Agenda for Helotes City Council Meeting on August 13, 2009
The agenda of the next Helotes City Council meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 13, 2009 is as follows:
There will be a public hearing on the creation of the Municipal Surface Water Drainage Utility System. This will create an additional property tax for Helotes homeowners and businesses. This item is on the agenda for action later during the meeting. They will set the tax per residence (no more than $5 per month) and per business (no more than $?? per month) and provide for a penalty of not less than $500 or more than $2,000 (for violation of the ordinance?). Now is the time to make your opinion known.
The Mayor’s Report will include updates on the Helotes Natural Area/Disc Golf Course and the installation of flood gates on Antonio Drive.
Unfinished Business: Action on the creation of a disc golf course within the Helotes Natural Area authorizing Mayor Schoolcraft to administer and oversee the design and construction. (For more information on this project, see the post entitled “Notes from the Parks and Recreation Committee Meeting on 7/29/09.” The San Antonio Disc Golf Association representative that was at the Parks meeting said that, in his opinion, the Natural Area was not big enough for a disc golf course. Mayor Schoolcraft, however, appears determined to have one in the natural area. A disc golf demonstration was scheduled to be held last Sunday morning. During the discussion of this agenda item, the Mayor will probably report on how it went.)
Another item of unfinished business that will likely get settled at this meeting is the approval of amendments to the Schedule of Uses for the B-3 Overlay District. P&Z forwarded their recommendations to Council. (For details on what those recommendations were, see the post on this site entitled “What Happened at the P&Z Meeting on 8/4/09.”)
Items on the Consent Agenda are approval of:
The bi-weekly Revenue/Expenditure Report.
The acceptance of a $1,000 donation to the Helotes Fire Department from Bob and Judy Buck in appreciation of services rendered during a fire at their home on Tower View which is in the City’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).
The immediate issuance of a Request for Proposal for the development, licensing, permitting, financing, design, construction, maintenance, and refueling of a 24-hour municipal-access fueling station at the Helotes municipal complex (a gas station for City vehicles???).
An EMS System Agreement beginning October 1, 2009, and terminating September 30, 2010, between the City of Helotes and the City of San Antonio for first aid and advanced life support services within the Helotes City limits for $259,704.12.
Interdepartmental budget adjustments totaling $96,430: A total of $21,627 from the City Engineers budget to: the public information account ($3,062); the printing budget ($3,062); the Court fees budget ($10,503); and the operating supplies budget ($5,000). $10,503 from the street improvements budget to Court fees and $5,000 to repair and maintenance equipment. $24,650 from salaries to Court fees, and $10,000 to building repair and maintenance. $24,650 from the City Attorney’s budget to Court fees. That’s a total of $70,306 transferred into the Court fees account. (I guess their projections for FY 2009 are not coming out the way they planned.)
Items for Individual Consideration: Discussion and action on:
A request for a variance to sidewalk requirements for the Helotes Professional Building located at 12760 E. Bandera Road (I think this is the new dentist at the entrance to the apartment complex).
Revocation of an existing Encroachment License Agreement for a railroad tie planter encroaching onto City right of way (ROW) located at 14405 East Bandera Road (Old Bandera Road?) to accommodate planned capital improvement projects within the Old Town Helotes Special District. (Council had already approved an Encroachment License Agreement with the owner telling her that her planter would not be in the way of the planned improvements. Apparently, project managers had told the City that the construction of head-in or diagonal parking in this area was not an option due to the width of the existing ROW. Now they are saying that head-in and diagonal parking can be constructed if this encroachment agreement is terminated, increasing the parking from four parallel spaces to approximately 10 head-in spaces.)
Council will consider terminating the agreement and directing the removal of the railroad tie planter (which presently contains some pretty big crepe myrtle trees).
The offending railroad tie planter in Old Town
Proposed FY 2010 budgets and tax rate.
Scheduling two public hearings on the proposed tax rate for FY 2010 – on August 27 and September 10, 2009.
And lastly, on the Municipal Surface Water Drainage Utility System Ordinance, establishing an additional property tax on all Helotes homeowners and businesses.
The Council meeting is at 7 p.m., and it looks like it’s going to be a long one.