Notes from Helotes City Council Meeting on April 28, 2011
The Helotes City Council met at City Hall at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 28, 2011. Present were Mayor Schoolcraft, Council members Villanueva, Johnson, and Massey, and City Attorney Steven Pena. Council members Legendre and Whitehead were absent (yet again).
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.
“… Council members Legendre and Whitehead were absent (yet again).”
Just curious about elected officials being absent from council meetings, where and when? They are elected and supposed to attend.
Where/how can their attendance records be obtained? A listing of the council members and their reasons for not attending just might make interesting reading.
I’ve heard that in the past (when the ‘greenies’ were in ‘control’) certain (‘red’) council members would be absent to cause the council not to have a quorum, causing certain actions on the table to fail.
I would be surprised to discover the pattern continuing now that the ‘reds’ are in complete control of the local government.
(Legendre is in the reserves/military and Council members excused him from attending 10 Council meetings [deployed?]. Back when the “greenies” first got elected, the “reds” made a big deal about newly-elected Council member Birnbaum having to miss just two Council meetings because his job took him out of the country. Apparently missing Council meetings isn’t such a terrible thing if it’s someone you support that needs excusing. Whitehead is a San Antonio firefighter and can’t always change his schedule so he can attend, but he has missed a lot of meetings [I think I figured 10+ in a little over a year]. That may be part of why he did not seek re-election this year. You might be able to file an Open Records Request from City Hall to find out who has missed which meetings? – Editor)