According to their website, half of their last eight meetings have been cancelled.  Their meetings that did actually take place in the last 8 months were on December 15, 2010, and January 19, March 16, and May 18, 2011.  The cancelled meetings had been scheduled for November 17, 2010, and February 16, April 20, and June 15, 2011.

I also saw a notice on their website that they are seeking new Board members.  They are currently accepting applications for appointment to the HEDC Board of Directors, which are, of course, non-paid positions.

The HEDC’s mission is to promote, encourage, and enhance the creation of jobs, the expansion of the local tax base, and our quality of life through projects that assist in the retention and expansion of existing employers and which attract new employers and aid in their development and growth.

For more information on these Board positions, you can contact the City Secretary, Grace Tamez, at 695-5911 or 695-8877.

Just in case you are interested in the HEDC and are wondering what they do at their meetings, their last agenda (for their meeting on May 18, 2011) was:

- Discussion and appropriate action regarding the Old Town Helotes Special District Public Parking Lot and improvements made thereto near the intersection of Old Bandera and Riggs Roads.

- Discussion and appropriate action regarding the creating of new incentive programs to assist existing businesses in the City.

- Discussion and appropriate action regarding a contract with WebQA to host a community business portal for all Helotes businesses, authorizing Board President Ardie Garner to negotiate and execute a WebQA service agreement.

- Hear report from the EDC Specialist, Glenn Goolsby, on:

a.  Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Recreational Trails Grant Application;
b.  HAMBA Business Fair and Mixer;
c.  Current commercial developments within the City; and
d.  2011 Helotes Phonebook.

Monthly meetings of the Helotes Economic Development Corporation Board are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. at City Hall (unless they are cancelled, of course).

6/24/11 - City Administrator (CA) sends the FY 2012 budget forms to Department Heads for department review and completion establishing preliminary ezpenditures per department.  Forms are due back to the CA by 7/15/11.

7/18-22/11 - Department Heads meet with CA, City Treasurer, and the Mayor for further consideration of departmental requests.  During this week, the proposed FY 2012 budgets will be finalized by the CA, the City Treasurer, and the Mayor.

7/26/11 - Bexar County Chief Appraiser certifies the tax roll and the effective and rollback tax rates and schedules are calculated.

7/27/11 - EDC publishes the notice of their proposed FY 2012 budget.

8/11/11 - Proposed FY 2012 budget is presented to City Council.

8/25/11 and
9/8/11 - Public hearings to be held on the proposed FY 2012 budget for the City and the EDC and the proposed tax rate.

9/22/11 - Public hearing to be held on the proposed FY 2012 budget for the City and the EDC and the proposed tax rate.  At this meeting, the FY 2012 budgets for the City and the EDC and the tax rate will be approved by Council.

After welcoming new Council members Buys and Friedrichs, the Mayor presented certificates of recognition to members of Girl Scout Junior Troop No. 461 for donating, planting, and maintaining five native trees within Old Town Helotes.

Girl Scouts Receive Certificates from Mayor

There were no citizens present wanting to speak during the Citizens to be Heard portion of the agenda.

Items on the Consent Agenda were approved unanimously with no discussion by Council members:

- a contract between the City and Heard & Smith, L.L.P. for the collection of delinquent taxes for a 2-year term ending June 30, 2013, authorizing the Mayor to execute the contract.

- a Storm Water Management Plan for an ROTC building addition at O’Connor High School.

- a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) for technical review of and assistance with storm water and floodwater management, authorizing the Mayor to execute the MOU on behalf of the City.

- FY 2012 budget calendar for the City and the Economic Development Corporation.

- the following appointments and re-appointments to the Planning and Zoning Commission:  Ron Hozza, Alex Blue, Megan Mutschler, Sandra Ethridge, Michael McGlothing, and Niels Jensen.

Item Number 10 was discussion and action on a freestanding sign for Wine 101 and the Helotes Echo within Old Town Helotes.  Apparently a permanent sign is being erected in the next couple of weeks, and they are seeking approval of a variance to the sign ordinance so they could leave up the temporary sign in the meantime.  The temporary sign will be removed within 3 days of the completion of the permanent sign; all were in favor.

Item Number 11 was discussion and action on conceptual site and design plans for a low-density townhome development in Iron Horse Canyon.  These plans comply with the zoning requirements.  P&Z had reviewed them at their meeting last Tuesday and recommended that Council approve them.  Since that meeting they have added more parking spaces.

The Fire Chief will review the plans and may have some comments and concerns.  Right now there is only one way in/out of the townhouse development.  The developers representative, Richard Masling, was at the meeting and assured Council that the development will conform to all regulations.

Schoolcraft stated that there will only be 29 townhomes which is well within the allowed number of 60 (10 units allowed per acre times 6 acres).

The building materials used will be stucco and stone, and they will have metal roofs.  Masling said that the pricing of the townhomes will be upward to $250,000.  They will be 2-story units and will range from 1100 to 1800 square feet.  He also noted that they will be set 30 to 40 feet off Iron Horse Way with a buffer between the road and the townhomes.  The original plans had them about 10 feet off the road.

At the P&Z meeting on June 7, 2011, Masling stated that these plans for the townhomes had not been presented to the Iron Horse Canyon (IHC) Homeowners’ Association (HOA) because he was not required to do so.  This townhome development will most probably have its own HOA, but they will also be members of the Iron Horse Canyon HOA, paying dues to both and sharing in the use of the recreational areas. (Although apparently not required, I think it probably would have been a good idea to keep the IHC HOA apprised of the progress of the townhome project plans, especially since they will be a part of that community.  But, hey, that’s just my opinion.)

Council member Massey said she was impressed by the development and felt that having this type of housing in Helotes was important to the community.  She feels that there are Helotes residents that want to downsize as they get older and stay in Helotes and that prior to these proposed townhomes there was nowhere in Helotes they could do that.  (Actually, there already is a garden home development in Helotes off of Hausman that used that same premise when getting its plans approved – giving older Helotians a place to downsize to.)  Schoolcraft said, though, that if he was ever looking to downsize, it wouldn’t be to a 2-story residence (which is probably true of most older people in general and seemed to contradict Massey’s earlier statement).

The plans were unanimously approved.

Item Number 12 was discussion and action on a requested variance from platting requirements of an existing structure, currently the Helotes Creek Nature Center (HCNC), in Old Town Helotes.  The owner of the HCNC is wanting to remodel the interior of the building and enclose the back porch.  This would apparently require the lot to be platted.  If I heard Schroder correctly, none of the lots in Old Town Helotes have been platted because of when these buildings were built – a long time ago.  Council decided to grant the variance request and not require the platting on this particular remodel, since no new buildings were being constructed.  Any future construction on this 9.5 acre lot would not be included in this variance approval; all were in favor.

Item Number 13 was discussion of and action on amendments to the Parades ordinance requiring additional emergency medical service be provided at extreme sporting events and requiring medical liability insurance be provided for public gatherings on private or public property.

Mayor Schoolcraft said that the City Attorney (who was not present at this meeting) had requested that this item be pulled from the agenda pending his review of the Constitutionality of one of the proposed amendments.  The Mayor agreed that there would be no vote taken, but he wanted Council to discuss the proposed amendments to the ordinance.

One change would require the organization/person putting on an extreme sporting event (like bullriding, motocross, etc.) to hire their own EMS/ambulance that would be at the event in case of an emergency.  There was recently a fundraiser held in Helotes to benefit an injured bullrider.  During the event, two bullriders were injured requiring two ambulances.  Helotes only has two ambulances, although there is a back-up company contracted to respond to Helotes if needed.  On this afternoon, however, all five of those ambulances, usually kept close to Helotes, were on emergency calls.  Council’s concern was that if there had been an emergency with a Helotes citizen, there would have been no ambulance available to respond.  That situation has prompted this amendment.

Another amendment would require a certificate of insurance be obtained by anyone hosting a gathering on public or private property.  This is the issue that the City Attorney is looking at because, as U.S. citizens we are given the right to assemble by the U.S. Constitution, and the City’s requiring the purchase of insurance and the obtaining of a permit would inhibit or prevent that freedom.

The Fire Chief would also like to require medical response and evacuation plans in case of an emergency at these events, which are not currently required.  He would also like to add the requirement of security plans.  The Mayor stated that these would not have to be elaborate plans, just 1 to 2 pages explaining how they are going to respond in case of an emergency.  Rick Schroder added that there are lots of samples of these plans to be found on the internet.

Council member Massey said she thinks requiring an ambulance at extreme sporting events seems logical, but requiring a permit and liability insurance at public gatherings seems unconstitutional.  They would be making it harder for people to exercise their Constitutional right to assemble.

Council member Buys thought that an event planner should be given more time to obtain a permit; 30 days might not be enough.  He suggested that anywhere between 15 days and 120 days to apply for the permit should be allowed.  That would also give them time to appeal if their permit application was turned down.

Since this item was for discussion only, no motion was made and no vote was taken.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.

Land near the entrance to Iron Horse Canyon has been zoned for townhomes for probably 5 or 6 years.  When this issue came up in the past, residents of Iron Horse Canyon were against this type of development in their subdivision.

If you have an opinion for or against this issue, or just have questions, plan to attend this Council meeting.  These plans will also be discussed at the P&Z meeting on Tuesday, June 7, 2011, at 7 p.m. at City Hall.  This Commission is always interested in the opinions of Helotes Citizens, so plan to attend this meeting also.  P&Z will make a recommendation to City Council for or against approving these plans.  Sometimes Council takes their recommendations and sometimes they don’t.

Other issues on Council’s agenda are:

- freestanding signs for Wine 101 and the Helotes Echo.

- a request for a variance and/or deferral from the platting requirements for the renovation of an existing structure, currently the Helotes Creek Nature Center, located at 14405 E. Bandera Road (in Old Town Helotes).

- amendments to the Parades and Public Gatherings ordinance adding additional emergency medical service requirements for extreme sporting events and additional insurance and medical plan requirements.

- a contract between the City and Heard & Smith for the collection of delinquent taxes, authorizing the Mayor to execute said contract.

- a Storm Water Management Plan for an ROTC building addition at O’Connor High School.

- Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and the San Antonio River Authority for technical review of and assistance with storm and floodwater management, authorizing the Mayor to execute the MOU.

- the budget calendar for the City and the Helotes Economic Development Corporation.

- the appointment of Megan Mutschler and Niels Jensen to the P&Z Commission.

The agenda item that got my attention was the discussion and recommendation to the City Council on CONCEPTUAL (not always what is built after all is said and done) site and design plans for a low-density townhome development within Iron Horse Canyon.  The property has been zoned for townhomes for 5 or 6 years I guess.

When this issue was brought up in the past, many Iron Horse Canyon residents were against having townhomes built at the entrance to their subdivision, or anywhere in their subdivision.  I guess we’ll see if they are still opposed to this development.

If you have an opinion for or against this issue, or you just have questions about it, plan to attend this P&Z meeting.  This Commission is usually very interested in the opinions of Helotes citizens, and those opinions frequently influence their votes.

This townhome “conceptual” design plan issue is also on the City Council agenda for their meeting on Thursday, June 9, 2011.  Apparently, they will discuss the plans and vote on them that night.  Sometimes they take P&Z’s recommendations and sometimes they don’t.

Other items on P&Z’s agenda are:

- a hanging sign for C n J’s Happy Hatter Tea Room in Old Town Helotes.

- the alteration of an existing multi-tenant monument sign for the Hill Country Crossing retail center at 12274 E. Bandera Road.

- the installation of a wall mount sign and a pole sign for the Cafe & Bakery at Old Town.

- freestanding signs for Wine 101 and the Helotes Echo.

- conceptual and design plans for the expansion of an existing building known as Helotes Chiropractic Clinic at 13663 E. Bandera Road.

- resignation of Commissioner Norbert “Bert” Buys from P&Z.  Buys was just elected to the Helotes City Council.  P&Z now has two vacancies.  Jerry Cotton resigned last year, but his place was never filled.  According to their published agenda, at their next meeting, on Thursday night, the City Council will appoint new members to fill these vacancies:  Megan Mutschler, who previously served (or maybe still is serving?) on the Parks and Recreation Committee, and Niels Jensen, who is the Chair of the Helotes Board of Adjustments (I’m not sure what the rules are on serving on more than one committee.  I had applied to serve on P&Z when Cotton resigned, but we all know that wasn’t going to happen).

I will be out of town on Tuesday and won’t be able to attend this P&Z meeting, but hopefully some Iron Horse Canyon folks will show up to let P&Z know how they feel about having townhomes in their subdivision.

The Mayor issued certificates of recognition to the 2011 Miss Helotes and her Court. 

Miss Helotes and her Court

He also issued certificates of appreciation to exiting Council members Gary Johnson and Rich Whitehead, both of whom had chosen not to run again for their Council positions.

The Mayor also swore in newly-elected Council members Norbert “Bert” Buys and Paul Friedrichs.

Norbert "Bert" Buys

Paul Friedrichs

Mayor Schoolcraft reported that City officials went to Austin to see the appropriate State officials about changing how money from our Municipal Court Building Security Fund can be spent (House Bill 3603/Senate Bill 1521).  Apparently, Helotes has a sizeable building security fund, but we have no need for metal detectors, etc.  The Mayor wants to be able to spend the money on other things (which he is apparently currently kept from doing legally), such as our Warrant Officer and his related equipment.  This request was added to the bill, and it has passed the Senate with no opposition.  It will now go to the House floor and will go into effect immediately if passed.

These consent agenda items were approved unanimously (without discussion):

- the monthly Revenue and Expenditure Report.

- the quarterly Investment Report.

- the acceptance of the resignation of Bert Buys from P&Z.

- the acceptance of the resignation of Paul Friedrichs from the Helotes Economic Development Corporation.

- the acceptance of the resignation of David Legendre from City Council.

- the final plat for Wind Gate Run (on Hausman Road).

- the revised Storm Water Management Plan for Wind Gate Run.

Other items discussed and approved unanimously:

- reappointment of Council member Ed Villanueva as Mayor Pro Tem.

- application for a variance for a wall-mount sign for the Hill Country Feed & Supply.

- reappointment of Keith Muhlestein and Council member Cynthia Massey to the Helotes Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors for terms to expire on September 30, 2012.

Council also discussed filling the vacancy left by the resignation of Council member Legendre.  The Mayor stated that an ad had been placed in the Echo.  They will accept letters of interest from all interested citizens detailing their qualifications.  When these are received, they will be reviewed and discussed and a selection made.

At 7:29 p.m. Council went into a closed session to consult with the City Attorney regarding the lawsuit filed against the City by the Northside Independent School District (after enjoying some cake and beverages in appreciation of the service of Council members Johnson and Whitehead and in celebration of new Council members Buys and Friedrichs.)

Mayor Schoolcraft, who was running for re-election, received 374 votes in early voting and 93 votes on election day for a total of 467 votes (71.41% of the vote).

David Galvan, who was running for Mayor against Schoolcraft, received 135 votes in early voting and 52 votes on election day for a total of 187 votes (28.59% of the vote).

Bert Buys, who was running for the Council position previously held by Gary Johnson who had decided not to run again, received 386 votes in early voting and 95 votes on election day for a total of 481 votes (75.75% of the vote).

Myfe Moore, who was also running for Johnson’s Council position, received 107 votes in early voting and 47 votes on election day for a total of 154 votes (24.25% of the vote).

Paul Friedrichs ran unopposed for Alderman, Place 5, on Council, which was previously held by Rich Whitehead.  Whitehead originally filed to run for re-election to that position but withdrew from the race after Friedrichs decided to run.  With no one running against him, Friedrichs, of course, was declared the winner for that position.

There will be a meeting at City Hall at 5 p.m. (note time) on Thursday, May 19, 2011, to canvas the returns and declare the official results of the election.

Get ready for another 2 years of watching the selling of Helotes to commercial developers, decreasing reserves in the City’s budget, and increasingly worse traffic (and perhaps a championship disc golf course in Iron Horse Canyon?) (once again, only my opinion).

A public hearing was held on continuing a curfew for minors under 17 years of age and over 9 years of age, prohibiting minors from being in any public place between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.  This hearing was opened at 7:02 p.m. and immediately closed.  There was no one present wanting to speak on this topic.

There were also no citizens wanting to speak during the Citizens to be Heard portion of the agenda.

The following items on the consent agenda were approved by Council: 

- the minutes of the April 14 meeting;

- the canvassing of the May 14 general election results will be held at City Hall on Thursday, May 19, 2011, at 5 p.m. (please note the time);

- a Compromise and Settlement Agreement between the City of Helotes and the Edwards Aquifer Authority related to permitting, metering, and aquifer management fee requirements for an existing well located at 12614 FM 1560;

- a resolution of the City of Helotes approving a Medicare Enrollment Application for Clinics/Group Practices and Certain other Suppliers for billing purposes related to the operation and maintenance of emergency medical and ambulance transport services, affirming that the City of Helotes will be legally and financially responsible in the event that there is any outstanding debt owed to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The above listed items were considered by the Mayor and the City staff to be non-controversial and were not discussed at the meeting.  They were unanimously approved by the Council.

An item that was on the Consent Agenda but was removed for discussion was the approval of a variance request to allow a building encroachment within a 25-foot building setback, for property located in Old Town Helotes owned by Council member Villanueva.  He removed himself from voting which left only two of the five Council members to vote.  Apparently there is already no setback required in Old Town from the back or front of the property, just 25 foot setbacks from the sides.  Villanueva does not want any setback to be required, and that’s what he got.  The two remaining voting Council members voted to approve his variance request.  I’m not sure how that meets the quorum requirements, but the City Attorney assured everyone that there are three members present which meets the quorum, even though one of them is abstaining from voting (?).

The next agenda item was the renewal of the curfew ordinance.  The Police Chief had no recommendations for any changes.  Massey said she thinks it’s a good ordinance.  Steven Pena, the City Attorney, said that there are very few if any cases of curfew violation that come up in Municipal Court.  The City gets good voluntary compliance.  There was a question of whether two public hearings are required before this item can be voted on.  As I understood it, the City attorney recommended that the wording in the ordinance be changed to “hearing” instead of “hearings” and the renewal date on the ordinance be changed from May 28, 2011, to April 28, 2011.  All were in favor.

The last item on the agenda was the discussion and action on the construction of a structure on an existing pool/patio foundation within the 100-year FEMA floodplain without the issuance of building permits on property located at 10047 Deer Trail Lane, Helotes.  Apparently, this construction had already been started without the owner obtaining permits.  The owner thought that because it is a church he didn’t have to get building permits.  The City Engineer told the Council that they really didn’t have a choice.  They had to order the construction stopped and the removal of the structure.  No variances for building in the floodplain have ever been granted.  To do so could result in the City being dropped from the flood insurance program, and citizens could no longer buy flood insurance.  It could also mean that the City could not request emergency funds from FEMA in case of a flood.  The only option the owner would have is to try to prove that his property is not in the floodplain, which was explained to him by City staff a year ago.  Apparently the owner has contacted FEMA and has been unsuccessful at getting his property removed from the floodplain.  Council voted to deny the request for a building permit, and they were required to approve the issuance a building permit to allow/require the owner to remove the structure that is there.  The engineer said the owner could build a properly permitted and constructed structure like a gazebo but not a building with walls.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:36 p.m.

The hearing was opened at 7:02 p.m. and closed at 7:02 p.m.  No one had come to speak at this hearing.

This topic was on the agenda that night to discuss approving a resolution designating certain officials as being responsible for and acting for and on the behalf of the City in dealing with TPWD concerning the grant application.  The resolution would also certify that the matching share ($250,000) was readily available in the City’s budget.

Council members discussed the proposal for a championship 18-hole disc golf course (this would be in addition to the disc golf course we already have at the corner of Parrigin and FM 1560, which I think is a 9-hole course).  They felt that this would bring more people to Helotes and bring in more sales tax (really??).  The deadline to submit the application for the grant was March 1, 2011.

Mayor Schoolcraft said that residents of Iron Horse Canyon (IHC) had approached him about putting in trails in this area.  He also stated that he would be getting donations of equipment, the park would require very little maintenance, there would be lighting, and there would be trash receptacles monitored by the City.

Council member Gary Johnson (who lives in IHC) asked about bathrooms and parking.  He stated that there is not a lot of access to the land and he would hate to see lights go up in that area.  There isn’t even street lighting in IHC.  He also said that he was “shocked” that no one from IHC had signed up to talk about this proposal.  He thinks that trails would be a good idea but not lights and bathrooms.

In reply, Mayor Schoolcraft stated that all the plans are “very preliminary.”  He doesn’t plan to put up flood lights and doesn’t think a lot of parking will be needed, unless a championship golf tournament is going on.

A vote was then taken and the item was approved; all present were in favor (Council members Legendre and Whitehead [who also lives in IHC] were absent).

And that was that, until a public hearing/meeting was held on April 4, 2011.  I was out of town and couldn’t attend this meeting, but I have heard that it was extremely well attended, mostly by Iron Horse Canyon residents who were all against this type of park in their neighborhood.

I assume as the result of this meeting, this item was on City Council’s agenda again on April 14, 2011, this time proposing to withdraw the grant application.  Council members Rich Whitehead and David Legendre were also absent at this meeting.

Not absent, however, were many IHC residents, eight of whom spoke during Citizens to be Heard, all of whom were opposed to the park as proposed by Council and in favor of withdrawing the grant application.  The reasons for their opposition were their concerns for safety, parking issues, increased traffic in their neighborhood, and the negative environmental impact.  Some also mentioned that it was not fiscally responsible or esthetically pleasing.  They also did not like that this had gone forward with virtually no input from IHC residents.

What I found most interesting was Council’s reaction.  Cynthia Massey stated that they had learned from this experience that they should not have the public hearings on the night Council was going to vote on a topic.  They should give the citizens more time to express their opinions (really?).  Council members are there to represent the citizens.  Perhaps they had moved “too hastily.”  At the time she thought it was a good thing, but that night she was in favor of withdrawing the application.

Gary Johnson stated that he was completely unaware that the land had been given to the City (Really?  Seems if you’re on Council you’d make yourself aware of what’s been happening in the City, and he lives in Iron Horse Canyon.  How can you make decisions on how the City is to be run when you’re not “aware” of what’s going on?)  He thinks the land would be good for walking trails, but not for the use that has been proposed (he voted FOR it at the February 24 meeting?).  He is now in favor of withdrawing the grant application, particularly due to the way it came up (?).

Uncharacteristically, Mayor Schoolcraft said that not every one of his ideas were good ones.  He has “learned something here.”  It was “flawed thinking” to go ahead with the grant application and then have the public hearing (which actually isn’t what he had done.  As noted above, they held a public hearing on February 24, at which no one attending wanted to speak, and then they approved the resolution.).

In any case, the proposal to withdraw the grant application was approved by the three Council members present (Villanueva, Johnson, and Massey).

Iron Horse Canyon was saved, for now, from the City putting in an 18-hole championship disc golf course, with attending lights and port-a-potties,  behind their homes.  However, it is my opinion that this would all have gone very differently if the Mayor was not up for re-election this year.

I tend to think that if the Mayor wasn’t up for re-election at this time and didn’t need the Iron Horse Canyon votes to get re-elected, he would probably have gone ahead with his park idea regardless of how the residents felt.  But, hey, that’s just my opinion.