The Whitesboro City Council discussed updates on ongoing projects at last week’s public meeting. Citizens were able to learn more about next steps for the Texoma Street, 4th Street expansion and elevated water tower projects.
City Administrator Julie Arrington said she has received the contract back for the Texoma Street project. Next steps are to receive a construction plan and timeline.
Regarding the 4th Street Project, Arrington said she is trying to determine how best to fund the project and feels a bond structure may be the best way to proceed. She said the city will need to engineer the 4th Street project extension before the city can ask for state funding.
As for the elevated water tower project, Mayor Dave Blaylock said he spoke with Arrington and Whitesboro D&C Superintendent Bradley Williams about the water situation for the City of Whitesboro. The mayor said he is aware that it will take a couple of years for the water tower to be built, but expressed that the city can’t keep waiting for an engineer.
“I do not want our city to get to a point that we don’t have water, and I don’t want to give new people water that takes away from the people that live here,” Blaylock said. The mayor wants some answers.
Not being able to give new developers water connections before the water tower is built can be a huge problem for new developers in the city. Arrington assured the mayor that the water tower plans are 90 percent complete, but the engineer has taken longer than he had initially planned to take.
“This is a priority to me. I want to feel secure. I don’t want people to go without water,” Blaylock said.
During citizen presentation, local resident Mark Abernathy presented a statement to the City Council seeking an appeal on behalf of his son. Abernathy said they had met with the Board of Adjustments to obtain a variance to a city ordinance so they could build a carport on his property. The Board of Adjustments denied his request, citing it didn’t meet the requirements for a variance. They recommended Abernathy take his appeal to the City Council to see about having the city ordinance changed. According to Abernathy, the inspector gave incorrect measurements.
There were less than five board members in attendance when the vote was taken, and Abernathy was told he would not win a variance for the ordinance. According to Abernathy, the two board members that voted against the variance to the ordinance did so even though they had previously agreed the ordinance should have a variance.
“We didn’t violate anything. All we asked for was a variance to the ordinance,” Abernathy said.
Abernathy presented his statement to the City Council in hopes the decision would be changed, due to all board members not being in attendance when the vote was taken. As this was only a citizen presentation, council was unable to resopnd and no decision was made.
At 4:14 p.m., a public hearing was held on the acceptance and proposed annexation of a 17-acre tract. This tract is situated in Grayson County and generally located on Locust Street between HWY-377 and Depot Street. The public hearing was opened and closed with no presentations. After much discussion, the City Council took action on ordinance 1224 and approved the proposed annexation of the 17-acre tract. Mayor Pro Tem Carla Woolsey made the motion and Alderman Su Welch seconded. The motion carried.
The council also discussed tax rates. Every year, the Texas Municipal League (TML) Benefits Department provides the city with proposed rates for the next year. The rates are required to be adopted by July 1. After reviewing the three options presented, the City Council voted on option two, which has a .095 percent increase in rates, the lowest amount of difference in the increase. Alderman Stacey Miles motioned to vote and Alderman Ronnie Fielder seconded. All were in favor and the motion carried.
Mark Pike was appointed to the Whitesboro Industrial Board. A vote was taken and carried unanimously.
Next, Lynda Anderson with the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) presented the changes that have been made to the budget. The Type A board has $156,585 in changes and the Type B board has $314,116 in changes. She said changes needed to be made to the budget due to all of the current and possible projects underway. After much discussion, the City Council voted to approve the budget amendment. All were in favor and the motion carried.
In other news, the City Council approved Arrington to enter into a Professional Services Agreement with Hayter Engineering to repair the wastewater treatment plant thickener. A representative for Hayter Engineering was present and able to explain to the council all that would go into the process. He said over time the sewage plant corrodes and needs replacing. The representative confirmed that with this project, they would be replacing all the components to ensure no short circuits. He confirmed the components are from the original plant that was constructed in 1982 and had never been replaced. The estimated costs for this project would be over $42,000. Woolsey motioned to vote and Alderman Mike Pack seconded. The motion was carried unanimously.
Whitesboro’s City Attorney gave training for new council members to ensure the council understands the legality of their duties and that everyone is on the same page and expectations are set.
Arrington went over the budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 with the council. She spoke about the administration department and helped the council better understand and know how to read the budget. This was a discussion only and no action was taken.
Lastly, the City Council discussed and approved expenditures exceeding the City Administrator’s authority. The expenditures were a final payment for the Wilson Street project of $57,475 to Hayter Engineering, $17,488.95 to Birkhoff, Hendricks & Carter for engineering for the Elevated Water Tower Project, $1,984.60 to Birkhoff, Hendricks & Carter for the Texoma Drive Rehabilitation (for RFQ and bid opening) and $4,350 to Birkhoff, Hendricks & Carter for impact fees. All were in favor and the motion carried.