to gain approval from the voters for that rate.

Things you might hear:
A) The city doesn't set appraisals.  This is true; however, the city and other taxing authorities vote for the members of the appraisal district's board of directors. Also, the amount of  TAXES YOU PAY = APPRAISAL x TAX RATE .  The city will set a tax rate. That is the one portion of the equation that they have control over.

B) City taxes don't make up the majority of your tax bill.  This is true.  The school district's taxes make up the majority of your total tax bill; however, this has nothing to do with the city.  The matter at hand is about city taxes and that is what your City Council has control over.
 
C) What city services do you want to cut?  This is one objection to lowering taxes that I really don't care for because it's a scare tactic.  (Yes, there will be people who speak at the hearing against lowering taxes. They do every year.) While some extraneous things might need to be cut, nobody that I know of (this is true of Councils in the past) has ever wanted to cut any services - especially fire and police. I can't imagine that our current Council would be any different in that regard. I propose that instead of cutting important services, that we use some of the city's $33,000,000 in unreserved funds to pay for the cut.

*** 6. Public Hearing on the City of Waxahachie proposed budget for fiscal year 2021-2022 and vote to set the date for adoption.
    This budget will raise more total property taxes than last year's budget by $2,919,240 or 11.3% and of that amount, $1,276,903 is tax revenue to be from new property added to the tax roll this year.  That means that 4.9% of that additional revenue is based on all the growth and new homes going up, but the remainder of that 11.3% is from current taxpayers.  We are growing and there's no denying that.  One could question, however, if the budget should be increased 11.3% over last year's budget.  Did your home get an 11.3% increase in its budget?  I know that ours sure didn't.  Maybe it should increase with an amount commensurate with the rate of growth in the city? Are there things we could trim from the budget?  I'm sure there are, but city management has a more intimate knowledge of everything that's included in the budget.  If, there really isn't anything to trim from the budget, I do propose we use those reserved funds to cut the tax rate.  We would still have a rainy day fund of 125 days of operation (I believe it is currently set to 125 days or 90 days) that would remain untouched. These are my thoughts on the subject.  What are yours?  Please come to the public hearing Tuesday evening and tell us.  You can also view an abridged version of the proposed budget in the agenda packet, linked above.
 
If you're unable to come to the meeting, you can reach out to Council by email.  Our email addresses are in this link: https://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/index.php
 
Being that this is a Council meeting, it should be live-streamed at the following link: https://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php This is also an open meeting and you are welcome and encouraged to come.
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6:30 PM - (CPAC) Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.
 

This isn't a community meeting like we had last time, but it is an open meeting, if you'd like to come and sit in on it.  This particular meeting will basically be a discussion of economics of land use and land use fiscal assessment results.

This meeting will not be live-streamed, but you are welcome to attend in person.  
 
If you haven't yet had a chance to take the Comprehensive Plan Community Assessment, please do so here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ca_wax  We also have an interactive map where you can drop a pin and tell us what we have done right or what you think needs work: https://cityofwaxahachie.mysocialpinpoint.com/city-of-waxahachie-interactive-map-map#/  Another way of providing input to the city as part of the comprehensive plan process is through our ideas board.  I know that our residents have the best ideas and we'd love to hear them.  You can participate on the ideas board here: https://cityofwaxahachie.mysocialpinpoint.com/city-of-waxahachie-comprehensive-plan/ideas#/

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Thursday, September 2, 2021
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8:30 AM - City Cemetery Board Regular Meeting
City Cemetery Pavilion
300 S. Hawkins St.
 
 
4 - Consider request form Craig and Janet Rudolph for bench on cemetery plot
 
5 - Discuss cemetery activities and take any necessary action
 
6 - Consider cemetery pavilion landscaping options and take any action
 
This meeting will not be live-streamed, but it is a public meeting and you're welcome to attend.
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3:00 PM - Park Board Regular Meeting 
Council Conference Room, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.


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

5 - Discuss park projects and take any necessary action

This is a public meeting and you are welcome to attend, but it is not live-streamed at this time.
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4:30 PM - Keep Waxahachie Beautiful Committee Regular Meeting
Council Conference Room, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.


4 - Discuss upcoming clean-up projects and the Battle of 287 clean-up project and take any necessary action

5- Consider P.I.N. (Pride in Neighborhood) nomination and selection

This meeting will not be live-streamed but is a public meeting and you are welcome to attend.
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I apologize for the length of this newsletter, but there was a lot to cover.  If you have any questions or need clarification on any topic, I'm always available to help and my contact information is at the bottom. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible Tuesday evening at the special Council meeting to hear what you would like in regards to our tax rate and budget.

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

Your Friendly Councilmember,

Melissa Olson, CMO
(text) 817-507-5162
molson@waxahachie.com
 
at No comments:

Sunday, August 22, 2021

The Week of August 23rd - 27th, 2021 in the City of Waxahachie

Hello Friends!
 
    I hope y'all are doing well!  We don't have a lot of meetings going on this week, but we'll make up for that next week. I would, however, like to let you know about the special election that is happening right now to replace Jake Ellzey, who was our House District 10 representative since he won his Congressional race.  Early voting runs this week and election day will be on 08/31/21.  

***Please note, that those who wish to speak at the public hearing regarding the city's tax rate, that the meeting will also be on Tuesday, 08/31/21 at 6:00 PM. ***  I'll be sure to mention more on that in next week's newsletter.

We only have the Planning & Zoning commission briefing and meeting scheduled for this week, but in case there are any additional meetings scheduled after this newsletter goes out, you can always refer back to the city's calendar: https://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php

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Tuesday, August 24, 2021
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6:15 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Briefing Session
Council Conference Room, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.


This briefing is being held to discuss items for the 7:00 PM regular P&Z meeting.  You are welcome to attend the briefing to hear the discussion, as this meeting is not live-streamed, but there are no public comments during the briefing.
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7:00 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.

 
Items 5-10 have been requested to be continued to the  09/14/21 P&Z meeting, which means that the commission will not consider anything on these items and will simply vote to continue (or move) the meeting.

15 & 16 - A public hearing for a replat of Symphony Estates to create 127 residential lots and staff is recommending approval as presented.

17 & 18 - A public hearing continued from the previous meeting regarding a 7- Eleven store located at 1851 N Hwy 77.  Staff is recommending approval.

19 & 20 - A public hearing continued from the previous meeting regarding a zoning change from a planned development- general retail to a planned development- multifamily 2 located at 809 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.  Staff has several issues with this project but is recommending denial due to the lack of emergency access to the site.

This meeting will be live-streamed if you are unable to make it to the meeting. The link for that is: https://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php  
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That's all for this week.  I hope that you have a great rest of your weekend and have a wonderful week ahead!

Your Friendly Councilmember,

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


at No comments:

Sunday, August 15, 2021

The Week of August 16th - 20th, 2021 in the City of Waxahachie

Hello Friends!

Have you ever thought: 'This crosswalk needs to be restriped?' or 'We could really use a traffic light here?' or any number of improvements that really only you notice because it affects you on a daily basis? Here is the opportunity to relay those ideas/suggestions to the city.  We've created a website where you give us your great ideas to improve Waxahachie.  There's an idea board and this really cool interactive map where you can pinpoint exactly where we need improvement.  You can also use this chance to tell us what you love about Waxahachie and what we've done right!  I can't stress enough how important your input is to the betterment of the city!  Just go to www.waxahachieplan.com and let us know.  We want to hear from you.  Your voice matters!

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Monday, August 16, 2021
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6:00 PM - City Council Briefing Session
Council Conference Room, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.
 
 
This briefing session is being held to discuss items for the 7:00 PM regular Council meeting.  These briefings are filled with tons of information and where Council often times does the bulk of the discussion on items.  You are welcome to attend these briefings, but unfortunately, they are not live-streamed at this time.
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7:00 PM - City Council Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.
 
 
There are just a couple of items I'd like to point out.
 
8-11: These public hearings are regarding two clothing donations boxes.  One located at 1713 W. Hwy 287 Business and one at 2100 Brown St.  There is a case for each box to be considered separately.  At the P&Z meeting, they recommended 6-0 for denial of the SUP that would allow these bins to continue operating. The commission is charged with looking at the zoning only, whereas the Council can take other factors into account.  These two boxes are a for-profit operation and supply a third party supplier with the clothing that is donated.  They can't say for sure what happens to the clothing once it has been turned over to the third party.  I understand that these can be unsightly, but Council has the capability to add restrictions to the SUP in order to help that and if those guidelines aren't followed, then the SUP (specific use permit) can be revoked and the bins would have to be removed.  Because these do serve the community in a helpful way to donate clothing as well as them being on private property, I tend to believe they should be allowed to continue with specific guidelines. What are your thoughts?  Do you ever use them?  Do you think they should be allowed?  Do you think they're just eyesores and need to go?  I'd love your input on the issue.

20: Consider setting proposed tax rate and dates for public hearing.  This isn't when we actually adopt the tax rate.  That will likely be done at the 9/7/21 Council meeting.  This item has us set the public hearing, which will most likely be at 6PM on 08/31/21.  It's at that time, you can come speak for or against the proposed tax rate which is planned to be $0.66 per $100 of valuation.  This is the same rate that it was last year when we lowered it from $0.68. The no-new-revenue rate for this year is $0.62588, so I have a tremendous amount of heartburn approving a $0.66 rate.  Why do I say all this?  So that you have the facts of what's happening and what's running through my mind.  I don't enter into this lightly in any way and am struggling with it and will continue to struggle with it until it's done.  I know that people are being taxed too much and wish I could do more to help with that.  I'll announce it again when the dates are set in stone, to make sure you know when the public hearing and adoption will be so that if you'd like to come out and address Council on the issue, that you have the chance to do so.  As always, I appreciate your feedback on this matter and any others that you wish to connect with me about.

21: Consider authorizing an initial guaranteed maximum price (IGMP) for construction activities associated with the City Hall Annex project in the amount of $14,500,000.  $7.5 million of that total was recently approved in the FY 20-21 bond package and another $7 million is included in the FY 21-22 operation and maintenance budget.  There will also be another $1.5 million in additional costs associated with the annex, not related to the actual construction of the facility or included in the figures above.  These additional costs will consist of furniture, fixtures, equipment, technology and moving-related expenses.  Staff anticipates appearing before Council early in FY 2021-2022 to request an additional authorization associated with these expenditures.  This is an awful lot of money, but it's important that you know where your money is going and this building will serve the community for many, many years to come.

The Council meeting is open for you to attend, and we have public comments in the beginning of the meeting where you can address Council on any concern, whether on the agenda or not.  The meeting will also be live-streamed at the following link during the meeting: https://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php
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I hope that you 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
at 2 comments:

Sunday, August 8, 2021

The Week of August 9th - 13th, 2021 in the City of Waxahachie

Hello Friends!
 
    I hope everyone is doing well and excited about the start of school! We have a few items on this week's city calendar, but here is the link in case any are added after this newsletter goes out.  https://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php

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Monday, August 9, 2021
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12:00 PM - City Council Work Session
Council Conference Room, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.


The only item on this work session agenda is a discussion regarding the Comprehensive Plan update.  Residents are welcome to sit in and listen; however, there are no public comments entertained during this time.  Also, this work session will not be live-streamed.
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*** 6:00 PM - Comprehensive Plan Community Meeting ***
Council Chamber, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.

There is no agenda for this meeting, but instead a notice of potential quorum for the City Council, Planning & Zoning Commission, or Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee.

****** This is your chance to provide input on the comprehensive plan.  This plan guides staff and Council on your priorities for the city.  This is a chance to make a tangible difference in your community and I highly encourage all who can make it to this meeting, to do so. ******

I'm unaware if this meeting will be live-streamed or not.  In case it is live-streamed (although I doubt it will), you can access it via this link: https://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php

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Tuesday, August 10, 2021
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6:15 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Briefing
Council Conference Room, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.


This briefing is being held to discuss items for the 7:00 PM regular P&Z meeting.  Residents are welcome to attend this briefing session.  The briefing is not live-streamed at this time.
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7:00 PM - Planning & Zoning Commission Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.


This is a pretty standard meeting, but I just want to quickly mention 9&10 and 11&12.  These two cases are regarding clothing donation boxes at two locations (on private property, it appears) and staff is saying that the owner must have an SUP (specific use permit) for these even though they are on private property and are recommending denial of the SUPs.  While I understand that these can be an eyesore when the clothes are left outside the donation boxes, I think that they provide a useful service to the residents and are able to help others by recycling the clothing.  Not only that, it appears, in my opinion, to be overreach if these are indeed located on private property.  What are your thoughts on the situation?

To view the details of these cases and any others on the agenda, please click the agenda packet link above. This meeting is open to residents to attend, but is also live-streamed at the following link: https://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php

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Thursday, August 12, 2021
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4:00 PM - Mid-Way Regional Airport Board Regular Meeting
Upstairs Common Area of Mid-Way Regional Airport
131 Airport Dr., Midlothian, Texas


A couple items I'd like to mention are:

5 - Consider insurance requirements for hangar leases

7 - Update on TxDOT CIP project for perimeter wildlife fence

This meeting is open to the public, but is not live-streamed.
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5:30 PM - Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.


Here are a couple of items that might be of particular interest:

5 - Consider plans for Franklin St. side of Ellis County Museum

6 - Review draft of new West End (the old Baylor hospital site) description for residential guidelines

This meeting is open to the public, but is not live-streamed at this time.
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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
(text) 817-507-5162
molson@waxahachie.com
at No comments:
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