Kyle council takes up bond package | The Hays Free Press
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Kyle council takes up bond package

Posted by on Aug 15th, 2012 and filed under For Front Page Use, Kyle, Top Stories.


by ANDY SEVILLA

Kyle council members will consider an ordinance Wednesday, on second reading, calling for a $6.4 million general bond election that would address Bunton Creek Road improvements.

The bonds would also call for $2 million in road engineering for prospective road projects.

The list of roads originally identified for improvement by the city’s visioning process, has been watered down over the past few council meetings from five roads to one road only being offered for consideration. The original roads up for voter approval were Lehman, North Burleson, Bunton Creek, the Marketplace extension, and Goforth. Those roads didn’t make it for consideration on the bond election after Kyle Mayor Lucy Johnson failed to garner enough votes for passage, only council members Becky Selbera and David Wilson voted in favor of that motion; Mayor Pro Tem Diane Hervol and Council Members Samantha Bellows-LeMense and Ray Bryant dissented, while Council Member Bradley Pickett was absent due to an illness.

Council members last week decided to move forward only with improvements to Bunton Creek Road at a cost of $4.4 million, plus an additional $2 million for road engineering.

Bunton Creek Road improvements would take place between the IH-35 Frontage Road to about 1,200 feet east of Dacy Lane.

Council members also will hold public hearings for the proposed city budget totaling $41.6 million, proposed increase of miscellaneous city fees and charges by five percent, proposed water and waste water rate increases by 20 percent, and for the proposed property tax rate of $0.5244 per $100 of assessed value, which is up $0.0399 from the current fiscal year.

City council meets at 7 p.m.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1659828744 Lila Knight

    The 5 roads might have made it onto the ballot if Councilman Wilson and other hadn’t insisted on “bundling” them all into one ‘up or down’ proposition. Some council members really wanted the voters to be able to decide which roads they were willing to pay for (instead of just one huge $34 million package that would hike the tax rate .20). We are fortunate to have some fiscal conservatives on Council who aren’t willing to jack up our taxes like that.

  • Sean

    Only 1200ft east of Dacy? They’re excluding with worst part of the road – between Brandi Cir and Lehman Rd. Those that fail to plan, plan to fail.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1659828744 Lila Knight

    I agree with you totally Sean! But for whatever reason, the city engineer only got estimates for that particular length of the road.

    I’m not 100% certain, but I believe that 1,200′ east of Dacy is approximately where the proposed “Kyle Parkway Extension” will intersect with Bunton. Not a clue as to why that intersection would be the limits for the reconstruction of Bunton though.
    It’s a very good question… Truth of the matter, all of these road projects still have more questions than answers. LOL

  • Mike Fulton

    Lila-
    Sometimes you throw out more spin than Fox News.

    You know very well that is stops where Kyle Parkway will eventually intersect. Which is also why this was the stupidest road for the council members to pick. It is the only one of the proposed roads that would be made nearly obsolete by another one of the proposed roads.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1659828744 Lila Knight

    Actually Mike. I am not certain about it. I’m a girl. Measuring stuff is not my forte. And I don’t have access to detailed drawings. So I didn’t want to say it with any great certainty. “Spin” would have been doing it otherwise – like saying it’s the “stupidest” road. (is that really a word?)

    And talk about spin…list of roads “watered down” (that implies adulteration with something else. actually, the council just limited the number of roads to be considered). What happened to Mr. Nice Guy Mike? You’ve been awfully testy lately…

  • Mike Fulton

    I never said the list of roads was “watered down”

    And, I’m always testy on issues we disagree on =)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1659828744 Lila Knight

    Honey, I was quoting from the article. You know, the one we are supposedly “commenting” on. LOL

    Missed you at the Council meeting tonight. Maybe I will catch you at your next Planning and Zoning meeting. :)

  • Mike Fulton

    I was hoping to make it last night, unfortunately the meeting I was in prior to it ran long – as all meetings seem to do.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1659828744 Lila Knight

    I understand. It was actually pretty well attended. And we are lucky to have such a vital little town that there are so many meetings going on. :)

  • AJOHN151

    I missed it due to my health issues
    the first council meeting ive not attended for at least 4 years and one of the MOST important ones im not very please with my self because of it
    .look for some comments at tonights mobility committee meeting

  • http://www.facebook.com/lucycagejohnson Lucy Johnson

    Lila, for the record, after making my motion to bundle all the road propositions together, I immediately stated that I would be happy to amend the motion to list each road proposition separately if other council members preferred to keep the propositions separate. At this point, Council Members Bryant and Hervol said that they would be apposed to putting ANY of the road propositions (separate or not) on the November ballot for voters to decide except for Bunton Road. Council Member LeMense said that she still preferred holding off until the May election. When my motion failed to pass, they were free to make any motion of their choosing, and that’s when Council Member Bryant moved to approve the Bunton Road proposition alone. Council Member Hervol seconded his motion, and at no point during that meeting or any subsequent meetings did any of those three council members state that they would have been willing to reconsider the road bond issue if the propositions had been kept separate.

    As for labeling the council members that voted down the road bond propositions fiscal conservatives, I’m happy to testify that at no point during the current budget workshops have any of these council members suggested reductions in the budget to lower the proposed property tax and water/wastewater rate increases (Brad Pickett has been absent for most of the workshops, so has not yet had the opportunity to suggest cuts). Meanwhile, repairing these roads will only become more expensive in the future. I wonder, what exactly is your definition of fiscally conservative?

    Yours Truly,
    Lucy Johnson

  • Mike Fulton

    With well stated arguments like this one (and the fact that you aren’t posting anonymously) you should consider posting on here more often. =)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1659828744 Lila Knight

    A fiscal conservative is certainly NOT someone who wants to add back into the budget a City Staff Christmas Party at a cost of $15,000 to $20,000. LOL

    And just to clarify Mayor, I never “labeled the council members that voted down the road bond propositions fiscal conservatives.” You did that. (You need to read my comment again.)

    I also said the five roads “might have made it on to the ballot if….” Minds can be changed during the course of a conversation on Council. I would have thought you, of all people, would know that Mayor.

    I’ll get back to you after I have reviewed the tape of the meeting. Good to hear from you Mayor.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1659828744 Lila Knight

    Mayor, you actually said you were “ambivalent, but fine with separating the roads. But in the best possible world, you would prefer to keep them all together in one bond.” You actually never talked about the other Councilmen’s preference, but that is irrelevant.

    It was actually Councilman LeMense who spoke first, followed by Bryant. What you fail to mention in your exposition is what LeMense, Bryant and Hervol all emphasized – their concern for over-burdening the taxpayers of our city by putting too much on them with a huge road bond, knowing that we will also be needing to pay for (1) an expansion of the wastewater treatment plant (2) repairs to our water storage tanks (3) large payments to the HCPUA for future water sources (4) rising debt service payments in the immediate future which actually will peak in 2014-2016, etc. etc. etc.

    Yes, we need roads. And everyone on Council spoke to this fact. Everyone. But we need other things as well. Some members of Council are just more acutely aware of the limits of our citizens’ ability to pay.

    Our city manager pointed out – building all 5 roads at one time would be a 20 cent increase on the tax rate – or a more than 45% increase in taxes. That will affect not only our citizens, but our ability to attract new businesses and employers.

    You said that the road proposition “may fail by putting them on a November ballot. And if that happens – if that is what the majority wants – I’m okay with it.” LeMense stated “We need roads. The point is not to throw it out and have it fail. We should take an approach that succeeds.”

    I’ll have to stand with LeMense on this one. Sorry. We need a road plan for our roads. We need our city to succeed!

    (guess this pretty much answers what I consider to be a fiscal conservative as well – a councilman who considers all the necessary costs of government, present and future, and tries to budget as effectively as possibly)

  • Buddy

    Lila, Lila…. What a joke you are! You and your 4Thinkless council puppets don’t care a rats ass about Kyle. Why try to stop growth when you don’t have property in Kyle? You are a renter!!!

    Hope you are having a better day today… 

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1659828744 Lila Knight

    How odd. You know so much about me. But we know nothing about you. Are you stalking me? LOL
    What a shill!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1659828744 Lila Knight

    Watch out Council Woman Selbera. Apparently your vote doesn’t count with “Buddy.” You are just a “renter.”

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