P&Z to (briefly) consider changes allowing for more food trucks in Kyle

First of all, it’s important here to distinguish between what the City calls a "mobile food vendor" and a "temporary food vendor." Here’s the distinction as best as I understand it. A mobile food vendor is someone who dispenses food from a food truck whose mobility is self-contained. In other words, after dishing out hot lunches or cold sandwiches, a mobile food vendor can climb into the driver’s seat of his food truck, put the key into the ignition a drive off. A "temporary food vendor," on the other hand, has to connect the food truck to another vehicle in order to drive it off the lot.

Got it?

The reason I bring all this up is because the Planning & Zoning Commission is scheduled to consider ordinance changes at its 6:30 p.m. Tuesday specially called meeting that would provide different rules for mobile food vendors and temporary food vendors who wish to do business in Kyle. For instance, for some reason I don’t quite understand, a mobile food vendor would only be allowed to remain in one location for an hour before he or she must relocate. A temporary food vendor can remain in the same place for a year. Go figure.

The proposed ordinance contains no restrictions whatsoever on where a mobile food vendor may dispense its goodies. Temporary food vendors, however, are restricted to those areas of the city zoned for retail services and entertainment as well as the Central Business District. In addition, the temporary food vendor must be on "private property where an existing, permanent business operates in a building with a Certificate of Occupancy at all times while the temporary food vendor occupies the property." That, to me, means if this ordinance passes P&Z and later the City Council, I would expect to see a lot more food trucks in the Target, H-E-B, Wal-Mart, Lowe’s and Home Depot shopping areas, particularly since the proposed ordinance also states a temporary food vendor can’t be located "closer than 50 feet from thoroughfares." There’s another provision in the proposal that prohibits one temporary food vendor from being any closer than 150 feet from another temporary food vendor and these lots will give the vendors room to spread out. They must also be at least 150 feet from the nearest residence and these lots provide that buffer as well. (These last two rules don’t apply for temporary food vendors located in areas zoned CBD-2.)

You can take your (leashed) dog with you while getting food from a temporary food vendor but there’s no mention of whether dogs are allowed anywhere in the vicinity of a mobile food vendor.

P&Z, of course, is not the final arbiter on this ordinance. It will only make its recommendation to the City Council on whether it should be passed. A public hearing is scheduled in connection with the discussion of this item, but the P&Z doesn’t appear to be expecting too much citizen input on the subject. The special called meeting during which this as well as other items will be debated is scheduled for all of 15 minutes to be followed by a workshop on other proposed ordinance changes scheduled to begin at 6:45.

“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.

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."

Good news: City can’t fill available job openings

Yesterday, I wrote about how far sales tax revenues were below projections, how it would be nearly impossible to avoid a budget deficit before the fiscal year end, and wondered what could be done to cut expenses or find some other way to meet the charter requirement to balance the budget. This morning, however, I recalled a conversation I had a week or two ago with someone with inside knowledge of the workings of city government, but someone who was speaking to me on a non-attribution basis, who told me the Kyle Police Department was having problems finding candidates to fill the positions added to this year’s budget. I wondered if I could find someone to go on the record with this information and, furthermore, would that "failure" to hire the needed cops be enough to offset the pending budget deficit.

I posed that question early this morning to Police Chief Jeff Barnett and have yet to receive a reply. But, then, Kyle’s chief of police probably has a lot more important things on his plate than responding to questions of this sort. This afternoon, however, I meandered over to City Hall for the workshop being held by the City’s Economic Development and Tourism Board on the subject of Freeport Exemptions (specifically how the school board’s reluctance to grant these exemptions is putting Kyke in a competitive disadvantage for attracting significant business development) and, as luck would have it, City Manager Scott Sellers, who has always been patient and understanding with me throwing questions at him, was also in attendance. After the workshop concluded, I ambled over, sat down next to the city manager and asked him how many of the additional police officers allotted in the most recent budget had been hired. He replied he didn’t know the number and then I told him about what I had written yesterday about the budget deficit.

"There have been a lot of positions filled, but yet there also have been some vacated since the last budget so there are still a number of openings and that does create salary savings,’ Sellers said. "But that’s a very good argument. You’re thinking exactly right that those unfilled positions do help with the overall budget."

I asked whether if it was true the number of police FTEs left open would alone compensate for the deficit.

"There have been other positions that vacated through the year or haven’t been hired yet so salary savings alone will allow us to come in under budge,." Sellers said.

Sales tax revenues plunge City into deficit it may be impossible to get out of

Kyle’s sales tax revenues received this month were whopping $78,000 below projections plunging the city’s coffers into a possible budget deficit that will be difficult, if not impossible, to pull out of by the end of the fiscal year.

Right now the City is looking at a budget deficit of $97,717.46 with three months left in the fiscal year. To make up the deficit, the City would have to average $753,393.82 in sales tax revenues per month during the final three months of this fiscal year and that average figure is $30,868.09 more than the highest total received for any one month this fiscal year. So you can see the problem.

I think the time has come for the City Manager to brief the City Council on plans to make up the deficit.

The easiest way, of course, is not to spend as much as was originally called for in the budget for this fiscal year. But if this is the route the City plans to take, City Manager Scott Sellers needs to inform Council where he feels spending cuts can and should be made. It’s also possible the City has received more than it expected to in property tax receipts, or franchise, court, development and/or rec fees. But the Council should be made aware of that as well.

Sellers may also tell the Council he plans to make up the difference from reserve funds, which is always the last resort because that means the first item on the next fiscal year’s budget is designating money that should go to, for example, expanding and improving the city’s wastewater needs to replenishing the reserve instead.

For the first nine months of this fiscal year, sales tax receipts have exceeded projections only three times, meaning either the projections were far too optimistic or the economy is showing signs of slowing. You would need an economist, which I am definitely not, to argue whether these figures are signs we’re heading into a recession, although all you have to do is study historical economic cycles to know we’re slightly overdue for one.

Here are the actual numbers for June. The City projected $585,000 in sales tax revenues this month; the actual amount received was $506,314,41, which is $78,698.59 or 13.45 percent below projections. Before this month, the worst reporting period the City faced was December when receipts were $43,806.75 or 8.87 percent below projections.

Thinking about Fitzhugh Andrews (and Hogwash)

I know the easiest thing to do is hire a bland, non-offensive rock band few people have ever heard of to headline the first — but what the City hopes will become an annual event — Hogwash Festival that’s scheduled to take place Oct. 21-22 at Gregg-Clarke Park. And that’s exactly what the City did.

At the time the band was hired I wrote an old time fiddler’s contest might have been more appropriate, but the more I’ve thought about this (I think about these things because … well, gee, somebody has to) the more I’ve been thinking an even more appropriate feature of the festival would have been to stage a performance by the winner of the Fitzhugh Andrews Songwriting Competition.

Perhaps you’re not familiar with the Fitzhugh Andrews Songwriting Competition, which is understandable, because it doesn’t exist. Perhaps you might not even be that familiar with Fitzhugh Andrews, which is also understandable because I haven’t seen that many references to this late Kyle resident in the almost two years I’ve lived here.

So, first, for those not familiar with Fitzhugh Andrews, he was a teacher, composer and performer of both classical and popular music, whose family moved to Kyle shortly after Fitzhugh was born (in Buda in 1873) and where he lived until his death in 1961. You can read more about him here.

Now for that non-existent, but should exist Fitzhugh Andrews Songwriting Competition. The individual at the City assigned to hire the bland, non-offensive rock band few people have ever heard of to headline the Hogwash Festival should instead, beginning next year, put out the word through state, perhaps ever national, music channels that the City is soliciting entries for the Fitzhugh Andrews Songwriting Competition. The entries should include recordings of between one and three compositions songwriters have composed that, in some way, involve a piano. It could be anything from a concerto to a pop song in which the singer/songwriter accompanies himself on the piano.

Judges are selected from among the Texas State music faculty, Austin music industry officials, area music critics, etc., and three finalists are selected to participate in the second stage of the competition, which takes place on the first day of the two-day festival. On that day, all three composers get to perform their compositions live and those attending the performances have the opportunity to vote for their favorite. The winner of the contest is awarded $1,000, the second place winner receives $600 and third place gets $400 (the bland, non-offensive rock band few people have ever heard of is being paid $2,000). The winner also gets the opportunity to perform a more extended concert on the second day of the festival.

This makes sense to me because it honors both a Kyle composer who has shamefully gone terribly unrecognized in his own hometown and it might be well promote the career of an up-and-coming composer.

Or you could just stick with the bland, non-offensive rock band few people have ever heard of.

Pardon me, but when I walk out my front door I don’t want to see your rear end

The Planning & Zoning Commission tabled this evening a request from Sac N Pac Stores for a conditional use permit to construct a 17,300 square foot retail center on the I-35 frontage road because the back of its proposed building looked too much like the back of a building.

Now before you go to scratching your head over this, there is sound logic in the P&Z’s decision. In fact, that logic reminded me of the Paul Simon song "One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor."

The proposed building would occupy a space between the frontage road and Old Highway 81, immediately north of East Lockhart Street in downtown Kyle. As proposed by Sac N Pac, the front of the building would face the frontage road and the rear would face Old Highway 81. The problem is city planners envision Old Highway 81 becoming as much, if not more, of a commercial hub than that section of the frontage road (That makes sense because, unlike Highway 81, the frontage road is uni-directional.), but to make that happen, any structure that’s part of that commercial hub must "front" Old Highway 81. At the very least it must give the impression that a front faces that roadway. And the commissioners — all five of them who bothered to attend tonight’s meeting (Dex Ellison and Lori Huey were absent) — were unanimous in their opinion that the developers behind the Sac N Pac proposal hadn’t done that. And Kirk Brumley, the Sac N Pac representative who attended the meeting didn’t dispute the notion; he just seemed a little put out by the idea of having to re-design a building so that, at least, it appears to have two fronts. The commissioners asked Brumley to return with a revised concept at its meeting scheduled for July 26.

Concern about the proposal was first raised by former commission member Mike Wilson during the public comments section of the meeting.

"I think if we allow companies to come in and not develop the back side of that road, then we’re going to lose a whole strip of land that future companies could come in and develop and bring business to," Wilson told the commissioners, "As you get more and more businesses that way that don’t want to promote that side of the road, we’re going to get fewer and fewer people driving that way and fewer possible future development there. I think that’s a critical area of commercial development in Kyle. I think it would be a detriment to that area to have a really large parcel not be aesthetically pleasing on that side of the road."

Chairman Mike Rubsam was even more direct when the item came up on the agenda.

"We’d like to develop Highway 81 and not have it look like it’s an alley," Rubsam told Brumley. "I think the front of your building looks good and I think both ends of your building look good. But, frankly, I am very unhappy with the way the back of it is presented to Highway 81."

When Brumley asked Rubsam what he would like to see different, the chairman shot back "I would like to see something that’s more presentable. It needs to look a whole lot better than it does right now."

In other action during the relatively brief 28-minute meeting, the commissioners:

• Delayed the election of a commission vice chair until its June 28 meeting because of the absence of two commission members
• Okayed an additional parking lot on the Austin Community College campus. The new lot will be hidden from the view of travelers on either FM 1626 or Kohlers Crossing.
• Recommended the City Council get out its giant eraser and obliterate plans for a Wood Ridge Subdivision that was originally planned for 47 acres located between Bunton Creek Road and Kyle Parkway. The proposed Goforth Extension is now planned to go through that property, so any future development would obviously have to take that into consideration.