January 30, 2007 00:21 - Falcon retires
By Bill Peterson
KYLE – The City of Kyle isn't the same place today that it was five years ago, it wasn't the same place five years ago as it was ten years ago, and it wasn't the same place ten years ago as it ever was. Ten years ago, housing developers began turning Kyle from a struggling little town to a booming bedroom community.
Through it all, the one constant was the city's reliable secretary, Minerva Falcon, who held the place together through recent years of change and turmoil. The city announced this week that Falcon will retire at the end of January after 32 year of service to the community.
Falcon's retirement has long been anticipated, as she said for about the last year that she would hang around at least until the city moved into its new administration building, which happened last year. Falcon has served under ten mayors.
In addition to administrative details such as minutes keeping and announcing election returns, Falcon is behind some of the homey touches that predate Kyle's population surge. She initiated the city's annual July 4 Fireworks show, began lighting up the old city hall square for Christmas and brought Santa Claus to town during the first week of every December,
The city will hold a reception in her honor on Jan. 31, 3-7 p.m., at the administration building.
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January 30, 2007 00:22 - Buda bites engineers
By Bill Peterson
BUDA – Keith Jackson felt blind sided last Tuesday, when Buda City Councilmembers got their licks in against his engineering firm of Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan (PBS&J).
The council voted unanimously to, in effect, sever its relationship with the firm when Jackson must have figured the council was only going to vote on an addendum to a professional services agreement.
Innocently enough, the discussion began when City Administrator Robert Camareno told council that PBS&J discovered an overcharge amounting to $84,162.01, which it was gladly willing to pay back. As it turns out, PBS&J charged the city its normal fees for certain services without realizing it never amended its agreement with Buda going back to 2003. Naturally, the rates in the 2003 agreement are lower than the present rates at which PBS&J normally works in 2007.
So, the council voted to accept the repayment. Then, the council considered an addendum to its agreement with PBS&J, which would provide for the firm’s rates to rise as inflation suggests. And that's when it all fell apart.
Councilmember Sandra Tenorio said it would suit her fine of the city did no more business with PBS&J at all. Councilmember Cathy Chilcote told Jackson that she remains angry about certain representations from the engineers concerning the Lifeschulz drainage project. Naturally, councilmembers hate it when constituents ask them about projects, the councilmembers relay information received from their engineering firm and the information turns out to be wrong.
Councilmembers stressed that their problem isn't with Jackson, the firm's representative in Buda, but with other people at PBS&J who were, they indicated, less than cooperative. Said Chilcote as she addressed Jackson, "This isn't about you."
Tenorio motioned to deny the addendum, with Chilcote seconding and the council voting unanimously for the denial. After the voice vote, Buda Mayor John Trube said to Jackson, "I'm sorry about that."
The city's agreement with PBS&J doesn't contain a clear expiration, but it remains that PBS&J would have to work at 2003 rates, which is unlikely to happen. The city is putting together a Request for Qualifications to interested engineering firms for future work.
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January 30, 2007 00:25 - Subdivisions and revisions
By Bill Peterson
SAN MARCOS – A little less than ten years ago, Hays County officials bragged about writing the toughest subdivision rules in Texas. By last November, voters picked a substantially new commissioners court, in part because the subdivision rules haven't gone far enough towards addressing unfettered residential growth. That's growth.
New Dripping Springs Commissioner Karen Ford brought proposals to tighten up development rules to the court last week. In particular, Ford wants developers to account for their effects on water supplies and schools.
Though a stakeholders committee already is in place to make recommendations for new subdivision rules, Ford is concerned that the process would take too long, perhaps six to eight months. But the court decided last week to postpone a public hearing on Ford’s proposals until the stakeholders committee has a change to review them.
Ford wants developers to notify affected cities, school districts, emergency management districts and special utility districts about their plans. Under those rules, school districts might not be scurrying from town to town trying to figure out where their next explosions will take place. They might also prevent snafus like a recent tiff between Kyle’s city government and county emergency personnel with regard to new addresses.
In addition, Ford wants detailed reports from engineers concerning available water and wastewater facilities. And, rather than simply accepting an engineer's report about water availability, Ford wants certification of adequate groundwater availability for developments to be served by well water.
Residents from around Driftwood and Dripping Springs complained vigorously last summer when drought conditions following rapid development dried out their wells and they ended up trucking water to their homes. Their complaints went a long way towards defeating the seated court last November.
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