Mitchell takes seat on council

(left to right) Commissioner Mark Jones, Mayor Todd Webster, Travis Mitchell

A hefty contingent of Travis Mitchell’s supporters crowded into the City Council chambers this evening prior to the start of the regular bi-weekly council meeting to witness the swearing in ceremonies for the new Place 1 council member.

After taking the oath of office from Hays County Commissioner Mark Jones, who made a point of thanking outgoing council member Diane Hervol, the person Mitchell is replacing, "for her years of service to the City of Kyle and her dedication," calling her "a very good council person," Mitchell thanked his wife and family for their support and tolerating his extended absences during the campaign. And then he said that his conversations with voters during the campaign had given him "a clear mandate going forward knowing what the community of Kyle is interested in and what the community of Kyle hopes to see as a result of my time on council.

"I want to echo Commissioner Jones’s remarks in saying thank you to council member Hervol," Mitchell continued. "She served a long time in the City of Kyle and I know she will continue to serve and advocate for the citizens and the community. She fought hard until the end. Something she and I spoke about months and months ago before anyone knew I was going to run for City Council was if we ran a race hard, whether I won or whether she won, in the end the City of Kyle would win. By us campaigning as hard as we did we would have the opportunity to raise awareness about the issues, the citizens would get to be more pro-active in terms of what’s going on and I think that was accomplished.

"I’m looking forward to the future," he said. "The words that I think of when I think about the future are ‘challenge’ and ‘opportunity.’ That’s really what it all boils down to. After conversation after conversation with citizen after citizen, one thing is clear: We have many challenges. We have $95 million in debt. We have the highest tax rate in all of Hays County. Some of our businesses are struggling. Our downtown community is trying to find an identity. Our wastewater treatment facility is at capacity. We have water lines and sewer lines that are old. They have problems. Moving forward there are many challenges that I’m going to do everything I can to help address.

"But there’s the other side of that point and that’s opportunity. We are one of the fastest growing towns in the fastest growing county in the best state and the best nation in the world. That put us. In some respects, at the epicenter of the economy and I’m just privileged and honored to be here and be a part of what happens in the next three years. I believe the future is one of opportunity. I believe it’s one of possibility and I think together we have a chance to make something truly special happen in Kyle for our businesses, for our homes, for our non-profits, for everyone. And I want to be a part of that."