Breckenridge Texan

By Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

The Breckenridge City Commission met Tuesday, May 6, and passed changes to the local ordinance regarding recreational vehicles in the city limits and awarded the contract for the trash service, as well as took care of other city business.

Solid Waste Contract

The commissioners voted to award the city’s solid waste contract, aka trash service, to Republic Services following a competitive bidding process that included four companies.

During the public comment section of the meeting, Dale Garner from AEL, one of the companies bidding for the contract, addressed the commission.

“We want to thank you for the opportunity to be part of the process to begin with,” Garner said. “When AEL puts a proposal together, we like to focus on three key areas: Service, because without service, nothing else matters. Pricing, if the service offered, it has to be done at a fair price and a reasonable price. … Third is our core values, and that’s something we want to stress, morality, dedication to one’s craft and community involvement.”

Carter highlighted AEL’s community involvement in Breckenridge. “When we started out in rural Breckenridge four years ago, our first items were to sponsor the athletic department with Casey Pierce. We’ve done that for the last three years… This year, we joined the Chamber. We’re a major sponsor for Frontier Days, the golf tournament, Boom Fest, and will continue to be involved,” he said. “… We included with our proposal free services to include tire trailers, e-waste, 23 roll offs, which could be used however the city sees fit, and then water treatment facility sludge at no charge.”

Later in the meeting, City Manager Cynthia Northrop presented the results of an internal committee’s evaluation of proposals from AEL, CWS, Frontier Waste Solutions, and Republic Services.

“Republic scored 570.08 AEL 567, Frontier was 541. CWS was 527,” Northrop reported to the commission, referencing the total scores from the internal evaluation.

While AEL offered lower rates for residential pricing, Northrop highlighted key differences between the proposals. Republic was the only company that has single axel trash trucks, she said, noting that was significant given the condition of city roads. “We have a lot of asphalt roads that are not in the best condition,” Northrop said. “When you look at … trash trucks going on the side of that road, maybe they don’t have a curb and gutter, that makes it more susceptible to break down with a heavier piece of equipment. So that, I think, made a difference for a lot of the internal folks’ scoring.”

Additional services were also considered in the evaluation. For example, Republic offered 63 roll-offs free of charge to the City, annually, compared to AEL’s offer of 23.

“Our convenience station is where we have roll offs stationed. And so we give one free dump a month to our residents when they have a water bill,” Northrop said. “… Every time those roll offs are filled, we’re we’re paying to haul those off. And so there is that cost difference in that pricing. So that’s something to keep in mind.”

Following brief discussion, the commission voted unanimously to award the solid waste bid contract to Republic Services and authorized the city manager to negotiate the contract.

RV Ordinance

Breckenridge’s Code of Ordinances previously addressed recreational vehicles in the parking section. “There’s nothing in the zoning ordinance that prohibits recreational vehicles from being lived in on residential properties,” Northrop said. “That obviously is the intention. And not many cities allow that. I don’t know of any that do.”

At the May 6 meeting, the City Commission held a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the Zoning section of the Code of Ordinances, specifically addressing the use of such vehicles for housing. No one at the meeting signed up to speak on that topic; several minutes later, the commissioners discussed the issue in a separate agenda item and approved the change.

In Chapter 22 “Zoning” of the Code of Ordinances, section 22-8 will be added, stating:

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to park, or permit the parking of, a recreational vehicle on any lot or tract of land within the City if the recreational vehicle is being used or occupied as a residence, unless the recreational vehicle is located within a permitted recreational vehicle park.

The changes also update the “use definitions” to include the following wording:

Recreational vehicle includes boats, boat trailers, travel trailers, pickup campers and coaches (designed to be mounted upon automotive vehicles), motorized dwellings, tent trailers, utility trailers, livestock trailers, personal watercraft and the like, as well as cases or boxes used for storage or transporting such vehicles, whether occupied by such vehicles or not.

Project Works Manager

Kegan Burns, the City of Breckenridge’s new Public Works Director, introduces himself to the city commissioners at the May 6 meeting. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Northrop introduced the City’s new Public Works Director, Kegan Burns, to the commissioners. “He comes to us … most recently, from New Mexico, but he has worked at the City of Tyler, he has served in the military, and he has worked for three different federal governments, and all in water/wastewater, project management, roads, environment,” she said.

Burns said he has spent the past three years doing construction management/project management on the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project in the Four Corners area. He said his family, who is still in the Farmington area, will join him him in Breckenridge later this month.

The City of Breckenridge’s Public Works department provides the following services:

• Treating potable water and wastewater (Water Treatment Plant & Wastewater Treatment Plant)
• Maintaining and repairing water distribution and sewer collection infrastructure
• Maintaining and repairing the City’s streets, drainage and signage
• Operation of Convenience Station (city dump)

Certified Mail Change

A change to Chapter 10 of the Code of Ordinances gives the City the right to send notices of certain violations via standard U.S. Mail instead of certified mail, as has been done in the past.

The chapter covers weeds, trash and garbage. Up until the amendment was approved, the City was required by the ordinance to deliver a notice of a violation to the property owner in person or by certified mail. Northrop said that due to the hiring of a codes enforcement officer, J. Potts, in December, the City has had an increase in codes violation notices.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been more than 300 property owners notified of code violations on properties in the city. The cost of sending certified mail notice letters is $9.85 each, Northop said. That has cost the City approximately $3,000 so far this year. To mail a letter via standard mail service, using metered postage, currently costs 69 cents per letter (up to 1 ounce), a price that will increase to 74 cents in July, according to the U.S. Postal Service. If those 300 letters had been sent with the metered postage, it would have cost $207, a savings of almost $2,800.

During the discussion about the best way to contact property owners, Northrop told the commissioners that if a letter sent by standard mail doesn’t get a response from the property owner, the City will consider sending another notice via certified mail.

Substandard Housing

A couple of items on the May 6 agenda involved substandard housing in Breckenridge.

The commissioners agreed to change the wording in Chapter 5: Buildings and Structures from “dangerous building” to “substandard building.” The definition will remain the same: Any building that does not comply with the minimum standards.

Additionally, they approved an interlocal agreement with Stephens County for the demolition of substandard houses in Breckenridge. According to the agreement, the County Commissioners have agreed to provide the labor and equipment to demolish homes that have been declared dangerous buildings by the City Commissioners in exchange for $4,000 per home demolished and disposed of (in the City’s monofil); the Breckenridge Economic Development Corp. has agreed to pay up to $20,000, annually for the demolition.

Employee of the Month

Jocelyn Boggs, an animal control officer, was honored as the City of Breckenridge’s Employee of the Month.

Police Chief Blake Johnson and Steve Jennings, animal control supervisor, presented Boggs with the award.

Animal Control Officer Jocelyn Boggs, left, was presented with the City of Breckenridge’s Employee of the Month award by Police Chief Blake Johnson, center, and Steve Jennings, animal control supervisor. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Other Business

During the meeting, the commissioners also took the following action:

• Held a hearing on and then later approved a request to replat the property at 1200 W. Second St. into two lots.
• Approved a request by the property owner to cancel the previously approved replat to the property known as 105 N. Rose Ave.
• Approved a resolution clarifying economic incentives to Soggy Dog Wine & Brew by the BEDC.
• Approved an update to the city’s ordinance that ensures the code covers both high-risk (floodways) and moderate-risk (floodplains) areas as defined by FEMA, “supporting community resilience and continued National Flood Insurance Program eligibility.”
• Awarded a contract to Raydon, Inc., for construction for the Texas Water Development Board – Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program — aka water line project — on the recommendation of eHT.
• Approved the City’s participation in a project to seek a grant through the Texas Department of Transportation’s 2025 Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside program. If Breckenridge is approved for the grant, the project would include sidewalks and ADA accessibility, on both north and south side of U.S. Highway 180 from Sunset Blvd. to Wilson Street.

Sage Diller with eHT talks to the Breckenridge City Commission about the Texas Water Development Board – Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program — aka water line project. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Attending the Breckenridge City Commission’s May 6 meeting were representatives from Republic Services, front row, and AEL, second row. The city’s trash service contract was awarded to Republic Services. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)