City moves on to next phase of annexation
By CHRIS BARBEE cbarbee@leader-news.com

Minutes after hearing a public comment last week concerning Council not putting the recent annexation to a public vote, the body moved to agenda item number six to award O'Malley Engineers the contract to begin moving forward with the engineering and utilities phase of annexation.

City Manager John Steelman told Council O'Malley had presented a standard contract agreement to design the water and sewer infrastructure improvements to the annexed areas. City Attorney Ronny Collins was not present, but Steelman said Collins had reviewed the contract and said it was in order.

The total cost estimate for the project is $4,602,070. Total amount of the future bond issue is estimated to be $3,737,070.

The estimated cost of the engineering phase is $427,200. The construction phase of the project is estimated to be $4,174,870. Council plans to pull $865,000 from the Utility Fund balance to reduce the amount needed to be borrowed.

Unaudited numbers as of Dec. 31, 2007 reveal the city's Utility Fund balance was $1,972,750. Out of that is coming $400,000 for the wastewater treatment plant water clarifier upgrade, a contract that is under way, and devoting the $865,000 for annexation engineering and utilities, leaving a fund balance of some $707,550.

Steelman told the Leader- News it is difficult to nail down exactly how the estimated average annual debt service of $267,386 over the next 20 years will be paid without more information, but he feels confident it will not be a hardship.

"Once all the utility customers are on, and with new money coming in, the project will pretty much support itself, or be pretty close to it," the city manager said.

Council voted 5-1 to move forward, with Councilwoman Gloria Harris voting against. Harris had also voted against annexation, along with Anthony Collins. Collins, however, voted for the engineering contract along with Mayor Phillip Spenrath and Councilmembers Robert Boone, Kenneth Martin and Ed Erwin.

Council is still one member short following the resignation of Mayor Protem Kyle Smith due to his career change.

Also before Council at its Jan. 28 meeting was a request to change a C-2 General Commercial District zone to a C-1 Light Commercial District for Block 1 of the Higbee Addition, generally located at 1019 Divide.

The Eloy Canales family had requested the change to allow for residential development. The request had been approved by city staff and the Planning & Zoning Commission.

"When the new ordinance was presented the ordinance was changed to restrict the residential units to the R Zones, R-1, R-2, R-3. But we had so many requests for residential units in the C-1 zone that we've amended the C-1 zone to now include anything in the R-3. C-2 excludes residential," Steelman explained.

City Building Official Andy Waligura added the C-1 does not allow for manufactured housing.

"I had a concern that this land was designated for industrial and commercial and now we're slowly taking it away," Spenrath said of property in the Divide Street area. "My concern is where is this going to stop?" he asked of Waligura of areas zoned commercial to allow for home construction.

Councilwoman Harris said she hasn't seen anyone wanting to put businesses out there, but she has seen people wanting to build houses out there.

"We need to give leeway to what is the need, and right now housing is the need," she said.

The motion to approve the zoning change passed unanimously.

In other business:

• Robert Boone was appointed to replace Kenneth Martin as the city's representative on the Wharton County Appraisal Review Board. Martin had asked to be relieved of that assignment due to lack of time to fulfill that obligation.

• The mayor appointed a committee to review the employee salary and benefit package. Agreeing to serve are Anthony Collins, Ed Erwin and Gloria Harris.

• Approval of a replat of Block 1 of the El Campo Wal- Mart Addition, property where the Murphy USA gas pumps used to be off the West Loop, was approved. Wal-Mart reportedly hopes to sell that property for future retail space.