Truck stop land back on agenda; sales tax revenues below expectations

(Updated Tuesday Jan. 5 at 4 p.m.)
That squirrely triangle of land that looks like a map of New Hampshire turned upside-down on the northwest corner of I-35 and Yarrington Road — the one some fear will be the site of a Godzilla truck stop — is back on the Planning and Zoning Commission’s and the City Council’s agendas, and the City of Kyle is not in the best of shape when it comes to sales tax revenues, although Mayor Todd Webster does not believe this is something to be overly concerned about at this time.

According to a "Public Notice" that appeared in last week’s Hays Free Press, "The City of Kyle shall hold a public hearing on a request by PGI Investment, LLC, to assign original zoning to approximately 47.74 acres from Agriculture "AG" to Warehouse District "W" on property located at 24800 IH 35, in Hays County, Texas."

First up, the Planning & Zoning Commission needs to consider the request and, according to the notice, it will host a public hearing on the matter at its Jan. 12 meeting, scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Now before a lot of people get up in arms about this, especially those concerned folks who live in the nearby Blanco Vista subdivision, look carefully at the wording of the public notice. The last time this land appeared on P&Z’s agenda was on Oct. 13, but on that occasion the petitioners mysteriously pulled the item before commissioners could consider it.

But on Oct. 13, the request was to rezone the land for retail services. This time it’s warehouse and the way I read Kyle’s zoning ordinances, a truck stop is not an allowable use on property zoned W. The closest thing to a truck stop that I could find that is allowable is a truck terminal facility, but that looks like this and not like this

Update:
Kyle's Planning Director Howard J. Koontz, who knows far more about these things than I, sees it differently, however. "Truck stop (Travel Center) would be allowable in both W (Warehouse) and CM (Construction/Manufacturing," Koontz said. "It would be categorized as a 'transportation' use and be slotted in among 'Trucking Terminals' and similar."

Original Post:
By the same token, I am somewhat mystified concerning PGI’s motives here. If you go on that outfit’s website, it says "Home building is our passion." Of course, we could be talking about a different PGI Investment LLC, one hidden beneath Google’s radar. The one that comes up in the search engine does most of its business in Southern California, so there’s that.

But it doesn’t seem to me that zoning that land for warehouses is the best use for it. This is where, someday, the new and improved RR 150 is supposed to intersect I-35. And if that day ever comes, that makes that tract a high-traffic area and it would seem to me the wisest investment would be to locate something there that would take advantage of that traffic, i.e., a nice mixed-use development with retail on the ground floor and apartments on the three floors above, with perhaps a Trader Joe’s somewhere on the property and maybe even an Alamo Drafthouse. Hey, I can dream, can’t I?

If P&Z makes any sort of recommendation on the land, another public hearing, this time before the City Council, would be scheduled for Jan. 19.

Now, about those sales tax revenues. Each month of this fiscal year, sales tax revenues have been below what the city forecast those revenues would be. In fact, each month the gap between the forecast and the actual receivables has increased. The reason that’s important is the city bases its budget, not on the amount of taxes and fees it actually collects, but the amount it predicts it will collect throughout the fiscal year, In October, the revenues were $5,393.12 below what was expected. In November, it was $17,628.47 below and last month’s receipts were $43,805.75 below expectations. That means through the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the city is facing a budget gap of $66,827.34.

This news is not all bad, however, That gap is only 4.3 percentage points below forecasts, a percentage that could easily be erased with one good month of healthy sales. And the December receipts don’t account for the bulk of the December Christmas shopping period.

"I do not think that we need to react at this time but it is something that we will need to watch," Mayor Webster said. "The delayed hiring related savings that was identified at the last council meeting does provide us with some leeway within the existing total appropriation. A budget amendment to sweep what we anticipate will be unexpended funds before then is an option but not necessary.

"Sales tax is one revenue source and the impact of any shortfall of this size would likely not impact expenditures until we approach the end of the fiscal year and we would have the opportunity to amend the budget then, as well," the mayor said. "If we do need to make a reduction we could prorate the budget and reduce every department and program by a proportional share or we could identify a capital expenditure to eliminate or delay until the next budget cycle. I don't think we are in a situation right now that would require us to do so. If necessary, my preferred approach would be to reduce expenditures rather than compensate from our fund balance.

"This is absolutely something that we are going to be watching very closely and I have a great deal of confidence in our staff's ability to take this new data and forecast what the budget implications will be," the mayor concluded. "If the city manager and (Finance Director) Mr. (Perwez) Moheet express a concern and provide new revenue projections that warrant taking action now, I am very open to doing so. For now, I think caution is appropriate."

Update:
An official response from the city's staff also expressed optimism the budget gap can be closed by an expected uptick in sales tax revenues.

"The local economy in Kyle, Texas, continues to be strong and vibrant," according to the curt statement. "We anticipate the three-month budget variance of $66,827.34 or 4.33 percent in sales tax receipts through Dec. 31, 2015, to be recovered over the next nine months remaining in the fiscal year. We will continue to monitor our overall budget and make adjustments as necessary; however, we continue to show growth in our sales tax base from the prior year.