Goforth Road to get a name change

I can imagine a time back in the 19^th Century when the serpentine path of Goofy Goforth Road actually made sense. Back then, it could have been one of the few trails in the entire county, an isolated, stand-alone pathway really not intersected by any other. It could have served as some necessary, albeit convoluted, distribution/delivery artery for local ranches.

Today, however, it’s a mess. It is, as I have repeatedly said, goofy. It heads off in one direction, only to suddenly veer off in another, gobbling up an already existing roadway in the process and then, after a while, like a cat with a furball, it regurgitates that existing roadway and then heads off, yet again, in an entirely new direction. Like I said, it’s goofy.

But now Goofy Goforth Road is not only getting a physical makeover, thanks to provisions in the 2013 Road Bond package, but it will be getting a substantial name change as well. City Manager Scott Sellers outlined a plan at last night’s City Council meeting to remove the goofiness from Goofy Goforth Road.

Let me try to outline this as simply as I can.

The City Council found enough money in the 2013 bond package to extend that part of Goforth Road that exists between I-35 and Bunton all the way north of Bunton to Kyle Parkway. That extension was dubbed Philomena Road, named after the patron saint of children, priests, virgins and, most apt of all, lost causes.

Under the proposed change Sellers outlined last night, that entire stretch of Goofy Goforth from I-35 to Kyle Parkway will soon bear the name Philomena Road. Bunton will remain Bunton at least all the way from the I-35 frontage road to the eastern city limits. No longer will a small section of Bunton be a part of Goofy Goforth, which will ultimately begin at its current southern terminus at Bunton.

That’s it, in a nutshell.

This proposed change, however logical it is — and, if nothing else, it is definitely logical — is undoubtedly going to be met with fierce resistence from those who have a business concern with an address that is now on Goofy Goforth but will soon become either Philomena or Bunton. They will voice their opposition based on the costs involved in the address-change process, including, but certainly not limited to, the printing of all new stationery, business cards, direct mailers, invoice forms — any business tool that bears the old street name. I have personally witnessed what I originally perceived to be the firm resolve of a city council wither under such a barrage of opposition. But that usually happens only when the proposed name change is being made solely to recognize and somehow venerate the name of some obscure historical figure or a recently deceased community activist certain council members feel is deserving of such permanent recognition.

This proposal, I think, should come to its logical, non-goofy, conclusion.

In other matters last night:

• Rick Coleman, the owner of the property that currently contains the now defunct Central Texas Speedway, informed the council he has been engaged in conversations with a minor league baseball team that could lead to the construction of a baseball stadium on the site. He made this revelation during discussions over whether the council should approve an electronic sign permit that would allow him to erect a variable message billboard on the property adjacent to the northbound I-35 frontage road. He said that was one of the reasons he desired moveable images on the sign, so that he could feature live transmittals of the baseball game on the billboard. He also suggested if the baseball deal doesn’t work out he might locate a shopping complex on the property and use the billboard as a space for the complex’s tenants to advertise. In the end, the council voted 5-2 to approve the permit with council members Travis Mitchell and Shane Arabie voting in opposition on the legitimate grounds that billboards in general don’t add to the aesthetic Kyle is striving to achieve and maintain. Coleman did acknowledge the electronic billboard will feature a static sign attached to the bottom of it and facing the south that says something along the lines of "Welcome to Kyle." However, the billboard itself will project in both directions and nothing was mentioned about what, if anything, would be on the reverse side of the static sign.
• The council witnessed a moving presentation from Hays High School student Madalyn Raymond who has found the courage to use a disability as a tool to help others. I am planning on writing more about Ms, Raymond’s presentation at a later date.
• Voted 5-0 (council members Mitchell and Daphne Tenorio each cited conflicts that required they recuse themselves from the debate) to approve on first reading the much talked about amendments to the I-35 Overlay District that would prohibit any additional outdoor displays and sales of new and used motor vehicles, manufactured homes, RVs, etc., along the interstate corridor.
• After postponing actions on three items until they could be discussed during a comparatively brief 37-minute executive session at the end of last night’s meeting, the council (1) voted 6-1 to approve an amended development agreement for the Sunset Hills Subdivision, (2) voted 6-1 to approve on first reading a companion piece to rezone the property where the aforementioned subdivision will be situated with the provision the City employ imminent domain, if required, to secure the easement for a gravity-driven wastewater line from the subdivision, and (3) voted 7-0 to approve a development agreement with Blanco River Ranch in spite of objections raised earlier in the meeting by the owners of the nearby Nance Ranch development.
• City Engineer Leon Barba told the council the Burleson Street road bond improvements are being delayed because work still needs to be done on obtaining an easement at the railroad crossing. "What we don’t want to happen is have our contractor start and then has to wait on the railroad to finish the work," Barba said. "From what I understand it takes them at least six months or hopefully less to get the materials ordered. The plans are ready to go. We’re ready to go. We just need to get these easements wrapped up to make sure the railroad gets their work started." He also said work on Bunton is expected to be completed by September and once that is completed work will commence on the Lehman Road rehabilitation.
• The council voted 6-1 to make the recently annexed Winfield Inn a conforming use. Council member Becky Selberra cast the one negative vote because, she said, she felt the owners of the property had not had sufficient discussions with neighboring property owners about the change.
• The council unanimously approved a zoning change that would permit live music concerts outdoors on the property that once housed the Down South Railhouse on the south side of Center Street between the railroad tracks and Old Highway 81. Immediately after that, they denied in a unanimous decision a zoning request from someone who wanted to take some land on the west side of the aforementioned I-35 Overlay District to allow for construction manufacturing.
• The council also approved a $100,000 reimbursement agreement with Union Pacific Railroad that could lead to the implementation of "quiet zones" at railroad crossings located at Roland Lane, Opal Lane, South Street and Center Street. These quiet zones would require the addition of gates, medians and any other devices needed to prevent motorists from trying to cross the tracks in the path of an oncoming train. Mitchell cast the one vote against the measure, arguing the expenditure should have been a part of the fiscal year budget so that the council wouldn’t have to vote on a budget amendment to provide the required funding, He said he immediately regretted his vote when Mayor Todd Webster jokingly dubbed Mitchell "as being solidly in favor of train horns."