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."

Mitchell vows “very exciting projects” if school board approves freeport exemption

City Council member Travis Mitchell told the Hays CISD school board last night that the board’s vote to approve a freeport tax exemption is personal and "a big one" to the City and that "several very exciting projects" that "can benefit our community in a very meaningful and impactful way" are waiting in the wings should that approval be forthcoming.

Later in the meeting, a city official said one of those projects alone could more than compensate the district for any losses it might incur by granting the exemption.

Mitchell was the only person to speak about the proposed tax exemption during the citizens comments period of last night’s board meeting.

The agenda for the meeting called for "consideration and possible action regarding adoption" of a motion that would exempt certain business inventory from property taxes levied by the school district. However, about an hour before the meeting was to commence, word came down that last night’s meeting was to be a work session only and no action would be taken.

A vote is expected next week, however, and the feeling among observers is the board will approve the exemption, by a 5-2 or even a 6-1 margin. If it does approve the measure, Kyle will achieve the distinction of becoming a designated "triple freeport" community, meaning all three major area taxing authorities — the city, the county and the school district — will have granted this exemption, which essentially exempts non-petroleum related inventory that’s kept within a business for less than 175 days from being subject to property taxes.

Many major business concerns only choose to locate in areas with triple freeport exemptions. These exemptions are, for example, the reason why the Amazon distribution center recently located in San Marcos and Samsung chose Manor for the location of a major manufacturing facility.

The school district has waited a long time to come around to granting the exemptions, party because of objections raised by no-growth board members and community activists, but also because those willing to support it wanted to negotiate separate contracts with eight local companies — CFAN, Goodrich UTC, RSI, Henderson Controls, Southwestern Pneumatic, Cabela’s, Ampersand Art Supply and the Fat Quarter Shop — to phase in the exemptions over a five-year period so that increased state funding during this period would neutralize the loss of revenue resulting from the exemptions. The board was informed last night the district has in its possession all eight signed contracts.

"I’ve spoken to many of you on this issue," Mitchell told the board. "It’s very personal to me and to the City as well."

The councilman acknowledged those from the Kyle Chamber of Commerce, City of Kyle officials and various economic development activists attending the meeting who support the exemption. "This is a big one for us," he said, "and it’s a big one for the school board. We recognize just how thorough you’ve been and find no fault whatsoever in taking time to really make sure you make a wise decision.

"We’ve got several very exciting projects that are waiting patiently for triple freeport," Mitchell told the board. "We look forward to being able to show, if you would support it, just how much that can benefit our community in a very meaningful and impactful way right up front."

Later in the meeting, when school board member Willie Tenorio, a member of the anti-exemption faction, pressed for information on exactly who or what those "exciting projects" were, an extremely hoarse Kyle Economic Development Director Diane Torres told him "The projects that council member Mitchell referred to are still highly confidential. I can speak to the fact that in just one of them it would more than cover the net $48,000 after year five going forward."

E-mail ties Tenorio to basketball team

A copy of an e-mail sent from council member Daphne Tenorio's address cancelling at Kyle Stallions basketball game.

Exactly two weeks before City Council member Daphne Tenorio’s attorney claimed in a letter to the City of Kyle that Tenorio had not purchased the Kyle Stallions semi pro basketball team, an e-mail sent from her personal e-mail account suggests she maintained some form of control over the team.

Tenorio’s possible ownership of the team has raised the question of whether she purchased it based on inside information provided to her solely because of her position on the Kyle City Council. It has been suggested in open City Council meetings that information she was privy to concerning the possible location of a sports complex on city leased land led her to purchasing the team.

Tenorio has asked the city’s Ethics Commission for "an advisory opinion" on the subject, similar, if not identical, to the opinion sought by council member Travis Mitchell from City Attorney Frank J. Garza when Tenorio claimed Mitchell’s company’s practice of doing business with the City constituted an ethics violation. Garza’s written opinion completely exonerated Mitchell.

At first, it was believed the Ethics Commission was going to conduct some form of investigation to determine whether Tenorio may have violated one or more sections of the City’s ethics ordinances by unethically, possibly even illegally, using information she obtained during closed, executive City Council sessions on the subject of this possible new economic development complex for Kyle that would include a venue for the Kyle Stallions for her own personal financial advantage. However, the wording of Thursday’s Ethics Commission agenda — "Discussion and possible action relating to request for an advisory opinion submitted by Council Member Daphne Tenorio on February 21, 2017" and "Discussion and possible action relating to a request for declaratory ruling submitted by Council Member Daphne Tenorio on February 21, 2017" — does not appear, on the surface, to be all that investigatory.

Be that as it may, her maneuver to have this heard by the Ethics Commission stopped, at least temporarily, possible criminal complaints being filed against her, complaints that were to be discussed during a Feb. 21 City Council meeting, but were quashed by Tenorio’s attorney’s filings with the Ethics Commission. City Attorney Frank Garza advised the council any such discussions could be seen as prejudicial to the Ethics Commission.

At that Feb. 21 meeting, Tenorio’s attorney provided a letter to Garza claiming Tenorio did not, at that time, own the team , a claim that seems to contradict Tenorio’s own claims of ownership on Facebook, a story in the Hays Free Press in which she talked about owning the team and, now, this e-mail obtained by The Kyle Report.

If the Ethics Committee is planning any sort of an investigation, it may find it difficult to get any information out of the Stallions organization — given the unlikely scenario that such an organization even functions today — since no one from the organization has responded in any way to my queries about Tenorio’s e-mail, its purpose and its background and, even more seriously, no one from the organization has responded to Lehman High School’s repeated requests to pay the school the money the basketball team owes the school for three past due invoices totaling $669, money that would have to be paid by the team’s owner, whoever that may be.

David L. Bowe, communications specialist for the Hays Consolidated School District, did, however, provide some background on the Tenorio e-mail.

"An e-mail was sent from Lehman High School to a contact for the Stallions asking if gyms were going to be used by the team on Feb. 11th, 18th, and 25^th," Bowe told me. The only response he received was an e-mail that said: "Japan cancelled. So we must cancel our game. :("

That e-mail was dated Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 8:37 a.m. and it indicated it was sent from the e-mail address daphne@tenoriofamily.org, council member Tenorio’s personal e-mail address. Tenorio has also refused my requests to shed additional light on this correspondence.

The e-mail was sent to Michelle Richardson, the athletic secretary at Lehman High School and the individual who appeared to represent the school in its dealings with the Stallions, dealings that turned very sour as the team’s first season in Kyle stumbled to its uncertain end. According to documents obtained by The Kyle Report, in addition to the Tenorio e-mail, the team not only is in hock to the school for $669, but even failed to appear on a couple of occasions when it had reserved Lehman’s gym for home games, leaving the school unguarded and vulnerable.

Things started going south for the Stallions before the end of last year. On Dec. 9, Ester Tavarez, the facility use coordinator and secretary to the director of custodial services at Lehman, received a notification from Evann Radabaugh, the poor sap who appears to be holding a lot of the Stallions’ baggage, especially for the unpaid invoices. Radabaugh, it turns out, is (assuming he still works for the Stallions — and, as I indicated earlier, it’s highly doubtful anyone still works for the Stallions) nothing more than an intern given the title as the organization’s "office administrator," according to the documents obtained by The Kyle Report. The Dec. 9 notification was basically a cancellation notice, which said the Stallions would not need the use of the Lehman gym for games originally scheduled for Dec. 11 and Jan.7.

Richardson tried to learn more about the cancellations by attempting to schedule a meeting with one Rachel Ates, who, at the beginning of the year, was identified as the owner of the Stallions. On Jan. 13, Ates sent Richardson an e-mail that said "Just an FYI, I will not be available on Wednesday, but any other day should be good. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you." Richardson e-mailed back: "Hi! I will respond soon!"

Four days later, on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 3:54 p.m. Richardson e-mailed Ates: "I hope this finds you doing well! Are you available to meet Thursday at 3 p.m." Eighteen hours later, Ates replied: "We are no longer going to continue our ownership of the team at this time. The previous owners are taking it back and will be the ones solely responsible. They are interesting people and good luck with that. Thank you for your time."

You are free to interpret that sentence "They are interesting people and good luck with that" however you want to.

By Sunday, Jan. 29, Richardson had seen and not heard enough.

"I have reached out to the Kyle Stallions several times in the past two weeks requesting an updated schedule," she wrote Tavarez on that date. "They have cancelled games and have ‘no shows’ which has resulted in our facilities being OPEN without personnel on campus. I was informed they have a new team owner and only have two games left for this season. I have yet to receive any schedules or other information. At this point, I feel it is in our best interest to protect our facility by cancelling all events previously scheduled."

The timing of this e-mail that contains the sentence "I was informed they have a new team owner" is fascinating because it is right around the time Tenorio began posting Facebook notifications holding herself out to be the new owner of the Kyle Stallions which led to an interview with Hays Free Press news editor Moses Leos III during which she confirmed she owned the team. "By fielding a call from friend Leticia Luna earlier this year, Tenorio was given, and ultimately accepted, the opportunity to buy ownership of the Kyle Stallions basketball team," Leos wrote in a story that appeared in the newspaper’s Feb. 15 edition.

The Kyle Report also has in its possession copies of the past due invoices, each of which were sent twice to Radabaugh’s attention. One, totaling $350, is for a five-hour rental of Lehman High’s Blue Gym and its concession stands as well as security for Nov,. 5. The second, totaling $225, is for a three-hour rental with a note that said this invoice also covered an "open entry door by the concession stand." According to Bowe, the Stallions have also refused to pay a third past-due invoice for $94, an invoice The Kyle Report has not seen,

City to consider agreement calling for 2,100 mostly smaller than average new homes

The City Council will consider and possibly approve a complex development agreement Tuesday involving annexations, de-annexations, the creation of a PID, design standards, street alignments and a host of other details that ultimately will result in the construction of 1,950 single family residences plus 150 garden homes on approximately a third of the Blanco River Ranch property.

Some 82 percent of the proposed new single family residences will be smaller than the size of the average Kyle home.

The agenda for Tuesday night’s meeting also calls for amending the I-35 Overlay District ordinances the Planning Commission recommended earlier this week along with other zoning changes and a method of financing a study that could lead to a quieter downtown.

The property involved in the proposed development agreement is southwest of the current Ranch Road 150 between Arroyo Ranch Road and North Old Stagecoach Road, basically on the other side of RR 150 from the new Anthem Development. The main entrance into the development will be off North Old Stagecoach. Much of the acreage is in Kyle’s ETJ and the agreement calls for that part of it within the city limits to be de-annexed to facilitate a PID being created for the entire property. A PID outside the city’s limits removes one of a PID’s more onerous features, double taxation. Under the agreement, the land will not be annexed for the 25-year-life of the PID bonds, once all those bonds have been repaid and assessments are no longer required. The proceeds from the sale of the PID bonds will be used to pay for necessary water and wastewater infrastructure.

One thousand of the homes on the 1,950 single family lots planned for the development will be at least 1,2000 square feet, 600 are planned to be at least 1,500 square feet and the other 350 are planned as homes with at least 2,000 square feet of living space. According to realtor.com, the median home size in Kyle is 1,949 square feet.

The 100 proposed detached garden homes, 7 percent of the entire development, will contain at least 1,000 square feet of living space.

Although the city’s zoning ordinances are not applicable to the development since it is located in Kyle’s ETJ, the developers have agreed to comply with the city’s current development standards and design guidelines.

This first phase of the Blanco River Ranch development "will be developed as a master-planned community with substantial park land, open space, greenbelts, trails, park improvements, and amenity center(s)," according Section 2.08 of the Development Agreement.

Another section (3.01) specifies: "Owner will construct and install or cost-participate in the construction and installation of certain public improvements that are necessary for the City to provide water and wastewater service to the property and in the construction and installation of certain road and transportation improvements; landscaping, lighting and signage improvements; park land dedications and park improvements; drainage improvements; and other Public Improvements in connection with the development and improvement of the property. The City agrees to reimburse owner for all sums advanced and paid by owner for such public improvements through bonds issued by the PID to the maximum extent permitted by Chapter 372, Texas Local Government Code, and this agreement."

In a separate agreement Kyle co-negotiated with a utility created by Mountain City, called MC 150, in which Kyle would provide water for the Anthem development, MC 150 agreed to construct a two-million-gallon elevated water tank. The development agreement to be considered Tuesday would allow the Blanco River Ranch owners to share some of that water in return for paying MC 150 a proportionate share of the tank’s construction costs and the over sizing of the proposed water mains from 12 to 16 inches, providing the tank has been constructed by June 30, 2019. If the tank is not completed by that deadline, the Blanco River Ranch owners, according to the proposed development agreement, "may proceed with the design and construction of alternative facilities consisting of a 12-inch water line to be constructed in the FM 150 right-of-way from a point of connection to the City’s existing 12-inch water line at the intersection of FM 150 and Old Stagecoach Road to a booster pump station to be constructed at the location."

This may sound like I’m getting deep into the weeds here, but I thought it might be information worth having for those living along RR 150, north of 2770 and North Old Stagecoach Road.

Other items of note on Tuesday’s City Council Agenda:

• Following Tuesday’s Planning Commission hearing, I gave a lot more thought to the proposed amendments to the I-35 Overlay District which would restrict the type of car sale facilities that could be built in Kyle along either side of the interstate. It would have no affect on current lots. It would only permit new auto sales facilities on the interstate that are completely contained within a building. I see the adoption of this ordinance as providing a unique opportunity for Kyle. I could see a developer converting a tract of land along the interstate into "the Kyle Auto Mart," a horseshoe shaped confluence of a number of different dealers (something like you see pictured here) where a potential new car buyer could simply park in one spot and walk from one dealership to another. I could also see some up to six food trucks located in the open spaces of the horseshoe. I’m not sure there’s anything remotely like that anywhere else. Talk about something that could make Kyle a destination city, although I will also admit a small amount of the bloom fell from this flower when I read in the Austin American Statesman later in the week about how patronage at the Sam Marcos outlet malls has decreased somewhat dramatically of late. But, still …
• I also wrote after last Tuesday’s P&Z meeting, that if the City Council follows the commission’s recommendation and approves retail services zoning for the Winfield Inn property (thus making the Winfield a conforming operation), I would love to see Leslie Moore, the inn’s proprietor, locate a romantic, intimate, semi-upscale restaurant near the inn serving, at the very least, the items Moore features on his seated catering menu at the outdoor wedding facility. "You have read my mind," Moore wrote me after seeing my story on the commission’s meeting "I've been thinking of a way to do that and continue the wedding business at the same time. Once I get through all the technical issues of being annexed into the city I will be working on that dream. I've been searching for other old buildings to move onto the property and exploring the option of just building a restaurant from scratch. Not having city water or wastewater makes it tricky and more expensive but I'm sure my increase in taxes will push me even harder to get something done. In the meantime, I'm working on having a separate venue on the site that would be a low cost, family friendly, park like setting with a food truck for a kitchen. I'm guessing people in Kyle are much like people in Austin and love the great outdoors." So there’s that.
• The city has prepared schematic plans for installing quiet zones along the Southern Pacific Railroad Line at Center Street and another at the South Street crossing. In addition, a consultant has developed similar plans for the crossings at Opal and Roland Lanes. For $100,000, Southern Pacific has agreed to (1) review and approve the City's preliminary engineering submittal and other related services, (2) develop cost estimates, (3) review the project's preliminary layouts, (4) submit current train and switching moves, and (5) establish a timeline for the completion of this project. Tuesday’s agenda contains an item to approve this deposit reimbursement agreement.
• The approval of a double-sided variable electronic billboard on I-35 at the entrance to the Central Texas Speedway. The sign would not be subject to the City’s billboard ordinance, which mandates the removal of four billboard facings for every electronic one., because it would be on privately property and not highway right-of-way.
• The expenditure of $487,687.31 for three new vehicles for the Public Works Department, all of which .were accounted for the in current budget. The largest amount, $389,399 or about 80 percent of the total appropriations. is for a model 114SD Vactor truck which looks something like this. From what I understand (and I must admit my knowledge on this subject is extremely limited) a vactor truck is a vacuuming device used for cleaning sewer lines.
• City Engineer Leon Barba will present another in his series on the road bond projects and City Manager Scott Sellers is scheduled to give a presentation on the goofy paths of Goforth, Bunton and Philomenia (the Goforth extension, spur, whatever) roads.
• The council is supposed to review the annual Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, commonly referred to as "the caffer," which is the city’s most important and revealing financial document, as well as the report from the independent auditor for the preceding fiscal year. "The City's independent auditors issued an unqualified or ‘clean’ auditors' report on the City's financial statements for the fiscal year," according to supporting material supplied by Finance Director Perwez Moheet. "This is the highest level or best type of independent auditors' report that can be issued on the financial statements of governmental entities including city governments." The audit confirmed that, at the end of the accounting period, the City had $237.4 million in assets, $104.2 million in liabilities, and, thus, a "net position" of $137.3 million, which is a $16.5 million or 13.7 percent increase in the net position from the previous fiscal year. The ending Genera Fund balance was $9.9. million, a 5.3 percent increase from the previous year. According to the transmittal letter accompanying the caffer, "Among the major indicators of a stable yet an expanding local economy include growth in population, building permits, taxable valuations, property tax collection rate, and the trend for sales tax collections." The letter said building permits increased by 15.5 percent over the previous year, "taxable valuations increased by 18.4 percent (tax year 2015) compared to the prior year, annual property tax collection rate has continued to surpass the 98 percent level, and sales tax collections increased by 13.6 percent compared to the prior year as well. Total population in the City of Kyle is projected to increase to an estimated 46,000 residents by the year 2020."

Commission deals with routine agenda (almost) routinely

Casual observations from last night’s Planning & Zoning Commission meeting:

• The three zoning items on last night’s agenda were slam dunks. No real discussion or debate was really necessary and ultimately the commissioners made the correct decisions: they recommended the City Council approve zoning changes to make an outdoor wedding venue a conforming use and another to inject some life into after-dark downtown Kyle by allowing for entertainment zoning on the site formerly occupied by the Down South Railhouse. On the third item they recommended the council not approve zoning to install a mulch pit on I-35. What befuddled me, however, was how ponderously the commissioners labored over their decisions on these three items. You would have thought they were deciding on whether to launch a pre-emptive nuclear attack on Buda, for crying out loud.
• For some unexplained reason, commission chair Dex Ellison voted against making the Winfield Inn a conforming use. I have no qualms with the way he voted; commissioners have the freedom to make wrong-headed decisions. My problem is why he didn’t share his reasoning with the rest of the commission and the public. What was he hiding here? It’s true that these commissioners have no clue on the difference between "discussion" and "debate," but democratic decisions should be based on an open conversation of competing ideas and ideals. Ellison missed a golden opportunity to bring the commission out from the shadows and into the sunlight. He was the only commissioner to vote against it.
• I have already published two articles on the Winfield Inn rezoning issue. The land, until late last year, was outside the city limits and, when it was incorporated into the city, it was done against the wishes of the property owners. But it seems to me that, since their involuntary annexation, the owners of the property, the husband-and-wife team of Magdalena Rood and Leslie Moore, have abided by the city’s rules and ordinances and worked in partnership with city planners to make the Winfield Inn a conforming use and, do to that, they needed to have that property rezoned from agriculture (which is the zoning designation originally applied to all annexed lands) to retail services. However, I understand if the council ultimately follows the commission’s recommendation and rezones the land, Rood and Moore could conceivably turn around and sell the 31.85 acres between Scott Street and Old Stagecoach Road to a developer who could tear down the inn and replace it with a shopping village of some sort. (I say "village," because the current infrastructure could not support a shopping complex such as those located on Kyle Parkway and I-35). But you know what? That would not necessarily be a bad thing either. I know the current residents of that area might not like it, but, in matters such as this, the needs and desires of future residents must also be considered. All kinds of new residential development is sprouting in this area and the folks who will be moving into these developments will need places to shop and they would desire that these places to shop would be easily accessible. In fact, a shopping village would be within easy walking distance of that KB Home development to be located on property almost adjacent to the Winfield Inn lot that recently received the new R-1-3 zoning designation. But here’s what I hope is in the immediate future for that property. Moore has been involved in the food preparation and catering business for more than 30 years and Kyle sure could use a comfortable, slightly upscale, white-linen-tablecloth dining option serving, at a minimum, most, if not all, the entrees Moore offers on his seated catering menu: "braised beef short ribs & cippolini onions with wild mushroom ragout; brown sugar-herb smoked salmon; thyme-crusted beef tenderloin with mustard demiglace; wildflower honey-orange lacquered chicken; crispy chicken with honey-thyme glaze; lobster mac + cheese." My mouth waters, my palate tingles, just writing those words. A restaurant like that, especially in that setting, would be a unique dining experience, not only for Kyle but for most of Hays County. It would quickly become the place for couples’ anniversary dinner celebrations and would complement the services at the nearby Winfield Inn. Just a thought.
• Every item on last night’s agenda had a public hearing attached to it and, for the most part, those citizens speaking at these public hearings are either (1) completely uninformed about the subject under discussion; (2) have their own private agenda that may be tangentially relevant, but most often has nothing to do with the agenda item; or (3) simply clueless. Once in a blue moon (it didn’t happen last night), a speaker might add something worthwhile to the discussion but, most of the time, they are embarrassing and a waste valuable time that can never be recouped.
• Speaking of being "simply clueless," I realized during last night’s meeting that I committed a grievous error a couple of days when I wrote the commission was considering a ban on any additional auto dealerships on I-35. I have mentioned this before, but I was born and spent my formative early years in the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Queens. Now, anyone who has spent any time in those two areas will tell you they are devoid of sprawling new and/or used car lots, but they contain plenty of auto dealerships. They are simply totally contained inside buildings about the size of a Kohl’s or an Office Depot; i.e., they don’t store their entire inventory on-premise. Car dealerships exactly like those would be permitted in the I-35 Overlay District, according to a recommendation passed along to the City Council on a 5-1 vote last night from the planning commission (Irene Melendez cast the one lone vote). I’m not quite sure the commissioners grasped this concept or the fact that car lots would be acceptable on properly zoned areas on any other street, boulevard or highway in Kyle; I think they only considered the aesthetics in their decision-making process, but that’s OK. I also got to thinking last night about Dallas, where I made my home for a little more than 40 years and try as I could, I couldn’t recall a single car dealership lot located along an interstate highway within the Dallas City Limits. So last night’s decision is definitely not without precedent.
• I wondered about Planning Director Howard Koontz’s announcement that the March 28 commission meeting would be a "workshop" to review the proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan because I’m wondering what is there to review. The Planning Commission was given more than a year to tinker with a mid-term update to the plan, but abrogated that responsibility, forcing the City Council to schedule and conduct a joint council-commission workshop in January to get the job done. And they got the job done. Commissioner Timothy Kay, for one, is threatening changes to what was agreed upon during that workshop which is ridiculous simply because (1) agreement was reached at that January meeting; and (2) if the commissioners refused to do the job they were asked to do originally, they have absolutely no right to start exerting territorial prerogatives at this late a date. The commissioners had their opportunity and they blew it. But now a deal has been struck and I’m betting council members will not look favorably on any commissioners who think now is the time for them to make their dissenting opinions, let alone their changes, known.
• The commissioners were asked to approve the minutes of seven previous commission meetings last night and commissioner Brad Growt moved to have those approvals postponed to give commissioners more time to review them. His motion was approved 5-1 (Kay dissenting). Near the end of the meeting, Ellison used Growt’s motion as an example of why it might be preferable if commissioners received their packet of information on each meeting earlier than the Friday afternoon immediately preceding that respective meeting. And I started thinking that they way the staff prepares the agenda should follow the example used by many other municipalities. The bulk of the agenda, including all minutes and all items involving public hearings, can be provided to commissioners a week earlier than they are currently, thus providing commissioners an additional seven days to study the material. (I know this to be a fact because of publishing requirements in the newspaper of record. Not only that, it was clearly evident from the questions commissioners posed last night as well as the absence of necessary questions they neglected to ask that they didn’t have sufficient time to study the material before the meeting.) If the staff needs to add any items to the agenda at the last minute, they could do so on an official "agenda addendum" made public on that following Friday that immediately precedes the meeting. Problem solved.

City’s budget gap shrinks a tad

March’s sales tax collections were 1.81 percent higher than forecast in the current budget, reducing the city’s budget gap to $83,841.57.

Let me remind everyone, this does not mean the city is $83,000-plus in debt. It only means it has that much less to spend this year than it anticipated, kind of like that salesperson whose commissions were not as much as he or she expected and possibly budgeted for. It's also important to note that this $83,000 represents a miniscule 0.39 percent of the City's General Fund forecast for the current fiscal year and only 1.13 percent of the total forecasted sales tax revenues.

For the first six months of the current fiscal year, sales tax receipts have surpassed expectations in half of them. The problem is the average of three surplus months was $6,815.20 while the average for three deficit months was $34,762.33. That’s a significant difference.

The budget called for the city to collect $501,544 in sales taxes for March, the second lowest of any month so far this fiscal year. The collected amount was $510,619.29. These figures represent sales for the month of January.

It should also be noted that sales tax collections aren’t an ideal gauge of retail sales. Many food products are exempt. Taxes on motor vehicle sales and rentals are reported separately. The data is not seasonally adjusted, so it can only be compared to the same months in prior years. But online sales are taxed in Texas and are included in this tally. So tax collections are an unvarnished approximation for a large part of retail sales.

It is also worth noting that sales tax collections to date this fiscal year in Kyle are 10.65 percent higher than they were for the first six months of the previous fiscal year, which contrasts with the state as a whole, which is averaging 2.9 percent less in sales taxes than the year before. This is because statewide sales tax figures are far more dependent on manufacturing, wholesale trade and oil- and gas-related sales tax receipts than the Kyle economy is and those categories have been drastically under performing of late.

At the same time it is highly doubtful that the city’s population is 10.65 percent higher than it was the same time last year. So there’s that.

City seeks to ban additional car dealerships on I-35

The City plans to ask the Planning & Zoning Commission Tuesday to recommend amending the provisions of the I-35 Overlay District to prohibit any more car dealerships along the interstate within Kyle’s city limits.

Community Development Director Howard Koontz plans to argue that these car lots waste valuable space, generate no sales taxes to the city and that they create few jobs.

According to Chapter 53-892 (a) (1) of the city’s codes, "The Interstate Highway 35 corridor conditional use overlay district (the 1-35 overlay district) extends from the northernmost city limit boundary at 1-35 to the southernmost city limit boundary at 1-35, and includes all real property within 1,500 feet of the outer most edge of the highway right-of-way of 1-35."

The overlay district dictates specific construction standards for businesses that wish to locate in Kyle along I-35. The intent of the standards, implemented in December 2012, were designed to make the city look as appealing as possible to motorists traveling on the interstate. Currently, the districts permits car dealerships, but only with a conditional use permit.

The amendment the commission will be asked to consider Tuesday, according to a memo prepared by Koontz, "would preclude motor vehicle and trailer sales, rental and leasing from establishing in the I-35 overlay corridor." Koontz said, however, these uses would be permitted if the business consisted of a single enclosed building and, even then, only with a conditional use permit.

"Motor vehicle dealers most often situate themselves in clusters, and those lots consume large tracts of land area for outdoor displays of their merchandise," Koontz wrote. "Since automobile sales do not generate local sales tax for the city, only the land on which the dealership exists would be liable for property tax, there is very little incentive for the city to accommodate them as land uses.

"Similarly, auto dealerships are not typically high volume employers, meaning there would be few opportunities for employment as related to the expansive land area consumed for the use." Koontz wrote. "As it stands today, the high visibility areas along I-35 should be reserved for those uses that provide for the needs of the motoring public, and for those uses that are less desirable as locations in toward our neighborhoods."

If the commission approves Koontz’s request, it would then be forwarded to the City Council for adoption, possibly as early as March 21. If the council approved it, Chapter 53-899 (d) 1 of the city’s code would read: "All motor vehicle and trailer sales, rentals or leasing are prohibited from operating outdoors in the I-35 Overlay District. This includes, but is not limited to, the sale, rental and leasing of cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, water craft, recreational vehicles, all terrain vehicles, OHV vehicles, buses, trailers, farm and lawn equipment, construction equipment, demolition equipment, commercial vehicles, limousines, and all other similar vehicles not listed. This description of outdoor vehicle sales applies to this entire section, including the ‘Exceptions’ subsection."

It is highly unlikely the amendment, if it passes, would have any affect on Mitchell Motorsports, located on the east side of I-35 between Center Street and Kyle Parkway, which is owned by City Council member Travis Mitchell. However, Mitchell did confirm he would recuse himself if the recommendation advanced to the council level.

"I believe it would be a conflict for me to vote or participate in this discussion," Mitchell said today.

The commission will also have three zoning requests on its Tuesday agenda, one I’ve already talked about that would make the outdoor wedding venue at the Winfield Inn a conforming use, one that could create an outdoor music venue downtown and a third, likely to be rejected, for a facility to store and sell landscape materials on land included within the aforementioned I-35 Overlay District.

John R. Nelson, the owner of the property at 107 E. Center Street that was formerly the location of the Down South Railhouse, seeks to have the location rezoned from retail services to a joint retail services/entertainment zoning. "Our goal," Nelson wrote in a letter to the City, "is to offer a outdoor entertainment venue for the City of Kyle and surrounding areas and offer live music."

The City is asking the commission to favorably recommend the zoning change to the City Council because, among other reasons, such a change "can potentially maximize what the current property can offer to the public in the form of an entertainment venue."

I’m expecting the usual anti-growth, anti-change cast of characters to come to the public hearing to oppose the change on the grounds that it will increase traffic to intolerable levels, as well as littering, public nuisances and perhaps even criminal activity in that area, none of which, except possibly the traffic concerns, can be quantified. But on the subject of traffic, the City is noting: "The section of Old Highway 81 adjacent to the parcel will likely receive much of the additional vehicular traffic. Most of the expected venue’s business will likely be during the evening and in normal circumstances, the timing of the increased vehicular load shouldn’t significantly add to peak hour traffic on the surrounding road networks traffic capacity." So there’s that.

The third and final zoning request is from Rodolfo and Guadalupe Martinez together with Mary Ann Mendoza to rezone 13½ acres at I-35 and SR 208 from agricultural to construction manufacturing so that it can be used "to store and sell landscaping materials such as mulch, topsoil, sand and gravel." The land bordering the property on the north is zoned retail services and the property south remains agriculturally zoned.

The problem with the request is that the requested zoning use is not permitted by the Comprehensive Plan for this area designated by the plan as New Settlement Community, but, more important than that, is the fact that it is currently not serviceable by municipal wastewater infrastructure and would require septic. And the last thing a city that hopes to be thought of as a up-to-date, viable, livable, sustainable community needs to do is to add more septic, especially along its principle commercial corridor. Honest Sam’s Used Car Lot would be preferable.