“Don’t worry. We’ll pay you back. Trust us.”

Outgoing council member Diane Hervol bids farewell

The City Council voted 6-1 tonight to dip into the General Fund for $77,400 — money that was not appropriated in the original fiscal year budget — based on, from what I could gather, Finance Director Perwez Moheet’s assurances the City eventually will be reimbursed for the some, but not nearly all, of the expenditure.

Now this was the first reading of an ordinance so it has to come back for a second vote in two weeks and that’s the reason council member Daphne Tenorio gave me for her lone vote in opposition. "I have some other questions in regards to those events and I want to get those clarified," she said.

As for me, I would like to see a whole lot more than just clarifications.

Moheet said the money, along with $27,000 from the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) Fund, would fund three things. First was $36,400 for the consulting contract awarded to the Gateway Planning Group that was assigned to come up with a rough concept plan for that controversial intersection of I-35 and Yarrington Road, that intersection where a much-maligned truck stop was originally planned. The award was parr of a partnership agreement Kyle entered into with Hays County, City of San Marcos and the Greater San Marcos Partnership.

"It is estimated that the three entities combined will reimburse the City of Kyle up to $15,000 for this expenditure," Moheet told the council. "And so far, the Greater San Marcos Partnership has already sent us a check for $5,000 as its contribution. So were waiting for the other two entities to send their share."

Sure. Fine. Whatever. Would it have been too much to ask that the ordinance be amended to establish reasonable deadlines for when Hays County and the City of San Marcos forks over their respective shares?

Moheet said another $41,000 in General Fund money was to pay for September’s planned Kyle Field Day Special Event, He then told council "It is estimated that up to $32,500 may be collected in event revenue from registration fees, vendor sponsorship and sales." You don’t need a calculator to see immediately the differences between the two amounts puts the General Fund $8,500 in the hole.

I had heard rumors that this council was supposed to be fiscally conservative. Sure. Fine. Whatever. Again. If there had been even one fiscal conservative on the council, that person should have at least moved to amend the ordinance to restrict the General Fund expenditure to the $32,500 the city hopes to take in at the event. That’s fiscal conservatism. Now, I’m not saying the amendment would have been approved but I’m shocked that not a single council member, some of whom tout themselves as fiscal conservatives, offered the amendment and no one demanded another amendment that would have required a full and public accounting to the council of actual festival revenues. You would think the council would like to know how close the festival came to pulling in the $32,500 and since the General Fund is public taxpayer money, those taxpayers deserve such a public accounting.

The third item was the $27,000 from the HOT Fund for expenditures the City expects to incur because of October’s planned Hogwash Special Event. Moheet told the council he anticipates this event producing $23,250 and again I wondered where were the so-called fiscal conservatives on the council. I guess there really aren’t any.

In other action this evening, the council:

• Bid its collective farewell to one of its own, outgoing council member Diane Hervol who, after six years on the council, lost her Place 1 re-election bid to business owner Travis Mitchell. An obviously emotional Hervol requested that individual council members forgo any attempt to offer her testimonials, but Mayor Todd Webster, who was often at odds with Hervol, said : "For those who have never run for public office or held public office, particularly for the City of Kyle, it’s not something you do for yourself or for money or for any of those kinds of things. You do it because you want to volunteer for your community to try to make a difference and council member Hervol has, in my view, in the time that I have served with her and the time that I knew her beforehand has served in an exemplary manner. She’s been very dedicated and worked very hard. In terms of work ethic, I’m not sure in all my years on this City Council, I’ve seen anyone who prepares as well and works as hard for her constituents as she has." After being presented with a plaque and the framed picture of her that had hung just outside the council chambers, Hervol, in a shaky voice, said :It has been an honor to serve and "I want to thank the citizens of Kyle for electing me to serve on their behalf for the last six years." She also thanked her supporters, many of whom filled the council chambers and left with her following the presentation. "Politics is a tough trade," she said, "but loyalty, trust, respect does exist and I believe I have given that. And I believe I have received that from my many supporters. I am also proud of the many things we accomplished during my six years on council," which included, she said, the new library, the road bond package, park improvements, the purchase of the wastewater treatment plant, the hiring of additional police officers, the Monarch Water contract and the train depot restoration. Interestingly, she did not mention what I think may be her lasting legacy: starting the conversation that may lead to the creation, as soon as the upcoming budget cycle, of a much-needed stormwater utility.
• Following the 7-0 approval of a resolution, that came at least two weeks late, if not more, declaring the month of June as "Juneteenth Celebration Month" and recognizing "the contributions of citizens of African-American heritage," heard outgoing Mayor Pro Tem (see next bullet item) David Wilson speak about the recently deceased former mayor James Atkins. Wilson called him "someone I miss every day. I miss his advice. I would see him at least three or four times a week. He would tell me what he thought and he would tell me what he saw in the community and he would tell me what he heard. There had been a grounding there and a connection to neighborhoods and people and caring of people that I wanted to communicate to the world that he definitely made a difference to this community and to my life"
• Elected council member Damon Fogley to succeed Wilson as mayor pro tem.