Why in general are you running for city council and specifically why are you challenging an incumbent?
Actually, I had intended to run the last time. But my husband was running for school board and there was just no way we could juggle two campaigns at that same time. But I was adamant and I was very vocal that once this term ended I would be running.
What would you do differently than the incumbent?
To be honest, I don’t know much of what she has done. One of the neat things about my position is that I bring with me my husband’s family which has a huge history in this area. So my goal is remembering the things of the past to bring into the present so that we build for the future. And I think that’s something other candidates don’t have — that commitment to the community that goes back multi-generations. And that’s not a bad thing and it’s not a good thing. I want my children to be raised here like their father was and their grandparents were. But I also want to make this place a pleasant community which I obviously know it already is and I want it to continue.
Do you think it might be going in a different direction?
I do.
In what ways?
It’s gotten real big and it’s growing really, really quickly. It’s not a bad thing to be growing but we’re not really growing properly. We’re not maintaining what we have. We’re not taking care of what we need to take care of. It’s a policy of "Let’s not worry about the roads. Let’s not worry about the wastewater. We’re going to take care of that later." In order to build you’ve got to lay the proper foundation and then maintain it. And we’re not maintaining that foundation. We have these multi-million dollar packages for roads, we’re worried about our water and our wastewater and that’s because of poor planning. And that, to me, is a problem.
So in order to manage this growth would you do differently?
There’s a lot of things to do. We need to focus on the maintenance first. And that’s not something that has been done. That is one thing that is different. I would be very strong on that — that we would need to maintain what we have and make sure things are working before we add to it. And what I’m talking about is those additional incentives we offer to developers and businesses. We have to make sure we can keep our city’s foundation and we’re not doing that. We’re seeing cracks here, cracks here, cracks here, cracks here and that’s one of the things I’m going to pursue — to make sure were are not just patching those cracks, but fixing those cracks so that when we add more weight, which is adding new buildings, adding new development, adding new people, our foundation isn’t going to break.
How do you feel about giving tax incentives to businesses?
I think it’s a necessary evil. But I don’t think we have to give everything away. I think we can limit and lower the amount of incentives. We need to do them. I get it. But we don’t have to be everything. I really want to review what we’re doing.
What did you think of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendations to relax the city’s landscaping standards?
If you’re coming here building a business, your business should fit into the area. If that area already has a high standard for landscaping, that business needs to fit. I believe we have to look pretty. I really like the word "charming." I like the charming tagline. And it’s part of our character and part of our uniqueness. It’s something we need to keep. I don’t like getting rid of everything and I don’t think it’s a big deal. If you want to be a success, you’re gonna want to look pretty, you’re gonna want to make yourself look attractive to your consumers so I don’t think it should be a big deal to follow the rules to maintain the Kyle character.
How do you feel about town hall meetings?
I love them. This is something I really liked that Samantha Bellows did. She had this meeting every Saturday at Casa Garcia’s and invited people. To me a meeting – whether or not people come – they need to feel welcomed. And just that simple invitation that says "Hey. I’m here, I’d like to speak with you" – you’re inviting them into the conversation. I know you can have postings on the web site or whatever. But let’s be honest, it’s just kind of air. People don’t go check the city web site to see what’s going on unless you really have an interest in it. But having town hall meetings says "Hey the doors are open, this is your city" and I’m all for it.
What do you think of the city taking steps to have its own television station?
If it’s grant funded, fine, but not if it comes from taxes. And I would like to see what the city would do with it. My husband and I lived in Austin for two or three years when we first got married and he was part of Austin’s cable television station. So he worked on getting television shows and he enjoyed that. The show that he worked on was musicians so they were able to showcase local talent. And I think you need a lot of that to show art, to show what our kids are doing, to highlight what our city is really about. I see no problem with it.
What specifically do you think are the top issues facing the city right now and what are your plans to deal with those issues?
Growth, which includes the roads. The wastewater plant issue — the lawsuit that needs to be addressed as well as maintenance of the wastewater issues. Another issue I have is we recently voted to approve our building size to 15 stories which is pretty big and I’m concerned that the fire department may not be equipped for a building that size. I want to make sure that if something happens they have the safety equipment they need to take care of something that size.
How do you feel about the idea that Kyle doesn’t even have its own fire department?
I think that what we have is working. It won’t work forever because we’re growing really fast and eventually need our own dire department, but at this time it’s working OK.
What do you think the major budget priorities should be the for the upcoming fiscal year?
Roads, water and wastewater and maintenance of our facilities. The roads need to be repaired. I voted for this humongous bond package and all I have to show for it is this sign that says "part of the bond package" and I haven’t seen anything. Granted, there’s stuff that’s happening behind the scenes that the citizens don’t see but we need to start seeing more happening. I don’t know if you know but the City of Kyle requested an easement from Hayes CISD in front of a fire station. They wanted an easement to expand that road and it was denied by the school district. It’s going to take tough negotiations to get the easements on all those rads – not just Bunton. But Bunton is a big concern for me because it’s that feeder road to the school. I think we just need to get on the wagon and get it done. I’ve been living here for 15 years and 15 years ago when we bought this house we were told the city is going to take care of this really soon, Fifteen years later we’re still waiting and nothing’s been done. And I was extremely disappointed when I talked with Mr. Sellers (City Manager Scott Sellers) at the road development meeting and learned that he had not driven the roads. So he had no idea what was happening. That was a little disappointing to me. But now he has driven them so I’m hoping that will get the ball moving.
Are you happy the council voted to sell all the remaining road bonds at the same time to accelerate the construction process?
I’m not sure that was a good idea – to do that kind of construction all at one time. They’re cutting off three major roads when you’re talking about construction at the same time in the same area. Lehman is here, Goforth is here and Bunton is here. That’s a big deal. If they did the roads one at a timer it would have also saved taxpayers money because you’re now drawing down all the funds at one time. When we voted on those bonds, we were told the roads would be rebuilt in order. So following through on what you presented to the voters is a necessity. How do they intend to do all the roads at one time — even staggering them? We had a bridge go out on Lehman Road and that caused a small chaos. So I can’t imagine seeing Goforth, Lehman and Bunton going on at the same time while trying to get all those high school students to school. That’s going to be a nightmare.
What are your feelings on the city manager’s desire to make Kyle "a destination city"?
This was my destination. I’m already here. I think it’s great, but until we fix our foundation, until we have a solid foundation, I have a problem with adding something to the top. You can’t put frosting on top of mud and call it a cake. You have to have a cake and our cake is crumbling.
What are your feedings about the proposed changes to the city’s committee structure?
I’m a little bit in between. I want to make sure we have an open government where citizens can come to speak. And I know it’s the same people who always volunteer. It’s the same everywhere. It doesn’t matter if you’re with the school, it doesn’t matter if you’re with the city – it’s always the same people. I’d like to see our city actively looking to engage more citizens. Do I have the magic key ingredient to say this is the way to do that? No. But I would really like to see us engage our citizens more.
How do you feel about TICS and PIDs?
I really don’t have an opinion, I need to do more research. (Note: Ms. Tenorio subsequently did research the subject and told me after this initial conversation, in essence, she could support PIDs that are homeowner originated, but has problems with those given to developers.)
Do you think the city should spend tax funds on items that some might find frivolous like art in public places?
I never consider art frivolous. Art is an expression, especially if that art is something that is highlighting our community, I don’t have any problem with it. I think it needs to be budgeted for but I think it’s an important part of creating a uniqueness to the city. I have no problem with it at all, and I would actively look for funding for that.
What are your thoughts on the current council makeup of three at-large and three single-member districts?
I think we need to increase our single-member districts to get more voice. I don’t know yet whether that should mean adding an extra chair or changing one of that at-large positions to a single-member one.
How do you feel about having council elections every year.
A staggered election cycle is necessary. It allows for some stability on the council because it means you have some people that have served the year before who have some knowledge about what has happened. Otherwise you would run risks of losing all your council members at one time. So, yes, I think I having a council election every year is a necessity.
What are your feelings on the council-manager form of government?
I’ve seen it work and I know it can work. It’s obvious there’s a huge division on the council and I don’t know what that division is and I’m not even going to guess. But you can see that division and one of the things we’re going to need to do is remind council members you’re not here for your personal issues, you’re here to represent the people who voted you in. You’re here to make the city work and to be a place for people to come to – to live, to work. But I do like the way it’s set up. It does work. There are just some issues that need to be resolved.
Such as?
I’m not going to get into those because I don’t play that game.
What changes would you like to see made to the city charter?
I want the charter to be reflective of what my community wants. We have a charter committee and I have given them my ideas. I want the charter to be reflective of what the people want. I really don’t have any major changes just little ones here and there and I I’ll be happy to e-mail you what I e-mailed them.
What do you think the city can do to attract more salaried job opportunities?
I think they’re coming slowly because they’re running out of land everywhere else. I live off of Bunton so I see when those warehouses go up. The buildings are periodically for lease. But it’s interesting how quickly they fill up. They don’t stay empty for too long at all,. So I know we’re in a prime location. I know they’re coming. I know a minimum of incentives are going to be necessary, but it’s happening. And it’s great to bring these big retailers in but we want to start focusing on small businesses because small businesses are the heart of a community. And I don’t think we’re doing enough to nurture those businesses. I know those businesses are going to come. I have no doubt in my mind.
Do you think the city is getting to the point where it needs to invest in mass transit and, if so, what form of transit?
I’m comfortable with what we have now. Do I see in the future that we need it. I do see eventually that train is going to need to come because we’re no longer Kyle. We’re an extension of Austin and we’re becoming an extension of San Antonio and we do need to plan for some type of way to keep our citizens safe and off the roads. I-35 scares the heck out of me. I don’t like the idea of putting my 16-year-old, my 18-year-old on that road. If he had the opportunity to jump the train to San Antonio, so be it.
What steps would you take, if elected, to give more citizen input into the city manager’s proposed budget?
Here’s one thing that interests me. When the Parks Department wishes to do something boy I hear about it. It’s everywhere. It’s on Facebook. It’s on Twitter. It’s on Instagram. It’s everywhere. But when we had that budget workshop, where was it? It was hidden on the city’s web site. Why couldn’t it have been Facebooked, Twittered, Instagrammed and sent out? It’s a form of inviting and that’s a big deal to me. You have to tell your citizens what’s going on. One of the things I wasn’t happy with was that there was no public comment at that budget workshop, information hadn’t been provided beforehand so you couldn’t have notes. I really would have liked to seen that information be made available prior to the meeting so that a citizen could have written some notes, come to the meeting and be able to talk about it and give their ideas to the city council. Otherwise it’s just a closed meeting.
Specifically what I’m talking about is citizen input between that approximately six-weeks time when the city manager actually presents his proposed budget and when the council votes to finalize it.
Advertise it. Let them know the budget is here and come and look at it. Let’s have a public comment section. E-mail your representatives. "What do you like? What don’t you like?" I want the people to know that they can pick up the phone, they can e-mail and if you need to come to my house and knock on the door and say "Hey, daphne, I don’t like this," then OK come tell me why. I want to hear because you have a voice. But If I’m not giving you the opportunity to speak about it, how are you going to know what I want. And we’re not giving the people the opportunity to speak about anything and that’s a concern for me. I’ve had this conversation with Mr. Sellers. I want transparency, I want people to realize government is their’s. Kyle is a citizens city. It’s not the city council’s city. It’s not the administration’s city. It is the citizens’ city. We’ve elected these people to do a job for us but if we’re not vocalizing what we want then we’re just hurting ourselves. I expect the city to have public comment meeting. I want people to know what my e-mail address is, what my phone number is. I want people to be comfortable to talk with me. And I tell you they already do. That’s part of being a member of the community.
No comments:
Post a Comment