Breckenridge Texan

By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

The Breckenridge City Commission swore in a new member, approved an order for an election legalizing the sale of all alcoholic beverages and took care of other City business at their Oct. 11 meeting.

At the start of the meeting, Blake Hamilton was sworn in as a member of the City Commission. He was appointed by the Commission at the Sept. 6 meeting to fill the spot vacated by Greg Akers, who resigned from the Commission in August during an executive session discussion regarding the hiring of Cynthia Northrop as the new City Manager.

Local Option Election

The City Commissioners voted unanimously (except for Commissioner Vince Moore, who wasn’t at the meeting) to approve Ordinance 22-17 ordering a Local Option Election to be held on May 6, 2023. The election will allow all qualified voters of the City of Breckenridge to vote on the legalization of the sale of all alcoholic beverages, including mixed beverages within the City.

The petition was created by members of the Breckenridge Downtown Development Council. “We believe this will be an important factor in the continued growth of our community, especially where increased sales tax revenue is involved,” according to a post on the organization’s Facebook page in August. “Like any important issue, we believe it is up to the people of our community to let their voice be heard.”

The petition was required to have the signatures of at least 35 percent of the registered voters in Breckenridge who voted in the most recent gubernatorial election. Those signing the petition were required to be registered voters and residents of the City of Breckenridge.

“They were hoping to get this going in November, but …we didn’t get it in, in quite enough time,” Breckenridge City Secretary Jessica Salter said. “The petition was filed on August 24. And they were required to have 338 signatures. They did bring that petition back and all verified at 355. So they had plenty of signatures that … had been completely verified. The petition has been filed for … at least 30 days. Now at this point, the next step is just to authorize the election.”

According to the ordinance presented at the meeting, the election will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on May 6, 2023, at the City Offices, located at 105 N. Rose Ave. Early voting will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 24-28 and May 1-2. When available, additional information will be posted on the City website’s election page at: https://breckenridgetx.gov/election-eleccion.

City Policies

The City Commission approved a set of policies in conjunction with the Texas Community Development Block Grant Program, 2021 Planning & Capacity & Building Fund, that the City of Breckenridge recently was awarded for $55,000. The funds are to be used for a comprehensive planning study for the City of Breckenridge.

Since the grant is from a Texas Department of Agriculture-U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program, the City of Breckenridge needs to have some specific policies in place to comply with the requirements of the grant.

The newly adopted policies include:

1. Citizen Participation Plan and Grievance Procedures: ;
2. Excessive Force Policy;
3. Fair Housing Policy;
4. Section 504 Policy Against Discrimination based on Handicap and Grievance Procedures;
5. Code of Conduct Policy

Additionally, with the resolution adopting the new policies, the City of Breckenridge affirmed its commitment to conduct a project-specific analysis and take all appropriate action necessary to comply with program requirements for the following:
6. Section 3 economic opportunity;
7. Limited English Proficiency; and
8. Activity to affirmatively Further Fair Housing choice.

Other Business

The commissioners also:

• Approved an engineering services agreement with Enprotec/Hibbs & Todd for the Texas Department of Transportation’s FM 3099 realignment utility relocation project at the road’s intersection with U.S. Highway 180 West.
• Approved a resolution naming Nov. 7-11 as Municipal Court Week.
• Renewed the City’s membership in ERCOT (the Electric Reliability Council of Texas).
• Approved a resolution declining the Oncor Electric Delivery Company’s application to change rates within the City.
• Approved an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation for the temporary closure of State Highway 180 from 6 to 7 p.m. Dec. 10 for the Breckenridge Christmas Parade coordinated by the Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce.
• Listened to a presentation by Amanda Shotts with the Texas Department of State Health Services regarding a grant project called “Community Conversations on Health.”

Breckenridge City Manager Cynthia Northrop, right, leads her first Breckenridge City Commission meeting since starting the job last month. Also pictured at the Oct. 11 meeting are, from left, Mayor Bob Sims, Mayor Pro Tem Rob Durham and newly sworn-in commissioner Blake Hamilton. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Blake Hamilton is sworn in as a new City Commissioner by Breckenridge City Secretary Jessica Sutter during the commission’s Oct. 11 meeting. He was appointed to the position at the Sept. 6 meeting. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

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