How the council voted Tuesday night

 CONSENT AGENDA

• Item 9: Authorize the City's Director of Finance to dispose through an auction facility four (4) City-owned police vehicles determined to be surplus vehicles by the Police Department.
• Item 10: Authorize the City's Director of Finance to dispose through an auction facility eleven (11) City-owned vehicles determined to be surplus vehicles by the Public Works Department.
• Item 11: Approve an extension of contract term with Sheridan Clearwater DBA Sheridan Clearwater, LLC, Austin, Texas, to expire March 7, 2022, with no increase in service rates and charges for sludge pressing and bio-solids disposal services at the City’s wastewater treatment plant and declare this procurement is necessary to protect the public health and safety of Kyle residents and to protect the environment.
• Item 12: Authorize award and execution of a Purchase Order to Hydropro Solutions, Georgetown, Texas, in an amount not to exceed $18,700.00 for the purchase of three (3) SmartCover sensors to monitor gravity flow, and inflow and infiltration of stormwater entering wastewater manholes.
• Item 13: Approve Amendment No. 1 to the contract with Burgess & Niple Inc.,  Austin, Texas, in an amount of $286,600.00 increasing the total contract amount not to exceed $1,268,160.00 for providing professional additional engineering services for design and construction administration services for a new permanent dewatering facility at the wastewater treatment plant.
• Item 14: Approve Plum Creek Regional Detention - Site Plan (SD-20-0075) limits of construction for 81.86 acres, construction entrance is located at 3251 S. FM 1626.
• Item 15: Approve Plum Creek Phase 2, Section 6 & 10 Grading Improvements - Site Plan (SD-20-0080) limits of construction for 92.43 acres, construction entrance is located at 3251 S. FM 1626.
• Item 16: Approve Plum Creek Phase 1, Section 12C - Final Plat (SUB-20-0150) 6.708 acres; 1 Lot and ROW for property located on the southwest corner of Kohler's Crossing and FM 1626.
• Item 17: Authorize award and execution of a Purchase Order to Sunbelt Rental, New Braunfels, TX in an amount not to exceed $20,874.94 which includes a fifteen (15) percent contingency for the rental of a stand-by diesel powered generator to be used at 1626 booster pump station for the Public Works Department.
• Item 18: Approve an extension of contract with High 5 Promotions to expire September 31, 2021, with no increase in rates and service charges for YouTube and Google product optimization.

Approved unanimously

ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION

• Item 19: First Reading) Consideration and Possible Action on an Ordinance of the City of Kyle Making a Finding of Special Benefit to the Property in the 6 Creeks Public Improvement District; Providing for the Method of Assessment of Special Assessments Against Property in Improvement Area #2 of the District; Approving an Assessment Roll for Improvement Area #2 of the District; Levying Assessments Against Property Within Improvement Area #2 of the District; Providing for Payment of the Assessments; Providing for Penalties and Interest on Delinquent Assessments; Establishing a Lien on Property Within Improvement Area #2 of the District; Approving a Service and Assessment Plan; Providing for Related Matters in Accordance with Chapter 372, Texas Local Government Code; Providing an Effective Date; and Providing for Severability.

Approved unanimously, second reading waived

• Item 20: (First Reading) Consideration and Possible Action on an Ordinance Authorizing the Issuance of the City of Kyle, Texas Special Assessment Revenue Bonds, Series 2020 (6 Creeks Public Improvement District Improvement Area #1 Project); Approving and Authorizing an Amended and Restated Indenture of Trust, a Bond Purchase Agreement, a Limited Offering Memorandum, a Continuing Disclosure Agreement, and Other Agreements and Documents in Connection Therewith; Making Findings with Respect to the Issuance of Such Bonds; Providing an Effective Date; and Accepting and Approving an Amended and Restated Service and Assessment Plan and an Updated Improvement Area #1 Assessment Roll.

Approved unanimously, second reading waived

• Item 21: (First Reading) Consideration and Possible Action on an Ordinance Authorizing the Issuance of the City of Kyle, Texas Special Assessment Revenue Bonds, Series 2020 (6 Creeks Public Improvement District Improvement Area #2 Project); Approving and Authorizing an Indenture of Trust, a Bond Purchase Agreement, a Limited Offering Memorandum, a Continuing Disclosure Agreement, and Other Agreements and Documents in Connection Therewith; Making Findings with Respect to the Issuance of Such Bonds; Providing an Effective Date; and Accepting and Approving an Amended and Restated Service and Assessment Plan and an Updated Improvement Area #2 Assessment Roll.

Approved unanimously, second reading waived

• Item 22: Regional Stormwater Facilities Cost Sharing Agreement with North Hays County Municipal Utility District No. 2 , Plum Creek Development Partners, Ltd., Mountain Plum, Ltd., and Lennar of Texas Land and Construction, Ltd.

Approved unanimously

• Item 23: Consider Approval of an Agreement Regarding Roadway and Drainage Improvements between the City of Kyle and the La Salle Utility District No. 1.

Approved unanimously

• Item 24: Consider Approval of an Agreement Regarding Roadway and Drainage Improvements – Spooner Tract between the City of Kyle and Sandera Land Development Company, LLC. 

Approved unanimously

• Item 25: (Second Reading) An Ordinance amending Chapter 53 (Zoning) of the City of Kyle, Texas, for the purpose of assigning original zoning to approximately 128.58 acres of land from Agriculture ‘AG’ to Single Family Residential-3 ‘R-1-3’ and approximately 30.27 acres of land to Residential Townhome ‘R-1-T’ and approximately 20.37 acres of land to Community Commercial ‘CC’ for property located off of E. Post Road, just north of Quail Ridge Subdivision, in Hays County, Texas. John H. Spooner Revocable Trust - Z-20-0061)

Approved on a 5-2 vote (Tobias, Flores-Cale voting no)

• Item 26: Consider and possible action regarding entering into a design build contract with Cadence McShane for 104 S. Burleson.

Approved on a 6-1 vote (Flores-Cale voting no)

• Item 27: Consider a request for three (3) waivers to allow a two-lot subdivision in the City of Kyle’s Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction at 2400 Windy Hill Road. (Jacobo Subdivision - SUB-20-0157)

Approved unanimously

• Item 28: A Resolution of the City of Kyle, Texas, Accepting the petition for annexation of 29.792 acres, more or less, of land located in Hays County, Texas; setting an annexation schedule; providing for open meetings and other related matters. (ANNX-20-0007 - Casetta Ranch, Jansen Addition Development Agreement)

Approved unanimously

• Item 29: Consider Approval of an Addendum to the Development and Annexation Agreement for the Texas Lehigh Properties.

Approved unanimously

• Item 30: Direct the city manager to negotiate an agreement with AGCM Inc. for Owner's Representative Services for the Kyle Public Safety Center.

Approved unanimously

• Item 31: Consider approval of an Encroachment Agreement between Lower Colorado River Authority, North Hays Municipal Utility District No. 2 and The City of Kyle.

Approved unanimously

• Item 32: Consider a request by Rick Hanna, The Blackburn Group, LLC to have a front setback exception granted per Sec. 53-33(k)(Chart 1)(9), to reduce the front setback for certain residential lots in the Brooks Ranch subdivision located directly behind and southwest of the homes on Mather (Plum Creek) and W FM 150.

Approved unanimously

Koch gets second term as mayor pro tem

The City Council voted unanimously last night to award District 5's Rick Koch a second consecutive one-year term as mayor pro tem after the only other person nominated — District 3's Robert Rizo — declined the nomination because of family health concerns.

The council also named freshman council member Yvonne Flores-Cale to represent the city on CAPCOG’s General Assembly. Two other appointments received zero interest from council members.

After Rizo nominated Koch as mayor pro-tem, Dex Ellison said he would like to nominate Rizo for the council’s No. 2 position behind the mayor, but Rizo declined. “It would be an honor to serve as mayor pro tem,” Rizo said. “Unfortunately, at this time, our family has some issues we’re dealing with healthwise and it might take some of my time … so at this time I would have to decline.”

No one on the council volunteered to replace former council member Tracy Scheel on the board of the Alliance Regional Water Authority, the organization created to meet the San Marcos-Kyle-Buda region’s water needs. It is expected the Public Works Department will put forward the name of a staff member to serve that role at the next council meeting Jan. 5. Likewise, no one on the council wanted to be a part of Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), which serves Hays, Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Travis and Williamson counties. Kyle’s participation in CAMPO currently is largely ceremonial, but that is expected to change following the certification of the 2020 Census, which should boost Kyle’s official population over the 50,000 mark and thus make the city a voting member of the organization. 

CAPCOG, or the Capital Area Council of Government, is, according to its website, “an advocate, planner and coordinator for important regional issues in the ten-county Capital Area. It works directly with its member local governments to recognize opportunities for cooperation and eliminate unnecessary duplication in emergency communications, elderly assistance, law enforcement training, criminal justice planning, solid waste reduction, homeland security planning, infrastructure development, transportation planning and economic development.”

It is also an opportunity to rub shoulders with neighboring government movers-and-shakers, although, at present, most of those shoulders are rubbed virtually. Flores-Cale’s appointment to CAPCOG came six days after the organization’s most recent General Assembly meeting, during which it appointed the members to the organization’s Executive Committee, the 29-member group that really drives CAPCOG. Executive Committee members serve one-year terms from January through December. Missing the Dec. 9 meeting means Kyle won’t be represented on CAPCOG’s Executive Committee until 2022 at the earliest. Ironically, it was Flores-Cale who drove the motion at the council’s Dec. 1 session to wait until after the mayoral runoff to fill the vacancies that were finally acted upon last night.

City to auction street signs, police cars, other vehicles

 Want a 1998 Chevy 3500 diesel that was once a Kyle Police vehicle? How about 2010 Crown Vic or a “retired” Burleson Road street sign? The city is going to be making all these and more available soon to the highest bidders.

The street signs will be available via an online auction that begins Wednesday and ends 6 p.m. Friday. You can click here to see the 23 street signs available and later to bid on one or more of them just in time to give to someone on your holiday gift list. Potential bidders must submit credit card information to create an account and each bid has to be in $30 increments.

“These signs come from all over the city back into the hands of the Public Works Department from being retired, from streets being renamed or redone, and rather than sit and gather dust in our warehouse, we’d rather them be offered to the public to own a small piece of Kyle,” Public Works Director Harper Wilder said in a prepared statement released by the city last night.

Winning bidders will be able to retrieve their signs at City Hall between 4 and 6:30 p.m. Dec. 21 and 22, or at other times and dates by appointment. Winners can also pay extra for shipping, according to the city.

I have no idea when or where the various vehicles will be available at auction. All I know is that the city council’s Consent Agenda for Tuesday contains two items authorizing that the city dispose of the following vehicles through an auction.

• 2010 Ford F350 
• 2010 Ford Crown Victoria
• A pair of 2009 Ford F350s
• 2009 Ford Crown Victoria
• 2008 Ford Crown Victoria
• 2005 Ford Crown Victoria
• 2004 Ford Crown Victoria
• 2002 Ford F350
• 2001 Dodge Ram 1500
• 2001 Ford Ranger
• 2000 Ford F150 XL
• 1999 Ford F150
• 1999 Ford Ranger
• 1998 Chevrolet 3500 Diesel

In addition to the 1998 Chevy, the 2005 Crown Vic, the 2001 Dodge Ram and the 2000 Ford F150 XL are all police vehicles. The others are no-longer-desired Public Works vehicles. I would recommend anyone interested in the auto auction(s) contact the city’s Communications, Public Works and/or Police departments to get more information.

New name for (late, not lamented) Rebel Drive is obvious

 Hopefully, everyone by now knows the story of Rebel Drive/Fajita Drive and I see no reason to relitigate all that mess once again. That’s history. Not pleasant history, arguably, but history. What I want to discuss here is “Where do we go now?,” and, to me, the answer to that question is obvious.

It is worth noting that the Kyle City Council named a committee comprised of every single person who applied to serve on that committee to recommend a name to replace what that less than three-mile section of FM 150 between Old Stagecoach Road and Center Street used to be called. It doesn’t mean the council has to adopt one of those names, and, from the list of names reportedly being suggested, I sincerely hope the council quickly consigns every single one of them to the nearest trash barrel. Here are, according to published reports, the eight names the committee is considering:

• Albert Taylor Street
• Dr. James H. White Drive
• Driftwood Drive
• Freedom Way
• Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
• Resilience Drive
• Silvestre S. Herrera Drive
• Veterans Drive

I doubt if anyone takes the suggestion of White Drive to replace Rebel Drive seriously, unless the goal is to make Kyle the laughing stock of the entire free world. So that name should be out the window immediately. The argument I’m hearing for Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. is that all other cities have such a street, why shouldn’t Kyle. The answer is all those other cities, for the most part, are considerably larger and far more urban than Kyle. For a city such as this one, applying the name Mahatma Gandhi Drive would make just as much sense as calling it Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.  When I hear the name Albert Taylor, I immediately recognize him as the author of A Guide to Out-of-body Experiences and that eliminates that name, in my book, unless you want Kyle associated with the word “cuckoo.” I have no idea what Silvestre Herrera’s connection to Kyle is. I associate him with Phoenix, and, in fact, a portion of 3rd Street in Arizona’s largest city has been dubbed “S. Herrera Way.” But without any discernible Kyle connection, that name should also be discarded immediately.

That leaves the four generic names and, again, I ask “Why”? The city is extremely proud, as it should be, of the Heroes Park that will be constructed near the Performing Arts Center that will not only memorialize Armed Forces personnel from Kyle killed in action, but, also, I have been assured, will include the names of any Kyle police officers killed in the line of duty, although we all hope that never happens. Kyle has an active VFW Auxiliary Post 12058 and at least twice each year the city council pauses to pay tribute to the city’s veterans on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. So we don’t need a Veterans Drive as well. When I hear “Resilience Drive,” I immediately want to know exactly what kind of difficulty has Kyle experienced that this name is commemorating the city recovered from. I don’t ever recall hearing about a tornado that leveled the place, or any other horrendous natural or man-made disaster (other than the current pandemic) that the city is well known to have recovered from. Freedom Way, to put it bluntly, is simply jingoism at its most blatant, and Driftwood either connotes another Hays County community or a piece of wood that has been washed ashore, neither of which should be associated with Kyle.

Here’s the amazing thing, however. The obvious new name for the street has been screaming at us all along and we’ve just been too deaf to hear it. The new name is already a part of the name of the road under discussion — RM 150, or, Ranch-to-Market Road 150. Although these Texas rural road designations can be traced as far back as 1937 (the very first farm-to-market road in Texas — connecting Mount Enterprise and a town that was back then known as Shiloh in Rusk County — was completed that year) a coordinated program to connect areas in rural Central and West Texas didn’t really take shape until the Texas Legislature passed the Colson-Briscoe Act in 1949. The expressed purpose of this act was to create a extensive network of roads in rural Texas to allow farmers and ranchers to bring their goods to market.

Think about that for a second and then think that the Ranch-to-Market roads, by design, have an origin at the ranch and their ultimate destination is “The Market.” And when you take that second to think about that, the new name for the street reveals itself: Market Street. It designates Kyle as “the ultimate destination” — the place where the goods and services should naturally flow.

Here are some other pluses. It naturally lends itself to other businesses that may want to locate there -- think Market Street Cafe, to cite just one example. Market Street carries none of the baggage any other suggestion is burdened with.  Philadelphia’s Market Street plays a significant role in that city’s history — some historians have even called it “the most historic highway in the United States.” Benjamin Franklin’s house was on Market Street. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in a boarding house located on Market Street. During their presidential terms, both George Washington and John Adams used the home of financier Robert Morris, located on Market Street, as the official presidential residence, the White House of its day. In fact, today that mansion is known as the President’s House. Spending time on Market Street in San Francisco should be on everyone’s bucket list. Market Street in the Woodlands, north of Houston, is popular shopping destination.

Some might argue Kyle already has a Marketplace Blvd., but, c’mon, that’s not the same thing and it would be on the other side of town. Marketplace Blvd. is simply not the same as Market Street.

To me, Market Street is obvious, is serious, is significant, and, overall, has far more positives and, unlike any other name bandied about, none of the negatives than anything else that has been put forth. I say, end the debate right now. This is not a life-altering event, people; it’s just a street name. Call it Market Street, be done with it and move on to items far more important.

Local mobile COVID testing center now by appointment only

Due to increased volume, the mobile COVID-19 testing site located at the Hays ISD Performing Arts Center will perform tests for the virus by appointment only and no longer accept walkups, it was announced today. The free testing center also announced its holiday schedule.

Persons who wish to make an appointment to receive the free self-administered cheek swabs, the results of which are usually available anywhere from 24 to 48 hours later, can do so by clicking here. Recipients are not required to carry medical insurance to receive the tests.

“At the Kyle Curative testing site for the period of Nov. 25 through Dec. 9, a total of 3,350 tests had been completed with 54.69 percent of those tested residing in the 78640 zip code and the remaining 45.31 percent residing in other zip codes outside of Kyle,” according to the announcement from the city. “Of the 3,350 tests administered in that time period, positive results had been returned for 464 individuals for a 14.89 percent positivity rate.” The announcement stressed “that not all of the 3,350 individuals tested were Kyle residents.”

The city also announced the Kyle testing site will be closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

“The City of Kyle and Hays County are encouraging residents to work to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community, which includes wearing masks, washing hands and staying away from gatherings of people,” the city’s announcement said. 

City to assign police to help control traffic at two Bebee Road intersections

Reacting the angry residents whose commutes have been delayed due to construction in their neighborhoods, the city announced this evening that police officers will be assigned to direct traffic beginning tomorrow for a total of six hours twice a day during the next six weekdays, at the intersections of Goforth and Bebee roads and Bebee and Dacy Lane.

The city’s announcement said the police will be present at those two intersections from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. weekdays and “they will also be present on weekends as needed.” 

The police presence is scheduled to end at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, which is the last day of school before the Christmas vacation, although the city’s announcement added “ police will continue to monitor the traffic” at those intersections “and control it as necessary.”

“Police presence is being provided in addition to temporary traffic signals that have been installed at the Dacy Lane and Bebee Road intersection,” the city’s announcement said.

Mayoral runoff results by neighborhoods

 Amberwood 

• Mitchell 64 (53.33%)
• Tenorio 56 (46.67%)
• Turnout 4.56%

Blanco River Crossing

• Mitchell 61 (68.54%)
• Tenorio 28 (31.46%)
• Turnout 23.99%

Bunton Creek

• Mitchell 27 (58.7%)
• Tenorio 19 (41.3%)
• Turnout 4.62%

Hometown Kyle

• Mitchell 157 (51.31%)
• Tenorio 149 (48.69%)
• Turnout 13.67%

Kensington Trails

• Mitchell 62 (54.39%)
• Tenorio 52 (45.61%)
• Turnout 4.5%

Plum Creek (parts of Spring Branch)

• Mitchell 472 (73.87%)
• Tenorio 167 (26.13%)
• Turnout 11.06%

Post Oak

• Mitchell 96 (60.76%)
• Tenorio 62 (39.24%)
• Turnout 6.48%

Silverado/Old Town/Downtown

• Tenorio 226 (71.29%)
• Mitchell 91 (28.71%)
• Turnout 11.48%

Steeplechase

• Tenorio 149 (56.87%)
• Mitchell 113 (43.13%)
• Turnout 8.08%

Waterleaf

• Mitchell 109 (54.23%)
• Tenorio 92 (45.77%)
• Turnout 6.07%

Kyle Overall

• Mitchell 1,257 (55.4%)
• Tenorio 1,012 (44.6%)
• Turnout 8.6%

Inside the mayoral runoff numbers — Kyle reverts to non-voting status

 Back in November 2015, former Kyle mayor Todd Webster pushed to move municipal elections from May to November. He said at the time it would increase voter turnout, and I fully supported him. In the previous May’s municipal elections, a paltry 4.91 percent of Kyle’s registered voters took the opportunity to participate and in a story I published on Nov. 5, 2015, I wrote: “I will predict that moving Kyle’s municipal elections from May to November, as the mayor so adroitly recommended, will at least double the percentage of voters that now come to the polls here.”

I admit it. I was wrong. It turns out I grossly underestimated how it would effect the turnout. Last month, 58.63 percent of Kyle’s 26,389 registered voters cast ballots in the mayoral election, close to 12 times the percentage that voted back in May of 2015.

The city’s voters, however, reverted back to their non-caring ways when it came this month’s mayoral runoff when only 8.6 percent of the city’s registered voters took part. Of course, that’s a lot closer to the percentage I predicted back on Nov. 5, 2015.

Incumbent Mayor Travis Mitchell, of course, easily won the runoff by a double-digit margin. He won it by controlling 11 of the city’s 18 voting precincts. His runoff opponent, former council member Linda Tenorio (who finished ahead of Mitchell in November, but only by a quarter of a percentage point), won five precincts and two others finished in a tie. One of those two, however, Precinct 228, contains no registered voters in that part of the precinct that is actually located within the Kyle City Limits.

The largest number of runoff voters — 407 of 2269 who voted — came from Precinct 220, which is one of the two Plum Creek voting precincts in Kyle. Mitchell trounced Tenorio in that district, winning 80.59 percent of the votes cast in Precinct 220. Mitchell also won the other Plum Creek precinct, Precinct 221, which also includes a large swath of the Spring Branch subdivision, capturing 62 percent of the votes cast there. Those two precincts, alone, accounted for over a third of Mitchell’s votes.

Precinct 130, which encompasses the Steeplechase subdivision, contains the second most registered voters than any other in Kyle and Tenorio won that precinct, capturing 56.87 percent of the votes cast. However, while 13 percent of the registered voters in Precinct 220 voted this week, only 8 percent voted in Precinct 130. Most of Tenorio’s support came in Precinct 223, which includes Old Town and Silverado, where she supported by 71 percent of those who voted in that precinct.

The most tightly fought race was in Precinct 419, which is basically Hometown Kyle, a precinct Mitchell won by receiving 51.3 percent of the votes cast.

Precinct 126, which encompasses the Waterleaf subdivision, contains more registered voters than any other in Kyle, but only 6 percent of that precinct’s 3,312 registered voters cast ballots in the runoff and Mitchell won 54 percent of those votes.

Mitchell cruises to second term as Kyle mayor

 Incumbent Mayor Travis Mitchell won a decisive victory today for a second term, collecting 55.4 percent of the votes cast to defeat challenger Linda Tenorio, who barely finished ahead of Mitchell in the four-candidate contest in last month.

In a runoff in which 14,204 fewer voters cast ballots than in the November election, Mitchell finished with 1,257 votes to 1,012 for Tenorio. In November, Tenorio edged Mitchell by 42 votes, but fell far short of a majority required to win the election.

“As I said after the November election, runoffs are a very different animal,” Mitchell said as he pulled his car into the driveway of his home after spending election night listening to Christmas music at City Square Park. “I was prepared to work as hard as I could to earn a second term.

“I am very honored and thankful for the opportunity to serve the residents of Kyle for three more years. I will not take that responsibility lightly.”

Mitchell said “delivery of the projects we set up in the first term” will be the focus of his second term.

“We have really done a lot of work over the last several years to get our city in a position to grow responsibly,” Mitchell said. “We have a lot of projects that are ready to go and I’m looking forward to helping shepherd those projects forward responsibly and judicially.”

Mitchell specifically cited Heroes Memorial Park near the Performing Arts Center, Central Park and other downtown landscaping, plus the police station and park projects approved by voters in November.

“We’re working on a lot right now,” the mayor said, adding that completing all of them could be a challenging task. “But I feel our council and our staff are up to the challenge.”

Mitchell thanked Tenorio and her supporters “for their continued efforts to participate in city government and I wish them the best of luck in the future.”

Mitchell on cusp of second term as Kyle mayor

 Incumbent Mayor Travis Mitchell increased his lead over challenger Linda Tenorio as election day results were tabulated by the Hays County Election Bureau. In the most recent tabulations, Mitchell had won 54.96 percent of the vote, virtually an insurmountable lead.

Mitchell leads Tenorio by 178 votes, more than four times the margin between the two in the November election, in which Tenorio led Mitchell by just 42 votes, in an election in which nearly 10 times as many voters cast ballots.

Currently Mitchell has 987 votes to 809 for Tenorio.

Mitchell takes lead in early returns in mayoral runoff

 In a mayoral runoff election that showed a dramatic decrease in turnout from last month’s contest, incumbent Travis Mitchell has captured 52.64 percent of the vote in early returns.

Mitchell collected 784 votes in early voting to 709 for challenger Linda Tenorio and in the first election night voting, Mitchell received four votes to none for Tenorio from one precinct bringing the total to 788 for Mitchell and 709 for Tenorio.

The good news for Mitchell is that last month, Tenorio only received 41 more votes than Mitchell on election day and she will need to perform much better than that — with a lower turnout — to overcome that margin this time.

Only one-tenth of the voters who cast ballots early in November did so in the runoff.