City plans a night out, a dialogue and a vaquero exhibition

In the upcoming days, the city is planning on hosting another “Dialogue for Peace and Progress,” a local version of the National Night Out and a library exhibit focusing on vaqueros, the precursor of the American cowboy. 

The planned 90-minute Dialogue event — this one in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month — is scheduled for Friday, beginning at 7 p.m. at City Hall. It can also be viewed live on the city’s cable channel, its YouTube channel and it’s Facebook page. Panelists include Dr. Claude Bonazzo-Romaguera, a sociology lecturer at Texas State University; Rubén Castañeda, an adjunct professor at University of Texas at Austin Law School; Marcelina Rodriguez Garcia, the author of A Portrait of Mexican American Civil Rights in South Texas: 1930-1979: Legacies of a People, a book that explored how South Texas communities organized to bring about positive social, economic, and political change to Hispanics involved in agricultural labor after decades of segregation, discrimination, labor oppression, and poverty; and Angie Villescaz, a 2018 Democratic candidate who challenged then Republic incumbent Will Hurd for the 23rd Congressional District.

As always, city council member Dex Ellison, who created the dialogues, will be the moderator.

“In conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month, the Dialogues for Peace and Progress will serve as a platform for open and honest conversations regarding significant issues faced by Hispanic and Latino individuals, but also to celebrate the accomplishments, heritage and culture of the Hispanic community,”  Ellison said in a prepared statement. “We are immensely grateful to our panelists for taking the time to speak to us about their experiences and share how the City of Kyle can work to recognize Hispanic and Latino communities.”

The Kyle Police Department and the Kyle Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association will be co-hosting the city’s National Night Out event from 6 to 9 p.m., Oct. 5, at the Kyle/Buda VFW Post #12058, 103 S. Front St. The Police Department is also encouraging community members to celebrate National Night Out by hosting parties in their own neighborhoods to enhance the relationship between the community and law enforcement, the city said in a statement issued Friday.

“We believe National Night Out is a great way to facilitate and promote heathy police-community relations,” Kyle Police Department Officer James Plant, who is heading up the city’s National Night Out program, said in the city’s statement. “This event not only creates a sense of camaraderie between the police and citizens but also allows residents to build positive relationships with each other.”

Residents planning to host their own National Night Out event can register it with the Kyle Police Department by completing and filing the form that can be found by clicking here anytime before 5 p.m. Thursday. Registering allows law enforcement to know the location of the party and send police, firefighters and EMS to join the celebrations.

A vaquero is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that originated on the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in Mexico from a methodology brought to Latin America from Spain. The vaquero became the foundation for the North American cowboy. The vaqueros of the Americas were the horsemen and cattle herders of New Spain, who first came to California with the Jesuit priest Eusebio Kino in 1687, and later with expeditions in 1769 and the Juan Bautista de Anza expedition in 1774. They were the first cowboys in the region.

The Kyle Public Library is hosting through Oct. 13 an exhibition called “Vaquero: Genesis of the Texas Cowboy,” created by the Wittliff Collections at the Texas State University  Alkek Library in-San Marcos.

In the early 1970s, Texas historian Joe Frantz offered Bill Wittliff the opportunity to visit a ranch in northern Mexico where the vaqueros still worked cattle in traditional ways. Wittliff photographed the vaqueros as they went about their daily chores that had changed little since those 16th century Mexican cow-herders. Wittliff captured a way of life that can be glimpsed through the 62 digital carbon prints and bilingual narrative text included in this exhibition.

How the City Council Voted Tuesday Night

ANNEXATIONS

    A resolution of the City of Kyle accepting the petition for annexation of 2.548 acres located at 4750 Dacy Lane, setting annexation schedule, providing for open meetings and other related matters.
    Approved 7-0

    A resolution of the City of Kyle accepting the petition for annexation of 37.99 acres located at 301 Bebee Road, setting annexation schedule, providing for open meetings and other related matters. (Editor’s note: A representative of the property owner has filed a request to table this annexation.)
    Motion to table until additional agreements reached approved 6-1 (Flores-Cale dissenting)

APPOINTMENTS

    Consider the nominations and take action to the reappointments of Patricia Snidow, Matthew Chase and Alex Guerra to the Planning and Zoning Commission to fill expired terms.
    Snidow, Chase nominations approved 7-0; Guerra nomination approved 6-0 (Koch absent when vote taken)

    Appoint Krista Piferrer for a position on City of Kyle Ethics Commission.
    Approved 7-0

CONSENT AGENDA

    Discussion and approval of a third addendum to biosolids hauling services agreement with Sheridan Environmental dba Sheridan Clearwater, LLC.
    Approve Plum Creek phase 2, section 3 & 4 preliminary plan 155.04 acres; 399 single family lots and 24 open space lots for property located off of FM 2770 and Kohler's Crossing.
    Authorize the city manager to execute documents as necessary to evidence the city council’s approval of the settlement agreement with certain opioid distributors and manufacturers negotiated by the Texas Attorney General’s Office and approval of the Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and settlement allocation term sheet (known as the “Texas Term Sheet”).
    Approved 7-0

MARY HARTSON PARK

    (Pulled from Consent Agenda) Approve a change order in the amount of $126,065.65 to T.F. Harper & Associates, LP, for additional electrical required at Mary Kyle Hartson Park.
    Approved 7-0

    Approve a proposal by T.F. Harper & Associates, LP, in an amount of $112,361.86 for additional site improvements at Mary Kyle Hartson Park.
    Approved 4-3 (Ellison, Flores-Cale, Koch dissenting)

    Consideration and possible action on the termination of the non-standard form of agreement between the city and Cadence McShane Construction Company, LLC for the multi-story commercial building and Mary Kyle Hartson Park landscaping.
    Approved 6-1 (Mayor Mitchell dissenting)

    Approve a proposal from Barnes Gromatzky Kosarek Architects (BGK Architects) in an amount not to exceed $603,000 for a 15,000 square foot building for design services for the city's 104 S. Burleson capital improvement project.
    Motion to postpone consideration until Oct. 19 meeting so that staff can have the time to formulate a plan to fund the building approved 5-2 (Koch, Bradshaw dissenting)

ZONING

    (First Reading) An ordinance amending Chapter 53 (Zoning) of the City of Kyle for the purpose of assigning original zoning to 318  acres (PUD Zoning - 256 acres to Single Family Attached [R-1-A’]; 43.92 to Apartments Residential-3 [R-3-3]; and 18.38 acres to Retail Service District [RS]) for property located at 700 Bunton Lane and 800 Bunton Lane.
    Consideration postponed until Oct. 5 meeting without an actual motion and vote to do so because of concerns over whether the residential portion of the project adhere’s to the city’s Residential Style Guide.

OTHER ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION

    (Pulled from Consent Agenda) Approval of a citywide trail master plan.
    Approved 6-1 (with a motion to increase the size of construction crews) (Ellison dissenting)

    Consideration and possible action on a request to waive the value-to-lien ratio in the city's PID policy for the Kyle 57 Project.
    Approved 7-0 with the provision that the developer agree in writing to funding the cost of underground utilities.

    Approve a contract with Uber Technologies, Inc., to provide public transit services within the Kyle city limits and other areas as specified in the agreement. (Editor’s note: This contract expands the service area to include select areas just outside the Kyle city limits as well as special vouchers to allow riders to use the program for trips to the Austin Bergstrom International Airport and the Austin VA Clinic.)
    Approved 7-0

    Discussion and possible action to approve employee insurance plans and authorize the city manager to execute any and all documents for implementation of the plan.
    Motion to switch to United Health Care Option 2 on Jan. 1 approved 7-0.

    Authorize the execution of a 12-month professional services agreement with Catalyst Commercial, Inc., of Dallas, for consulting fees not to exceed the amount of $25,000 to provide services related to the activation of key mixed use (“Catalyst” areas or “Vybe” areas) within the City of Kyle for the period of Sept. 1 through Aug. 30, 2022.
    Approved 5-1 (Flores-Cale dissenting, Bradshaw absent when vote taken)

    Discussion regarding proposed code changes to Sec. 11-176, Sec. 11-177, Sec. 41-136, Sec. 53-143 and provide direction to staff to pursue code amendments. (Editor’s note: These code changes would make it easier for food trucks to operate in the city, specifically in the downtown area; reduce the parking requirements for downtown business and multi-family operations; and reduce garage requirements for townhome developments.)
    Motion to authorize changes to all items except those pertaining to food trucks approved 6-0 (Koch absent when vote taken).

    Consider a request from the Southlake Ranch HOA to remove no parking signs on Granite Shoals Drive.
    No action taken.

    Discussion and possible action on implementing a process to create a Human Services Board/Commission to review, advise, and create an equitable and fair process for allocating grant funding to non-profit organizations serving in the Kyle area.
    Evaluation of expectations, from city council and city manager, when presenting direction of council, to staff.
    Discussion and possible action to restructure official city task forces.
    Motion to delay these three items until the Oct. 5 meeting at which time they would be placed at the top of the items listed for individual consideration approved 4-3 (Mayor Mitchell, Bradshaw, Koch dissenting).

    Take action on items discussed in Executive Session.
    No action taken.

 

Strange “vybe” concerning tonight’s city council meeting

My edition of the Webster’s II New Collegiate Dictionary does not include the word “vybe.” According to the Urban Dictionary “vybe” is a word used in the Caribbean but what it says about the word comes across as gibberish to me. It says “vybe” typically refers to “a relationship without the titles. You can vybe with more than one person and then choose, or if the vybe is very serious with the person it's a good idea not to vybe with someone else.” Sure. Fine. Whatever. I can say this for certain, however: there are a lot of “vybes” emanating from tonight’s city council meeting. So many “vybes,” in fact, I really hope the council pulls Item 10 from tonight’s Consent Agenda.

And the “vybes” are not the only reason Item 10 should be pulled.

This item calls for the approval of a “citywide trail master plan.” I’m not sure how the city council and the city staff and everybody else feels about this, but, to me, this is a big freaking deal that deserves much more discussion than it will receive if it remains on the Consent Agenda. We’re talking about a proposed 51-mile, at least, network of trails costing the city, according to a presentation that accompanies the item, the spending of around a half million dollars a year to construct. (The item doesn’t specify how many years it will take to complete, but learning that fact is another reason this item should be pulled.)

These trails will feature such amenities, according to the presentation, as “community gardens, enhance landscaping, benches, swings, ponds, fitness stations, smart light poles, charging stations/ports (for the electronic carts allowed on the trails as well as smartphones, etc.), wi-fi, security cameras, and LED lights.” They will employ culverts and “decorative bridges” to minimize roadway crossings. We’re talking about 12-foot-wide trails (“to accommodate golf carts and other neighborhood electric vehicles”) with two-foot buffers on each side “for additional safety and utility placements.” Like I said: This is a big freaking deal.

And I haven’t even mentioned how the “vybes” are involved.

I’m not exactly sure that a “vybe” is. I am convinced it is a made-up, PR word, similar to the term “Metroplex” some PR braintrust coined to label the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area many decades ago. Here’s how an attachment to the Consent Agenda item introduces and explains the word:

“The Kyle trail system is an extension of the city’s park system, and is meant to connect people to recreation, commerce, and neighborhoods. Every resident of Kyle should be able to access the trail from a trailhead that is close to them. Every resident should have access to commercial nodes, or Vybes, that offer a unique experience of shopping, dining, relaxation, and fun. This connection to Vybes has led to the recommended name of the trail system as The Vybe Kyle. The Vybe employs a new term labeled TOD: Trail-Oriented Development. In other words, shopping centers, restaurants, neighborhoods, parks, and other areas along the trail should be oriented toward the trail rather than the automobile. Indeed, we believe that foot traffic equals retail sales and proximity to people equals experiences. Developments along the Vybe are encouraged to face the trail as well as to provide destination place-making activities. … Kyle residents deserve the highest quality of life which they will be able to obtain via The Vybe. The Vybe is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a living system that continues to grow with more individual Vybes and greater use.”

Any questions?

Trouble is, council members won’t have the opportunity to ask any questions and, thus, further inform and educate us, the great unwashed, about what this is all about unless the item is pulled from the Consent Agenda.

But wait, there’s more. The presentation contains additional information about the “vybes,” such as:

“Individual Vybes should be unique to the developments where they are located. Much latitude is provided to each development to encourage variety and attraction, but each Vybe is encouraged to include: decorative pavers in the herringbone configuration, raised speed tables, grand entry signage, sufficient golf cart and vehicular parking, and charging stations. To encourage continuity along The Vybe and avoid visitor confusion, all Vybes should include activities throughout the day until 9 p.m. Certain restaurants and other retail may open early and close later.”

And:

“The Vybe will feature multiple distinct environments such as urban, natural, wooded, residential, commercial, etc. Vybes may also include unique signage, raised speed tables with the herringbone brick pattern (Kyle Style), art installations and other features to differentiate themselves from other Vybes. Along The Vybe certain features may include community gardens, enhanced landscaping, benches, swings, ponds, fitness stations, etc. To encourage visual variety as well as to enhance safety, long sections of trail should be built with a slight serpentine design.”

Hold on! Wait a minute! Just when I think “vybes” are distinct entertainment-type centers scattered around the city that are all connected by these trails (or “commercial nodes,” as explained earlier in the presentation) now I’m beginning to wonder if “vybes” are actually the name given to the actual trails:

“Many modes of recreation are allowed on The Vybe, including golf carts, neighborhood electric vehicles, personal scooters, running, jogging, walking, cycling, skateboarding, and roller blading. Any motorized or electric vehicle must be governed at 20 MPH and be street legal to ensure safety. All vehicles must be permitted through the city of Kyle. Individuals 15 years old (with a valid learner’s permit) and older may operate a motorized vehicle on The Vybe. Golf carts always yield to bikes and both to pedestrians … The Vybe is being designed to minimize roadway crossings as much as feasible. Where crossings must occur, safety beacons such as HAWK Signals should be implemented. The Vybe has been planned along greenbelts, under bridges and culverts, along easements, etc. to minimize vehicle conflicts. However, in the event a trail segment cannot be feasibly constructed, motorized vehicles will be able to utilize local roadways at or under 35 MPH while pedestrians will take advantage of narrower sidewalks. Such utilization of existing roadways also reduces construction costs for trail construction. The Vybe is not intended to function as an alternate transportation network.”

That last sentence contains the nugget of my concern: If the Vybe "is not intended to function as an alternate transportation network," how is it supposed to function? To be precise, what exactly is a Vybe? Is it a “commercial node” containing “shopping, dining, relaxation, and fun,” or is it the actual trail? Will someone please give the public a definition of this word that we can wrap our minds around and thus understand the structure of the entire proposed trail system? Will someone on the council please pull this item from the Consent Agenda so we can find out everything we need to know about “Vybe” and understand and digest completely the “citywide trail master plan”? It really is a big freaking deal — too big and too complex to shrug off in such a cavalier fashion.

Groundbreaking planned for public safety center

Proposed public safety center — “the most unique and the best building that Kyle has ever built.” 

Ten days after the City Council voted unanimously, in spite of concerns raised by member Yvonne Flores-Cale, to spend $30 million and change to build a new public safety center, the city will be holding groundbreaking ceremonies at the Kohlers Crossing site of the new structure.

The $30,139,839 “not-to-exceed” contract awarded by the council Tuesday to Bartlett Cocke General Contractors is significantly less than the $37 million voters approved last November in a bond election for the purpose of “planning, designing, constructing, improving and equipping of a public safety facility.”

Flores-Cale’s objections revolved around the fact that, according to the plans for the building approved by the council’s vote, approximately a fourth of the first floor and more than half of the second floor of the proposed building will be set aside for use by city staff members who are not part of the police department. For all practical purposes, at least a third of the public safety center will actually be overflow from city hall.

“The police department deserves better,” Flores-Cale said. “They deserve to have a building that is a hundred percent their own.”

College Station's police facility

She said the city should have followed its original plans to copy the police headquarters in College Station “because that was something our officers liked.”

“So to go in there and take a third of it or 22,000 square feet and dedicate it for city staff I think is irresponsible,” she said. “Now it’s even going to be more money when staff leaves. It’s going to cost the taxpayers more to rebuild that building the way it was originally supposed to be.”

Council member Robert Rizo countered “This building was approved by voters as a public safety center, not just a police department. We picked a bigger building (than College Station’s) so we could alleviate two needs that we have in our city and eventually the police department will incorporate the entire building.”

“The reason I would not want to use the exact same College Station plans is because we knew from the start we wanted to modify something that was out there for Kyle and Kyle’s needs,” council member Dex Ellison said. “We’re not College Station. We’re not that same community. We wanted to provide a public safety center that was unique to Kyle and the needs that our police department has.”

Ellison said the center will be “a modern and unique and advanced building that will last for decades to come … It will be the most unique and the best building that Kyle has ever built.”

Mayor Travis Mitchell said he was “humbled and proud” to vote for the contract.

“I can imagine (the center) will become more and more a part of our recruitment (for new police officers),” Mitchell said. “We want the best officers and that’s a big part of what this is designed to bring to us.”

“It’s a very exciting time and I am very excited to see this building finally go up,” Captain Pedro Hernandez, a 25-year veteran of the Kyle Police Department, told the council. “It’s a long time coming. I am excited. It’s going to be the best looking building in Hays County. I am confident of that.”

The groundbreaking ceremonies will take place a week from today from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at 1760 Kohlers Crossing, the city said Thursday in an official announcement. Parking will be available on Marketplace Avenue.

Suppose they held a city council meeting and nobody came

 Only three council members, two in person, showed up Wednesday night to attend the city council agenda meeting recessed from the night before, so the meeting was immediately adjourned for lack of a quorum. No word yet on when the eight items that were not taken up at Tuesday’s meeting would be considered.

District 6 council member Michael Tobias, who made the recommendation Tuesday night to resume the meeting Wednesday and whose last words on the dias Tuesday were “I can be available” for a Wednesday meeting was one of those who failed to appear.

Council members Robert Rizzo and Dex Ellison were on the dias Wednesday night and Yvonne Flores-Cale checked in remotely.

Those items that failed to be considered included the annexations of 2.548 acres located at 4750 Dacy Lane and 37.99 acres of the so-called “Caraway Tract” at 301 Bebee Road (although a request to indefinitely table this requested annexation was filed by a representative of the applicant); a request for a Comprehensive Plan amendment to add warehouse and construction manufacturing zoning districts to the Regional Node land use district in the Comprehensive Plan; a request from the Southlake Ranch homeowners association to remove no parking signs on Granite Shoals Drive; and the possible creation of a Human Services Board/Commission “to review, advise, and create an equitable and fair process for allocating grant funding to non-profits organizations serving in the Kyle area.”

Police apprehend wastewater treatment thieves following chase

 I’m late with this story, which actually occurred on Saturday, because it has taken me a while to track down various details and examine apparent geographical issues. But the short version of this story is police foiled an attempt Saturday by two men to steal more than $26,000 worth of equipment from Kyle’s wastewater treatment plant expansion construction site.

Now for the long version: 

According to an announcement from the city Wednesday, “on Saturday at 5:43 p.m., Kyle Police Department officers were dispatched to the 400 block of Heidenreich Lane for a burglary in progress at the City of Kyle Wastewater Treatment construction site.”

OK, so the 400 block of Heidenreich Lane is approximately 1.2 miles from the where construction is currently underway to expand the city’s wastewater treatment plant, but there is a road that leads from the southwest corner of the plant out to Heidenreich, so there’s that.

“Officers arrived on scene and observed a black Chevrolet Avalanche on site,” the city’s statement said, without specifically stating exactly what that “site” was. But, if it was around 400 Heidenreich, that’s on the corner FM 150, which, again, is more than a mile from the wastewater treatment plant. “When officers attempted to make contact with the occupants, the vehicle fled. A pursuit ensued through the construction area into the Waterleaf subdivision and Cool Springs, and eventually onto northbound Interstate 35.”

So I guess what happened is the folks in the Avalanche turned around, and tried to escape by driving back northeast on Heidenreich, took that left that leads back into the wastewater treatment plant, exited the plant into Waterleaf on New Bridge Lane, eventually made it back to FM 150 and headed north to I-35, then exited the interstate at the very next opportunity. But, again, that’s a guess.

“The vehicle exited I-35 at the 215 mile marker and crashed into a light pole on I-35 west access at Kyle Parkway,” according to the city’s statement. “The two occupants in the vehicle then fled on foot.”

The infamous Spectra Rotating Laser

They didn’t get very far. One of the would-be thieves was arrested in the drive-through lane at the Wendy’s right at the corner of I-35 and Kyle Parkway and his cohort was nabbed in the adjacent Walmart parking lot. Police found the loot in the abandoned Avalanche. The would-be thieves were identified as Jose Alberto Celestino-Fierro, 32, and Juan Garcia, 44, and, following a quick medical checkup at Ascension Seton Hays, just across Kyle Parkway, they were booked in Hays County Jail on charges of theft of property valued between $2,500 and $30,000, evading in a motor vehicle, evading arrest and criminal trespass.

The inventory of what they actually took amounted to $26,200, the city said today, and included a saw valued at $7,500, a compactor worth $5,500, a generator worth $3,500, and something called a “Spectra Rotating Laser,” which, according to some research I conducted is used for leveling, and has a price tag of $2,500. The haul also included a couple of $100 weed eaters and a $250 drill.

“We may never know what the intent was for this particular theft but we do know that construction sites are often targeted for equipment like the items stolen from the Wastewater Treatment plant site,” a city spokesperson said today. “What I can confirm is that those arrested were not former employees.”

How the city council voted Tuesday night

(Editor’s Note: Shortly after midnight, the council voted to recess this meeting until 8 p.m. tonight. Those items that were not considered are noted with the designation “Consideration postponed for 24 hours.”)

CONSENT AGENDA
Item: 7: A resolution of the city council accepting the Cypress Forest Phase 3B Subdivision improvements: finding and determining that the meeting at which this resolution is passed was noticed and is open to the public as required by law.
Item 8: A resolution of the city council accepting the Cypress Forest Phase 4B Subdivision improvements: finding and determining that the meeting at which this resolution is passed was noticed and is open to the public as required by law.
Item 9: Authorize the chief of police to execute a memorandum of understanding with the Office of the Texas Attorney General for the purpose of continuing participation as a member of Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Item 11: Authorize award and execution of a purchase order to Cedar Hills Construction, LLC, Leander, lowest and most responsible bidder, in an amount not to exceed $456,665.99 which includes a 5 percent contingency for the Schlemmer and Porter Wastewater, Phase 1 improvement project.
Item 12: Approval of work order No. 145535 between Pedernales Electric Cooperative, Inc., and the city for an amount not to exceed $29,876.51 for electrical service installation to Heroes Memorial Park located near intersection of Kohlers Crossing and FM 1626.
Item 13: Approve an additional service request No. 3 with Nudge Design in an amount not to exceed $9,500, increasing the total contract amount to $656,200 for the design/engineering for an 8-inch reclaimed water line extension for Heroes Memorial Park.
Approved 7-0

ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION

ANNEXATIONS

Item 34: A resolution of the city, accepting the petition for annexation of 2.548 acres located at 4750 Dacy Lane, setting annexation schedule; providing for open meetings; and other related matters.
Consideration postponed for 24 hours

Item 37: A resolution of the city accepting the petition for annexation of 37.99 acres located in Hays County, setting annexation schedule; providing for open meetings and other related matters. (Editor’s note: A request to indefinitely suspend this annexation was filed by a representative of the applicant.)
Consideration postponed for 24 hours

APPOINTMENTS

Item 31: Consideration of the reappointment of Amanda Stark to Seat 5 of the Park & Recreation Board for a two-year term to expire Sept. 30, 2023. (Editor’s note: Stark is currently the Park Board chair, serving in her second term.)
Approved 7-0

Item 32: Consideration of nominations of Morgan Harrell (for a second term), Susan Reyna (for a second term) and Gracie Rocha (for a third term) for reappointments to the Library Board to fill expired terms.
Approved 7-0

MASTER PLANS

Item 19: Approval of Transportation Master Plan.
Approved 6-1 (Tobias dissenting)

Item 20: Presentation on a citywide Trail Master Plan. 
No action taken

Item 27: Approve a proposal from Barnes Gromatzky Kosarek Architects in an amount not to exceed $215,000 for professional services for downtown master planning and city-wide design standards.
Approved 6-1 with an amendment to direct staff to bring a budget amendment to council reflecting the $215,000 expenditure (Mayor Mitchell dissenting)

PIDs

Item 24: Approve a resolution authorizing and creating the Kyle 57 Public Improvement District within the City.
Approved 7-0

Item 25: Approve a deposit agreement with Kyle Mortgage Investors regarding Proposed Kyle 57 Public Improvement District.
Item 26: Approve an agreement with Kyle Mortgage Investors regarding the dissolution of Kyle 57 Public Improvement District.
Items 25 and 26 considered jointly and approved 7-0

PUBLIC SAFETY CENTER

Item: 15: Approval of the guaranteed maximum price in an amount not to exceed $30,139,839 as proposed and guaranteed by Bartlett Cocke General Contractors and authorization to issue notice to proceed for the construction of the city's Public Safety Center facility.
Approved 7-0

Item 16: Consider approval of a site specific declaration of covenants, restrictions, and easements for the Public Safety Center; and authorize the city manager or mayor to execute all documents necessary to accept conveyance of the Public Safety Center site.
Approved 7-0

Item 17: Approval of an agreement with ECS Southwest, LLP in an amount not to exceed $93,233.06 for materials testing in association with the construction of the city's Public Safety Center facility project.
Approved 7-0

ZONING

Item 21: [Postponed 8/3/21] (First Reading) An ordinance amending Chapter 53 of the city for the purpose of assigning original zoning to 10.81 acres to Retail Service District (RS) and 34.83 acres to Multi-Family Residential-3 (R-3-3) for property located at 20139 IH-35.
Motion to postpone until first October meeting approved 6-0 (Mayor Mitchell absent when vote taken)

Item 36: Consider a request for a Comprehensive Plan amendment to add Warehouse (W) and Construction Manufacturing (CM) zoning districts to the Regional Node land use district in the Comprehensive Plan.
Consideration postponed for 24 hours

OTHER ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION

Item 10: (Pulled from consent agenda) Approve an engagement agreement with Tim Austin of Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP for TIRZ consultant services.
Approved 7-0

Item 14: (Pulled from consent agenda) Discussion and approval of a sludge handling services agreement with Wastewater Transport Services.
Motion to postpone until next council meeting approved 7-0

Item 18: Update on the Police Department's Citizens On Patrol program and to seek approval to increase the size of the program from four to eight members as discussed in the recent budget workshop.
Motion to increase the size approved 7-0

Item 22: Approve a contract with Uber Technologies, Inc., to provide public transit services within the Kyle city limits and other areas as specified in the agreement. (Editor’s note: This contract not only involves continuing the Kyle Uber $314 program, but also expanding the service area to include select areas just outside the city limits as well as special vouchers to allow riders to use the program for trips to the Austin Bergstrom International Airport and the Austin VA Clinic.)
Postponed until next meeting without a vote

Item 28: Engage Honeywell on a “Smart Cities” initiative in an amount not to exceed $25,000.
Approved 6-1 (Ellison dissenting) 

Item 29: Approve an agreement with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP in the amount of $172,000 for providing federal legislative advocacy services to the city. (Editor’s Note: Akin Gump, one of the nation’s premier federal lobbying firms, said it would work with the city to (1) develop and implement a strategic plan related to the city’s priority issues; (2) monitor, report and advise on developments within the federal government, including legislative activities; (3) identify and secure federal appropriations, earmarks and grants; and (4) identify opportunities to increase the city’s presence in Washington, D.C.)
Approved 5-2 (Ellison, Tobias dissenting)

Item 30: (Second Reading) An ordinance of the city amending the Code of Ordinances Sec 2-40. – Definitions, sec. 2-43. (Term of Appointment), and Sec. 2-45 (Qualifications); providing exceptions; providing an effective date; and making such other findings and provisions related hereto.
Approved 6-1 (Flores-Cale dissenting)

Item 33: Discussion regarding proposed code changes to Sec. 11-176, Sec. 11-177, Sec. 41-136, Sec. 53-33 (Chart 4), Sec. 53-143 and provide direction to staff to pursue code amendments.
Consideration postponed for 24 hours

Item 35: Consider a request from the Southlake Ranch HOA to remove no parking signs on Granite Shoals Drive.
Consideration postponed for 24 hours

Item 38: Discussion and possible action on implementing a process to create a Human Services Board/Commission to review, advise, and create an equitable and fair process for allocating grant funding to non-profits organizations serving in the Kyle area.
Consideration postponed for 24 hours

Item 39: Evaluation of expectations from city council and city manager when presenting direction of council to staff.
Consideration postponed for 24 hours

Item 40: Discussion and possible action to restructure official city task forces.
Consideration postponed for 24 hours

If it looks, swims and quacks like a duck, is it really a duck?

The basic purpose of a city council Consent Agenda is to group routine, noncontroversial topics into a single agenda item that can be discussed and passed with a single motion and vote. The Kyle City Council uses (and often abuses) the concept of the Consent Agenda at just about each council meeting except those called specifically to handle emergency items and sometimes when the council has called a special meeting to discuss just one subject, such as the annual budget.

There is a strange item on next week’s city council Consent Agenda. It’s the last item on there and it reads: “Discussion and approval of a Sludge Handling Services Agreement with Wastewater Transport Services.”

Here’s the basic overriding question: How, in heaven’s name, can you have a “discussion” on this specific item if it is part of a Consent Agenda. Now such a discussion can be held if this item is “pulled” from the Consent Agenda. Pulling an item from the Consent Agenda is the accepted parliamentary procedure that permits the council to discuss this item separately from the other seven items on the Consent Agenda.

Of course, our city council routine abuses accepted parliamentary procedures so there’s no way to predict what it might do here.

Now here’s a second basic question: As of this writing, Friday at roughly 5:30 p.m., this agenda item contains no backup material. It might facilitate a better-informed  “discussion” if the agenda included the agreement to be discussed. Of course, the city could be trying to prevent the public from reviewing the agreement for whatever reason and therefore passed it on to the council for members’ “eyes-only” viewing. But why engage in that sort of subterfuge? 

Overall, this is simply the wrong way to handle this thing — wrong in so many ways!

Balloons may be scrapped, but accordions are coming

The latest outbreak of the coronavirus may have scrapped by the annual Labor Day Weekend Pie in the Sky festival with its majestic balloons flying all over the place, but, have no fear festival fans: a whole bunch of accordions are coming a week later to take their place.

The city’s Parks and Recreation Department is hosting something it’s calling “the 2021 Squeeze Box Market Day,” featuring J.R. Gomez Y Los Conjunto Bandits, Sunday, Sept. 12, at Gregg-Clarke Park. 

Gomez, from Plainview, was the winner of the Best New Male Artist award at the 40th annual Tejano Music Awards last year, and, along with the Los Conjunto Bandits, won Best New Group of the Year at the same ceremony.

"I actually watched my mom, my dad, my brothers and my sister play in church, and then later on I started performing with my dad in prayer meetings," Gomez told the Houston Chronicle earlier this year. "I got my chance to play with a local band when I was about 9 or 10 years old."

The free event, which opens at 8:30 a.m. and stretches to 7:30 p.m., will feature five other acts “all prominently featuring the squeezebox — also known as an accordion,” the city announced today. “This event will also feature over 30 Kyle Market Days vendors. Attendees are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs and coolers.”

Gomez and his band are scheduled to play at 6 p.m. The rest of the day’s lineup features  Rebecca Jayne at 8:30 a.m.; the Off the Grid Band at 10:15 a.m.; the Conjunto Los Pinkys at noon; Christine Valdez at 2 p.m.; and Conjunto Cats at 4 p.m.

“The City of Kyle is encouraging visitors who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to continue wearing a face covering over the nose … when at city-owned outdoor public spaces and it is not feasible to maintain six feet of distance from someone outside of their household,” the city says on its Market Days website.

The band featured in this video clip, my favorite accordion band, unfortunately will not be playing at the Squeeze Box Market Day, but this may give you some idea of what's in store.