ccswks 10-30-1996
SPECIAL WORKSHOP MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
~~~u~ER 30, 1996
The Schertz City Council convened in Special Workshop
Session on Wednesday, October 30, 1996 at 7:00 p.m. in the
Conference Room of the Municipal Complex, 1400 Schertz
Parkway, Schertz, Texas. The following members were
present: Mayor Hal Baldwin, presiding; Councilmembers
Charles McDonald; Joe Potempa; Earl Sawyer and Ken
Greenwald. Absent: Councilmember Timothy Swinney. Staff
present were City Manager Kerry Sweatt and City Secretary
Norma Althouse.
#1 HEARING OF RESIDENTS: A. Carl Vance, Transportation
Supervisor for the SCUC lSD, voiced concerns about the
intersection of Savannah Drive and Schertz Parkway. A very
dangerous situation is developing there. The road is
starting to be used more often. A car trying to pullout
of there is bad, but a school bus trying to pullout is
especially bad. The site distance trying to pullout is
just not adequate. People coming over the hill are not
going to have time to slow down for someone who is already
pulled out at the intersection. If some kind of traffic
control signal is located at Ashley Park and Schertz
parkway, then it may be too soon or too much to place one
at Savannah Drive and Schertz Parkway. He's not a traffic
engineer, but he does have concerns and he thinks perhaps a
stop sign at Ashley Park would be better than a stop light.
A four-way stop would give a greater margin of safety.
He's always available if anyone wants to reach him at his
office during the day with questions.
B. Robert Anguino, a candidate for EAA District 6, spoke
at this time. Mr. Anguino asked for Council's support in
the upcoming election. He's willing to work with all the
communities in District 6. There's a big need for
consensus and the solving of water problems in the district
not only for the present, but for the future. He has 30
years experience in the field working for the San Antonio
Water System from which he retired. He also served 8 years
in the military and has worked for the San Antonio River
Authority. He's very familiar with the water situation and
the needs of all the communities.
Mayor Baldwin asked Mr. Anguino if he had any idea of the
area covered by District 6. Mr. Greenwald said, as far as
Schertz, it covers what we call the Schirmerville area.
Mr. Anguino stated it also extends over to Converse,
Windcrest and China Grove, and goes back over toward Kelley
AFB. Mr. Anguino stated he supports reused water and
alternative resources. He thanked the Council for their
time. Mayor Baldwin told him they appreciate his stopping
by and wished him good luck in the election.
C. Bill Strickland of 5306 Plaza Drive thanked Councilman
Potempa for his help a week ago Sunday and asked Council
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for some guidance if the situation arises again. He has
nothing against people being successful, but when it
interferes with his lifestyle it bothers him and he needs
help. His property backs up to the Mortellaro Nursery and
Mr. Harden is a fine guy, but Sunday morning, a week ago,
he was awakened at 7:30 a.m. by large dump trucks hauling
dirt up where HEB is breaking ground and hauling it over to
Mr. Harden's property. This continued until about 7:10
p.m. sunday evening. Dust just constantly flowed. If
this was the way Mr. Harden wanted to route the trucks,
why couldn't he have watered the road or routed them
another way.
Mr. Strickland said he spoke with Mr. Potempa and he
thinks Mr. Potempa called the City Manager on Monday. Lo
and behold, Mr. Harden watered the road and it helped and
cut down the dust. If he's going to do this, fine. Just
give the nearby residents a little consideration and water
the streets. What rights do the residents have, if any, to
suggest this or offer this? Who is responsible other than
the property owner? Mayor Baldwin answered he wasn't sure,
but he thinks Mr. Strickland did the right thing. He
contacted Councilman Potempa who contacted the City Manager
and the situation was successfully addressed.
Before moving on, Mr. Strickland said he would like to
make one comment. It is his understanding that if a
citizen has a complaint, they can contact either their
Councilmember or the City Manager. A citizen did call City
Hall on Monday and got hold of the Assistant City Manager.
Mr. Strickland acknowledged he did not witness this first
hand, but just heard about it. supposedly the Assistant
City Manager asked the citizen what he wanted him to do
about it. Did he want him to stop progress? Mr.
Strickland observed this is not the kind of attitude the
City needs from the Assistant City Manager. Mayor Baldwin
had no explanation, but suggested the best thing for that
citizen to do would be to file an official complaint with
the City Manager. Mr. Potempa verified that Mr. Simonson
handled the problem because Mr. Sweatt was out of the
office that day.
D. Del Wersebe of l17 Robert Stevens expressed concern
about the area on Live Oak Road where brush has been
cleared out and there's been some caliche and topsoil put
in. There's about a 12" drainage pipe right down at the
bottom of all this. If we ever get a 16" rain like they
had in Frederickburg last week, who's going to be
responsible for putting all that stuff back up there in
that landfill. That's going to come running out of there
like mad. Mr. Sweatt admitted they too had some concerns
about the drainage and had their engineers survey the work
that was being done to see if it would be affecting the
overall drainage for the area. They have assured us it
will not. Clearly there will be some erosion because of
loose soil. If it's a massive job, then they would go to
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the property owner. Mr.
concern is that there's a
one 12" drain pipe. Mr.
take a look at it.
Wersebe again stated his main
lot of loose dirt stacked up and
Sweatt assured him they would
Mr. Wersebe then mentioned that last Thursday his wife got
stranded in Dallas and couldn't find a plane to get her
home and his telephone was out of order. He came and
talked with the Police Chief and with Sergeant Harris and
within ten minutes they had located her. He had tried for
over an hour. He expressed his appreciation for their
help.
#2 Discuss Police Reserve appointments.
Mr. Sweatt reminded Council they have in their packets,
information about Alfonso Anderson and Harold Ristow who
are both being recommended for appointment as Reserve
Police Officers by Chief Smith.
Chief Smith
written test
agility test
reserve force.
stated both men had been
and an oral interview,
and he feels they will
prescreened, had a
and did a physical
be an asset to the
Mr. Potempa asked how many Reserve Officers this would
make and Chief Smith answered it would bring the number up
to five.
After being asked by Mayor Baldwin, Council indicated they
were ready for this item to be included on next Tuesday
night's agenda.
#3 Discuss groundwater supply.
Mr. Sweatt stated that Crockett Camp, a water attorney
from Austin, and representatives of the engineering firm of
Hennings, Durham and Richardson (HDR) of Austin are here
tonight to discuss a potential groundwater supply from the
Carrizo Aquifer in Gonzales County as well as the potential
for regional participation.
Mr. Sweatt went on to say Councilmember Greenwald and
Public Works Director, John Bierschwale, and he have met
with Mr. Camp and these gentlemen on several occasions to
pursue a discussion of alternate water supply. Among all
the things they are doing along this line, one thing that
has intrigued them is the exploration of another
groundwater supply source.
Mr. Camp introduced himself and said he has worked with
the Water Rights Commission since 1973. He was working for
the State Senate when they developed the current Edwards
Aquifer legislation. His familiarity with the area's water
problems came from dealing with that legislation for about
a year and a half.
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They became aware of some other aquifers and the Carrizo
Aquifer, specifically, is much larger than the Edwards.
There's some real possibilities there and it's an idea they
had been kicking around for a while. He asked some
engineers to conceptualize how they could utilize that.
HDR Engineering has done a lot of the water planning work
at the State level and they've associated themselves with a
very fine groundwater firm to come and speak with Council
this evening and answer questions.
Mr. Camp related his function is to get everyone here and
if it
issues
seeing
acquire
goes forward, then to deal with any institutional
like working with other water control districts,
what kind of entities get formed and knowing how to
groundwater rites and those kind of things.
Mr. Camp then introduced Ken Schoefe1 of HDR who told
Council basically what they have already outlined. Mr.
Schoefel had a small scale map and noted the Carrizo
Aquifer runs all the way from the Rio Grande up south of
San Antonio and all the way to Louisiana. It holds, in
terms of volume, ten to twenty times the amount held by the
Edwards. It's a sand aquifer which yields very large
quantities of water. The part of the State west and south
of San Antonio has been overdeveloped/overpumped and the
water levels are declining. Generally, however, beginning
south of San Antonio and east, the aquifer is full. It has
not been developed and is used only in moderate amounts by
some communities.
Mr. Schoefel continued on, saying the study they've done
has been separated into two parts. The questions they're
trying to answer in part one are what quantities of water
can they get, is it generally feasible, and will it mix
okay with the City's water. If the answers to those
questions are favorable, then they will move into the
second part.
The second part of the study is to develop cost. They
should actually be able to figure out cost for just the
City's needs or a bigger system if the City talked with
other folks and got them interested in this. They would
cost out two different sets of numbers. They estimate part
one of the study will take about three months and part two
will take about three or four months.
Bill Kemp of HDR stated they are looking at two phases of
the study. The first phase is where they go in get all
available data and then using that data, pick an area that
might be favorable for the well field. Using the yield
information they gather, they will try to determine how
many wells they would get and what kind of water those
would produce. The Carrizo-Wilcox is very, very good in
terms of drinking water standards. The phase one work is
just to see if it's feasible.
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The phase two work would be groundwater modeling. They
have some simple and some sophisticated programs. They
simulate wells pumping through time in order to get a
long-term look at what water levels are doing in the well
field in terms of draw down, what kind of effects they may
have at distance. Using that information, they determine
how many wells they need, what kind of spacing they should
have, and how much land they should get. This helps them
arrive at cost.
Mr. Camp explained the way the State of Texas regulates
groundwater is through local groundwater control districts.
There is a groundwater control district that controls
Wilson, Atascosa and Frio Counties. There is a new
district in Gonzales County to control groundwater over
there. He called the president of the new district and
told him they were going to be here tonight talking about
this and it was nothing unfriendly and if anything went
forward from this, they would work with them.
There are advantages to these districts, as far as a
project, which Schertz might consider. Groundwater is
private property in Texas. Everyone is mindful of the
situation with the Edwards and that is something you want
to avoid. He thinks it is something you can avoid if you
go into one of these districts. The politics of it are
that Wilson County is an excellent source of water, but the
Evergreen District has been unfriendly to anyone coming in
and wanting to take some water. On the other hand, he
would describe the people in Gonzales County as being very
watchful and careful, but understanding that people are
going to come. That's why they formed the district. They
want to protect their supplies, but as long as it's
something that can be done without depleting their
groundwater supplies, he thinks you will find that these
are good long-term supplies of water that can be used
without the aquifer. If Schertz goes forward with this,
they will have to be involved with other entities. The
Carrizo is one of the alternatives to the Edwards and is in
his mind the surest and most controlled. It's private
property and something that if you put the numbers together
and they work for you, you can go do it. It's also within
Schertz's control. Part of the study would be to compare
this with other alternatives.
Mr. McDonald
Mr. Schoefel
manganese in
Aeration and
would be just
asked if the water requires purification.
replied it depends - if you have any iron or
the water, sometime you have to aerate it.
chlorination would be the worst. The best
chlorination.
Mr. Potempa wondered what the cost would be for all that
and Mr. Greenwald answered that's what we're trying to
determine. We want to see if it's even feasible.
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Mayor
Kemp
level
Baldwin inquired which way the aquifer flows and Mr.
answered to the southeast. The slope of the water
is pretty flat, maybe ten foot to the mile.
Mr. McDonald referred to the fact they had mentioned one
end had been overpumped. Why is that? Mr. Kemp replied
that back in the early 1900's, Dimmit and Zavala Counties
were referred to as the Wintergarden District. People
found out they could really grow good vegetables and so
that's where most of the irrigation came in. Over the
years in the 30's, 40's and 50's, it regressed kind of
northeastward and has stabilized in Atascosa County. In
Wilson and Gonzales Counties the aquifer is full. Today
it's actually rejecting recharge.
Mayor Baldwin commented he served on a review committee for
community development block grants. There were 29
applicants and a good majority of them were Carrizo Aquifer
users. He never heard so many horror stories as he heard
then about the water problems in the Carrizo. After
listening to that for two days, he's real nervous about
water out of the Carrizo. Mr. Kemp indicated many of the
problems can be corrected by properly engineering the
wells.
Mayor Baldwin then asked the depth of the aquifer in
Gonzales County. Mr. Kemp replied a maximum of about
3,000 feet. The area he recommends looking at would be
less than 1,000 feet.
Mr. Sweatt reminded Council part of the study is not only
to see the quality of the water you would get from the
Carrizo, but also to see how it would mix with the water
from the Edwards.
Mayor Baldwin inquired if moving from one basin to
presents a problem and Mr. Camp replied it's not a
with groundwater because you're dealing with
property. There will be some regulations to adhere
you're still dealing with private property.
Mayor Baldwin questioned if they are going to expand this
beyond Schertz and talk to some other communities in the
area. Mr. Greenwald acknowledged that's one of the things
their discussion group talked about and that they asked Mr.
Camp and the engineers to look at. We asked them to give
us some cost figures on what we need and what it would cost
to go to a 30" or 36" pipe, and we could look at bringing
in other entities. It may cost prohibitive for us to do it
alone, but with four or five other cities involved, it may
be feasible. It was never our intent to give up the
Edwards, but we do know that in the future our pumpage will
be cut.
another
problem
private
to, but
Mr. Potempa asked if the City is going to ask neighboring
cities to get involved in the cost of the study, or just
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pay for the whole thing ourselves and go from there. Mr.
Greenwald thought the City should pay for it themselves.
Mr. Potempa then wondered if the money is available and
Mr. Sweatt answered this is considered an eligible capital
recovery expense and the funds are available.
Mr. Potempa then recapped what he perceives to be the
plan. The City will buy some land where the water is good,
drill a well down a 1,000 feet, pick up some 36" line and
run it 30 miles. Is that correct? Is this going to be for
our drinking water? Mr. Greenwald replied it is for
drinking quality water comparable to the Edwards.
Mr. Greenwald stressed this is long-range planning. They
are going to come back to us in about six months and let us
know what it's going to cost.
Mr. Sawyer asked if the City is planning on buying the
land or leasing it. There's a lot of difference between
the two. Mr. Camp answered that what he's suggesting is
something in the nature of a mineral lease, but for water.
In a project like this you might own some land for some of
your facilities, but basically for the groundwater rights
it is best done through a lease. Their rules are not
finalized in the Gonzales County District, but they are
talking about a pooling arrangement for landowners over
there so they would all share in the benefits of the sale
of the water.
Mayor Baldwin mentioned that for transporting, you have to
obtain right-Of-way. Mr. Camp admitted that's true. If
you're lucky enough to be in a position to use highway
rightS-Of-way, you can do that.
Mr. Camp went on to say one of the things suggested by Mr.
Sweatt was to form an off-balance sheet entity in that it's
not the City directly. It becomes solvent based on the
contract with the City and with others to sell water.
Mayor Baldwin mentioned that one of the disadvantages the
City has always had with their own well sites is that they
are in Guadalupe County and they have two wells - one in
Bexar County and one in Comal County and they're both in
the Edwards District and we're not. The City is always on
the short end of the stick in the Edwards District because
they're not a tax paying member of that District. If we go
with the Carrizo, are we going to have the same kinds of
problems because we're not in the district? Mr. Camp,
stressing they will look out for their own interests,
replied the new district is in the process of writing their
rules right now and he feels there's an opportunity to work
with them for rules that are good for Schertz too.
Mayor Baldwin explained he wouldn't want to
situation where they suddenly decide there's
water for an entity that's three counties away.
be in a
not enough
Mr. Camp
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stated they have to treat everyone equally. If they would
cut Schertz off, they would have to cut everyone else off.
Mayor Baldwin then asked Mr. Camp if he knew of any other
cities that have gone that far to get water and pump it
back. Mr. Camp wasn't sure he knew of any, but Mr. Kemp
said it's not unusual for cities to go 30 miles or farther
to get water. Mr. Camp thought the transportation of
groundwater is relatively new.
Mr. Camp referred to some studies that show the
feasibility of using the Carrizo all the way from Wilson to
Bastrop. Mr. Kemp agreed that was part of the Trans Texas
work and included Atascosa, Wilson, Gonzales and Bastrop
Counties.
Mr. Sawyer asked if they could give an estimate of what
the overall costs might be for this project including a 30"
water line and wells to support it. Mr. Schoefel related
pipe goes for a little less than $2.00 per foot. At
approximately $50.00 per foot to install the pipe for
approximately 30 miles, it would be 7.5 million dollars
just for the pipe. Mr. Kemp estimated wells to cost
approximately $300,000 per well and the City would probably
want three of them, so that's approximately $1,000,000 for
wells.
Mayor Baldwin asked how you do transmission along the way.
Mr. Schoefel answered with pumps, but the City may be able
to get by with one pump station at the beginning. They
would design it so later a booster could be installed as
the City needed more water.
Mr. McDonald observed they're already at 8.5 million
dollars without pumps and they still have to pay to get the
water out of the ground and obtain right-of-way. Mr.
Sweatt told Council there are financing techniques
available beyond just the City's own bonds.
Mr. Sawyer asked when they need to take action on this and
Mr. Sweatt replied he would like to place it on next
Tuesday night's agenda for action. Mr. Sawyer indicated
that is pretty quick and it was pointed out to him the
action is for the study only. Mr. Sawyer asked if the
$42,000 for the study is in the bank right now in the
capital recovery fund and was told by Mr. Sweatt it is.
Mayor Baldwin commented he doesn't have a problem with
this, but he would like to see some other alternatives.
He'd like to give another $40,000 and have an intense total
study done of all the water issues and where water can be
procured so they have a choice of two or three different
things they may want to do. He hates putting all his eggs
in one basket.
-36-
Mr. Sweatt advised this final report would be a general
comparison. It wouldn't be a minute detail comparison, but
would be a general comparison of costs from other sources.
Mr. Potempa asked if AACOG has ever gotten involved with
one of these studies. Mr. Sweatt responded AACOG is
participating in a total AACOG region study. They secured
funding through the Texas and Water Development Board.
Mr. Schoefel advised they have done studies such as the
Mayor suggested for other areas. As a matter of fact, they
did one for for San Marcos. It's certainly something that
could be done. If Council would want to expand the second
phase of this project to include that, it's up to them.
Mayor Baldwin reiterated he doesn't have a problem spending
$40,000 for this study, but when its completed, he thinks
they ought to have several others for comparison. There
was a brief discussion on the options they have been
considering as sources of alternate water supply.
Mr. Camp emphasized he thinks what the engineers have
outlined will get Council to the next point of decision
where they say either this is it or we better look at the
other alternatives.
Mr. sawyer suggested the City find out where they can go
for grants. The time until this study is completed will
give them time to check into that. Mr. Sweatt pointed out
that one of the things to go beyond here and get some
financing is that you are required to have this data.
Mr. sawyer indicated he was ready to act on this next
Tuesday night. Mr. Potempa expressed concern about
something that was said about the City buying land and
drilling a well and then San Antonio coming out and buying
land next door and drilling a bigger well and pumping us
dry. Mr. Camp noted that's why they're talking about
locating a well within one of the groundwater control
districts. Then that sort of thing can't happen.
Mr. Camp, at Mr. Sweatt's request, explained that the
City will buy the rites to the water under an amount of
land from a landowner, most likely in a lease arrangement.
Then they will go to the underground water control district
in the area and ask for a permit for those wells. A permit
will be granted based on whatever their rules are. That's
a little extra regulation, but it's also protection because
the next guy that comes has to do the same thing. He
thinks there's a definite advantage in being first and you
get there and you're protected because the district is
going to regulate well spacing and withdrawals in a way
that you're area of the aquifer is not depleted.
Council agreed they were ready for this item to be placed
on next Tuesday night's agenda.
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Mr. Camp and the engineers from HDR thanked the Council
for their time.
#4 Discuss final reading
emergency access regulations
developments.
of
for
ordinance providing
restricted entry
Mr. Sweatt reminded Council the Police Service prepared
this document tracking somewhat a similar ordinance of the
City of San Antonio. The Police Service will be the
controlling agent. The first reading was approved at the
last regular meeting.
Mr. Sawyer thought this was a good
Potempa thought with the fine Police
has, we don't need gated communities.
ordinance and
Department the
Mr.
City
Council indicated their readiness for this item to be
included on next Tuesday night's agenda.
#5 Discuss final reading of ordinance regarding
traffic control measures on Schertz Parkway.
Mr. Sweatt advised this ordinance was approved on first
reading at the last regular meeting and prescribes several
actions. One of those is an all-way stop at Savannah Drive
and Schertz parkway. It would actually be a three-way stop
because the two approaches on Schertz Parkway would be a
stop. The ordinance also prescribes an all-way stop at
Ashley Park and Schertz Parkway. Additionally, it
prescribes the lowering of speed limits on Schertz Parkway
from IH-35 to lOO yards north of Savannah Drive to 40 mph
and from that point down to the Live Oak Road intersection,
to 35 mph.
They have asked GVEC to install some additional street
lighting in both these locations to try and light the
intersections better. The City plans on installing
advisory signs such as SliQoerv When Wet and ~urves Ahead
on Schertz Parkway coming from IH-35. One of the concerns
at the meeting when the first reading was passed was what
is the design for stop signs. How far back do people need
to be told they need to stop? That's regulated and you put
an advisory sign so many feet back down the road based on
the speed limit. The City is also looking into the
temporary use of flasher-type signs to warn motorists that
stop signs will be installed.
Mr. Sweatt went on to say some traffic counts were done in
the area and in the last ten days Schertz Parkway has
averaged about 4800 vehicles per day. They averaged 5000
vehicles north of the intersection of Savannah Drive and
4600 south of the entrance to Ashley Place.
Mr. Sawyer commented if stop signs are put up on
Parkway, FM 3009 traffic will increase. Mr.
Schertz
Sweatt
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reported they had contacted TXDoT and agreed to coordinate
that if this ordinance is passed, we need to give it about
two weeks before the traffic stabilizes and then take
traffic counts again on FM 3009. TXDoT at this time
believes we may be able to get a traffic light at the
intersection of FM 3009 and Woodland Oaks Drive. The next
closest in count would be at Savannah Drive.
Mr. Sweatt outlined the probable results of doing the
counts. We would meet justification at Woodland Oaks
Drive, but not at Savannah Drive and TXDoT would finally
fund a traffic light at the Woodland Oaks Drive
intersection. The school opens in Savannah Square, a
little time passes and another count is taken, and that
meets the warrants for a traffic light at the Savannah
Drive intersection. In his opinion, that's probably the
only two intersections that will warrant traffic signals.
Mr. Potempa wondered, as further development takes place
along Schertz Parkway, are we going to install more stop
signs. Mr. Sweatt answered probably. We need to break
the traffic on Schertz Parkway to allow vehicles coming out
from the subdivisions to get in. Mr. Potempa then asked
if there's a possibility in the future of installing
traffic lights on Schertz Parkway. Mr. Sweatt admitted
it's a possibility and was brought up at a previous
meeting. The cost is approximately $50,000 per traffic
signal, a cost which would have to be paid by the City.
Mr. McDonald asked if TIF could pay for the traffic
signals. Mr. Sweatt thought it would be tough to get them
to do that. Even though the money they collect is for
overall improvement to Schertz Parkway, that's not one of
the things that was in their plans.
Mr. Greenwald suggested looking long-range and getting
some firm prices so traffic signals can be considered in
future budgets. The stop signs are an intermediate
measure. As you get more development and better lighting,
you will get a better flow of traffic. Right now it's
extremely dark.
Mayor Baldwin noted we have a whole
hate. Why not make GVEC put lights
thought that was a good idea. Mr.
basically a block interval is our
lights. The real need for lighting
the intersections.
row of wooden poles we
on them? Mr. Potempa
Sweatt explained that
criteria for street
is much more severe at
Mayor Baldwin admitted that at first he was in
lowering the speed limits on Schertz Parkway and
the stop signs, but now he's in favor of them.
favor of
against
Mr. Sawyer remarked if the stop signs don't work, the City
can take them down.
-39-
Council indicated their readiness for this item to be
included on next Tuesday night's agenda.
#6 Discuss final reading of ordinance regarding
changes to Inspection Department fees.
Mr. Sweatt stated this ordinance proposes to change the
reinspect ion fee to $35.00 and the plan check fee to one
half of the building permit fee.
Council was ready for this item to be included on next
Tuesday night's agenda.
#7 Discuss appointment of Mayor Pro Tem.
Mr. Sweatt reminded Council, as they know, the Mayor Pro
Tern is appointed on a six-month rotational basis in place
number order. Since Mr. McDonald has served as Mayor Pro
Tem for six months now and he is the Counci1member for
Place #1, it is time to appoint Mr. Potempa for the next
six months. Mr. Potempa is Councilmember for Place #2.
Council was also ready for this item to be included on next
Tuesday night's agenda.
#8 Discuss appointment to Schertz Housing Authority.
Mr. Sweatt referred to a letter from James Theisen,
Executive Director of the Housing Authority, in which he
says Regis Lynch has expressed a willingness to be
reappointed to his current position and Charles Salling was
elected by the residents to be their Resident Commissioner.
If approval is granted, the Commissioners will be sworn in
on January l3, 1997. Mayor Baldwin has been asked to
administer the oath.
Mr. Sawyer commented these are good people and he is in
favor of approving their appointments.
Council agreed they were ready for this item to be placed
on next Tuesday night's agenda.
#9 Discuss public hearing on request from Backyard
Adventures for a Specific Use Permit.
Mr. Sweatt advised this is a request from a manufacturer
of redWOOd/cedar playsets. They presently have a location
on East I-10 near Cibolo, but would like to establish a
business on IH-35 in Schertz. This would be an outdoor
sales site and office on lot B fronting on IH-35 and Irola
Drive. That area is zoned for Neighborhood Services. The
public hearing on this request has been scheduled for
November 5th.
r---
After being asked by Mayor Baldwin, Council expressed their
readiness to have this item included on next Tuesday
-40-
night's agenda.
#10 Discuss surplus property auction.
Mr. Sweatt told Council the City has accumulated a
substantial amount of old and surplus property. In
addition to several old vehicles and bicycles, they also
have miscellaneous items and abandoned and unclaimed
material from the Police Department. They would like to
schedule an auction for saturday, November 23, 1996 at the
Public Works center for the purpose of disposing of these
items.
Council, without discussion, agreed they were prepared to
have this item placed on next Tuesday night's agenda.
#ll CITY MANAGER'S REPORT: Indicated he would like a
consensus from Council to place an item on next Tuesday
night's agenda for action. The Schertz Development
Foundation is two members short and Ed Harris and Pastor
Don Jeffreys have agreed to serve. The Foundation has
recommended their approval. The consensus of Council was
to place this item on next Tuesday night's agenda.
#12 ITEMS BY COUNCIL: Mr. Greenwald: A. Thanked
Robert Anguino for coming to the meeting this evening.
B. Mentioned that Oak Street into Windy Meadow Mobile Home
Park has become a drag strip again.
Mr. McDonald: Asked if the City ever heard anything from
Dover Homes as far as the drainage situation in Dove
Meadows. Has the problem been resolved yet? Mayor Baldwin
stated he wrote a letter to the gentleman in charge and has
gotten no response.
Mr. Sweatt said he thinks the engineers have come up
a plan to solve the problem, although he's not sure
will ever satisfy Mr. Wolfe.
with
they
Speaking of Dove Meadows, Mr. McDonald noted the fence on
Dietz Road is in a bad state of repair.
Mr. Sawver: A. Remarked JoAnn Brannon had reminded him
of the Senior Bazaar at the Community Center on November
9th. Several Councilmembers usually judge the booths and
award gift certificates from Wuest as prizes. Mr.
McDonald and Mr. Potempa volunteered to be judges.
B. Informed Mr. Sweatt there's something wrong with one
of the security lights at the park on the far side of the
pavilion. Mr. Sweatt said he would check into it.
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C. Wondered
traffic laws
positive they
if the school police can legally enforce
in the City. Mr. Sweatt replied he's almost
can, but will check into the legality of it.
~r. PotemDa: A. Inquired how long the City Inspector
waits after he sends a letter to someone before taking
action. Mr. Sweatt replied they normally wait lO days.
Mr. Potempa wondered what happens then if the person who
received the letter refuses to comply. Mr. Sweatt
answered it depends on the situation. They try to work
with the person, but can issue them a citation. Mr.
Potempa alerted Mr. Sweatt to a fender and hood that have
been on City property for a long time. Mr. Sweatt
promised to check into it.
B. Commented
stop sign.
into it.
that Irola Drive there is a tree covering the
Mr. Sweatt said he would have someone check
C. Referred again to the yield sign on the IH-35 access
road near Mobile Villa and asked the status of having it
changed to a stop sign. Mr. Sweatt stated he had written
a letter to TXDoT, but hadn't had the dignity of a reply
yet. Mr. Sawyer suggested that letters to TXDoT from
citizens may help.
#13 ITEMS BY MAYOR: Regarding
stated he thinks it's time to get some
favor of expanding the project so the
comparison studies.
the water issues,
solutions. He is in
engineers can do more
#14 ADJOURNMENT: On a motion by Mr. Potempa, seconded
by Mr. Sawyer and unanimously carried, the meeting was
adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
a~.
,
Mayor, City of Schertz, Texas
ATTEST:
~ f2L6t. J'~...e-J
City Secretary, City of Schertz
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