Hello Friends!
I want to update you on some items that were discussed this past week. First of all, thank you to everyone who reached out with your input on the various items Council took up in the work session on Thursday. The minutes of that meeting are in the agenda packet for Monday's Council meeting, which I have posted below. This summarizes some of what happened at that work session with many of the items folks have been interested in:
1)
City charter revisions: At this time, the Council is not supportive of having a charter change. They do not want the mayor elected by the public. You would have to contact members of council to see why they feel this way. Here are all of our email addresses:
https://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/index.php There seems to be a fear that the voters will choose someone who is unqualified. I believe in the voters and think that you would make the right call for our mayor. Another point that was made was that the role of the mayor, in our current charter, is just about the same as any other councilmember. While this is true, there are unspoken duties fulfilled by the mayor. I do see the benefit of having a mayor appointed by council, because that person usually has quite a bit of experience, but it becomes all about politics. I think people deserve to choose their mayor, but that won't happen any time soon. I'm sorry about that.
2) Discuss the policy for naming of City facilities: the consensus was to research, establish and adopt policy and procedures for naming City facilities, streets and/or parks. Not sure exactly where everyone stands on building naming. I believe that most did not have a problem with it as long as guidelines/procedures were established to guide those namings and we have public input on the matter when a naming opportunity arises.
3) Public Comment time limits will be set at 5 minutes. Many governmental entities have a 2 or 3 minute limit. A 5 minute limit should allow everyone to say what they need to say during public comments, but won't allow folks to monopolize the microphone. As much as I really didn't want to put a limit in place, I do think that this is very fair and will be respectful of everyone's time at meetings.
4) Golf Carts on streets - The police chief will draft up an ordinance on the matter for review at a later Council meeting.
5) Discuss Council initiatives:
a) I brought forth the idea of having residents vote on the bonds that the city plans to issue in 2022. It was decided that infrastructure items shouldn't be voted on by the residents, but that large non-infrastructure projects may need to go out for election. For example, many of the items in the planned 2022 bonds are infrastructure items, except for about $2 Million for parks projects. Some felt that the $2 Million was not worth the election expense or risk of voter fatigue to bring to residents for a vote. All bonds, infrastructure or not, are backed by property taxes, so I think that having residents vote on the matter is the appropriate course of action. Again, you'd have to ask other council members their stance on the matter.
b) Council Member Smith asked if Council would support making a public statement in support of the Commissioner's Court proclamation in opposition to a federal vaccine mandate. I supported Council Member Smith's idea of making the statement echoing the commissioners' proclamation, but other council members didn't agree that it was necessary; therefore, no action will be taken on the matter.
This is not an exclusive list of what was discussed Thursday, but covers most of it. You can refer to the minutes below for details of every topic.
Let's get in to the meetings for this week! As always, please refer to the
city's calendar to see if any more are added after this newsletter goes out. You can do that here:
https://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php
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Monday, October 4, 2021
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6:00 PM - City Council Briefing
Council Conference Room, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.
This briefing is being held to discuss items for the 7:00 PM regular meeting. You are welcome to attend this briefing where Council and staff ask questions and learn about the items on the regular meeting's agenda. The briefing will not be live-streamed.
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7:00 PM - City Council Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.
4 - Public Comments: Residents may address the City Council on any issue whether on the agenda or not. Council is usually silent during this time, as we are limited by law on what we can say.
6 - Proclamation proclaiming October 8, 2021 as Markert Strong Day in Waxahachie - named for a young man, Jackson Markert, who is currently receiving very aggressive chemotherapy treatment for osteosarcoma.
7 - Recognition of Waxahachie Police Department for meeting all standards in the Texas Police Chief Association Best Practices Program
8 - 17: Will all be continued to various dates. See agenda packet for details.
20 - 21: Public hearing on request by Patty Dickerson for a Specific Use Permit (SUP) for clothing recycling bins located behind Central Presbyterian Church. Staff is recommending approval per comments.
22 - 24: Continue public hearing by Brad Yates for Planned Development (PD) to allow a Private Club (Event Center) at 716 Dunaway Street. Staff is recommending approval per comments.
25 - Consider proposed resolution for candidate nominations for the Ellis Appraisal District Board of Directors for the years 2022-2023. Names that have been submitted for consideration thus far are Ryan Pitts and Logan Brady (by Council Member Travis Smith) and John Tabor (by Council Member Melissa Olson). Other names may be brought up by Council for consideration at the briefing or meeting.
26 - Consider proposed resolution approving the City of Waxahachie Investment Policy as required by the Texas Public Funds Investment Act. You can review the policy in the agenda packet link above.
27 - Consider proposed ordinance setting Water and Wastewater fees. I will need more explanation of this in the briefing session. The memo in the agenda packet says that "A review of fees in FY 2021 revealed that the Utilities Department is not collecting enough funds in specific areas to cover the cost of operations." From what I can tell, it does NOT look like they are looking to raise our normal water/wastewater fees, but that we will be changing rates for other services such as tapping, street cutting and road boring. I don't think that the average utility customer will be affected by these changes, but will ask for clarification at the briefing.
28 - Consider contract with Taft & Associates to provide a Crisis Response Specialist. This position is one that Council added in to this year's budget and one that I am very excited about. This position will help WPD provide better service in responding to people in mental crisis and provide an additional resource for first responders in need of support.
29 - 30: Convene into Executive Session to review performance evaluation for City Manager as permitted by Section 551.074 of the Texas Government Code and reconvene and take any necessary action.
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Wednesday, October 6, 2021
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12:00 PM - Civil Service Commission Regular Meeting
Mayor's Office, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.
Waxahachie Fire:
- no items for consideration
Waxahachie Police:
A) Action items
- Certify police Sergeant promotion eligibility list created by promotional process that was completed on September 21, 2021
B) Items for discussion (no action will be taken on discussion items)
- Discuss Corporal and Sergeant upcoming promotions
This meeting is open to the public, should you wish to attend, but it is not live-streamed at this time.
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Thursday, October 7, 2021
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4:30 PM - Keep Waxahachie Beautiful Committee Regular Meeting
Council Conference Room, City Hall
401 S. Rogers St.
3 - Reorganize the committee
5 - Discuss Keep Waxahachie Beautiful Committee's role and responsibilities
6 - Discuss and consider clean-up service project for October 16, 2021
7 - Consider PIN (Pride in Neighborhood) nomination and selection
This is a public meeting and you are welcome to attend; however, the meeting is not live-streamed at this time.
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Thank you for your interest in the City of Waxahachie! 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
