The Blanco City Council approved a bond election for May 3 at its Feb. 11 meeting.
The council unanimously approved the proposal for a $16.6 million bond election. The funds being sought are $4.4 million for streets and $12.2 million for water and wastewater projects. If approved, the bonds will be issued and sold in incremental amounts according to project schedules and with the advice of bond counsel, most likely every two to three years.
The formation of the bond committee was also approved and as of now is composed of: Sidney Cox, Dennis Moore Sr., Harvie Lindeman, Danny Uballe, Paul Granberg, Kenny Fuller and Matt Herden. Council member Dennis Moore Jr. abstained from the vote as his father is on the committee. The bond committee officers are required to be “residents of the city or individuals who own or operate a business or real property within Blanco County.” They are “prohibited from competing for or performing any project work related to any bond program.”
An agenda item concerning a potential referendum to reallocate the sales and use tax in the “present or future combined areas overlapping the limits of the city of Blanco, Blanco County South Library District and Blanco County Emergency Services District No.2” brought many people to the meeting and inspired quite a few public comments. Council member Bobby Mack-McClung said the city would be well served to have a “mechanism” in place to be sure that all businesses in the city are paying the sales tax. Mayor Mike Arnold said that he “has come up with the proposal and it’s already been communicated and bounced off the comptroller’s office and the state senator.” He suggested that they could use their authority and take legislative action rather than having “17 referendums.”
The council did not take any action on the item, but did indicate that there should be continuing discussion and changes to the allocation that could be on the ballot in May. Council member Ryan Moses suggested that it be a topic at the next workshop and Moore agreed.
A part-time code enforcement officer position was unanimously approved. The city will focus primarily on code violations like “signage violations, property maintenance on buildings, and junk vehicles and garbage.” The Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky donated $1,200 to the city specifically to address violations of the dark sky ordinance. The city will fund $1,500 for other violations to be addressed by the code enforcement officer.
Council member Laura Swinson asked how the city will “pick and choose” which violations to cite. The mayor responded, “it’s not about that, it’s triage…but if there are gross violations they need to be addressed.” Moore suggested that it be budgeted for next year and not use the contingency fund. The council voted to use money from the professional services budget category for this year, compile a list of the most egregious violations and go after those, and plan for the position in the next budget year.
Arnold presented an AI (artificial intelligence) policy, which he spoke about in greater detail during the workshop on Feb. 4. The mayor stated that he believed using Chat GPT could update and rework the Unified Development Code (UDC) far faster and with less expense than paying people to do it. He has stated AI will change our lives and feels Blanco should be the first small town to fully embrace what it can do. No action was taken. Arnold also said that he has already used Chat GPT to look at the city codes and issues and calls it “the most amazing thing ever.”
Police Chief Jerry Thornhill’s monthly presentation for the department focused on Officer Chris Griffin’s promotion to operations lieutenant. Griffin’s family was on hand as he was sworn in by the mayor. Griffin is an Air Force veteran and served at the Fair Oaks Police Department for more than a decade. Two new officers are expected to join the department later this month.
Swinson announced that due to her recent marriage and subsequent move outside of the city limits, she is resigning from the council. The council can choose to fill the vacancy now or wait, and Swinson can serve until the vacancy is filled.
Tiffany Perdue was appointed to a vacancy on the Planning and Zoning Commission, and Betty Jones was appointed to the Blanco Historic Preservation Commission. The attempt to restructure the Streetscape Committee was voted down, and it maintains its form “as is”.
Sarah Munger presented an update on the status of the application for a TxDOT Transportation Alternatives grant. Changes in the criteria mean that Blanco is no longer considered an economically disadvantaged community, so pursuing the grant now would require a 20% match of whatever funds are requested. No action was taken, and the application for the grant will be revisited in March.
The city received a $300,000 grant from the Texas General Land Office. The money has been earmarked for the Comprehensive Master Plan, rewriting portions of the UDC, and perhaps for other projects within the CMP.
The purchase of a security fence at the water treatment plant was approved 4-1, with council member Candy Cargill voting no. The fence is expected to cost $22,561 plus an additional $5,000 to Inframark for a plastic insert. The fence meets TCEQ standards.
City finance director Jose Martinez presented the monthly financial report, and made mention of a few expense items that were higher than normal. These included computer maintenance owing to the recent service provider change and the retaining wall project.
A task order system with the city’s engineering firm SPI (Schaumburg & Polk, Inc) was unanimously approved. The task order system is intended to control costs and is capped at $8000 per month, with engineering services budgeted at $110,000 annually.
A special use permit for a drive-through window at the business located at 603 Main Street was tabled for further review by the Planning and Zoning Commission and will be revisited at another time. The Jittery Biscuit, which has a location in Johnson City, is seeking the permit for this Blanco location.
A proclamation recognizing Feb. 22 as President George Washington Day was made, as well as one recognizing March as American Red Cross month.
