Breckenridge Texan

At last week’s Breckenridge City Commission meeting, a new fee schedule for the city was approved and adopted on the second reading. Additionally, the commission was updated on the current road construction projects around town, heard a report by the mayor on issues deemed important to the citizens, and approved several other requests.

City Fees

The city fee proposal will repeal ordinance 17-10, the current fee schedule, and replace it with ordinance 18-11.

The new ordinance keeps the city’s fees at the same level, except for the solid waste collection fee, which was raised earlier this year but had not yet been incorporated into the fee schedule. For more information on the solid waste collection fee, click here.

Additionally, the new ordinance adds in two new fees and moves one set of fees from a separate ordinance into the fee schedule.

One addition to the fee schedule is a $7.50 surcharge that will be applied to every utility account each month for one year to pay for the Texas Department of Transportation-mandated project replacing the water lines on East U.S. Highway 180.

The other addition to the fee schedule establishes a $25 license fee for mobile food units – aka food trucks – that want to operate within the city.

The new ordinance also will move the Network Nodes Ordinance, which pertains to equipment associated with wireless communication, so that it is incorporated within the city’s fee schedule and is not listed separately in the City Code.

The new fee schedule will go into effect on Oct. 15, 2018.

City manager’s report

During his city manager’s report, Andy McCuistion discussed the upcoming brush pickup sponsored by the city. Residents who have tree limbs and other brush need to put the items by the curb by Friday, Oct. 12. The week of Oct. 15, the city will pick up the brush and run it through the chipper. For more information, click here for the Breckenridge Texan article.

McCuistion also discussed the Beans and Cornbread Cookoff scheduled for Oct. 20 and the cleanup project by the Breckenridge High School football players last week.

Road construction

Sage Diller, a project engineer with the firm overseeing several local road construction projects addresses the Breckenridge City Commission on Oct. 2. (Photo by Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan)

Also during the Oct. 2 city commission meeting, Sage Diller, a project engineer and associate vice president with Enprotec/Hibbs and Todd, the firm overseeing several local road construction projects, presented an update, explaining that recent rains have created some issues on the Parks Street Project.

“Some of that is kind of normal process when you’re dealing with construction,” Diller said. “I know that the residents are inconvenienced for a period of time, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. It’s going to be a good project when it’s done; everybody’s going to be very pleased.”

The current projected completion date is March 2019 or maybe a little later, he said, but paving should begin soon. “That’ll really make some people happy,” Diller said. “As long as the weather holds, we’ll be seeing some substantial surface improvements in the near future.”

An upcoming project on North U.S. Highway 183 will replace the water line underneath the roadway from the downtown area going north up to the Industrial Loop. The project will include the water line replacement, sewer line replacement, storm sewer and roadway improvement.

“It may be a little challenging trying to coordinate those two projects in the future, but it’s one of the key concerns, getting that leaking water line out from underneath the main lanes of the roadway,” Diller said. “That’s been an ongoing problem, and that’s why we’re trying to get this work done sooner rather than later.”

The utility work on the East U.S. Highway 180 and the South U.S. Highway 183 projects is complete, but the Texas Department of Transportation is still working on the roadway part of the projects.

Additionally, work is scheduled on the waste water treatment plant.

Another project will replace water lines in the area of Gaddis Street, Dunnigan Avenue and Robert Avenue to improve water circulation.

Mayor’s Report

Before the meeting ended, Mayor Bob Sims addressed the commission to outline the top issues that local citizens talk to him about.

Although the mayor acknowledged the ongoing problem with potholes in city streets, he said the number one problem that people bring up to him is panhandlers. “They’re tired of seeing these people on the street,” he said. “Yes, a lot of them, as we know, are walking, but we have a few that they’re standing there waiting for somebody to give them something.”

Sims said that local citizens frequently approach him to voice their opinions about the community. “To them, that’s pretty much number one, the panhandling, the people standing around looking for a handout,” he said. “And we have churches all over town that can help these people.”

The mayor said that a city ordinance prevents anyone from soliciting/panhandling within 25 feet of an intersection. “Well, that’s a very weak ordinance,” Sims said. “Hopefully, by this time next month, between Andy (McCuistion) and Larry (Mahan, police chief)  and the city attorney can come together to give us some ideas for a stronger city ordinance so that these people won’t be standing around holding their signs. … I told Larry, make it 300 feet from an intersection, 500 feet. That would pretty much put them…maybe outside the city limits.”

Sims went on to explain that the next two most common complaints he receives are residents parking on their front lawns and residents who need to clean their yards. “We need to get people to take a little more pride in themselves,” he said.

McCuistion said more on that topic will be presented at a future commission meeting. “What we’re going to do is bring a report back to the commission that will be available for the public, and we can disseminate what we’re doing now and what we have done, and that will be good information for everybody,” McCuistion said.

Other business

The commissioners also approved several items in the “consent agenda,” including resolutions to approve the departmental reports, reappoint Board of Director members to the Housing Authority, to appoint board members to the West Central Texas Municipal Water District and a proposal for Environmental Consultants Inc. to serve as program coordinator to oversee the land application of the water treatment plant sludge on the MT7 Ranch.

Also during the meeting, the city commissioners approved a resolution to authorize the city manager to apply for a grant for a new audio/video for the police department.

Story by Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

Cutline, top photo: Road construction on West Lindsey Street, as well as on North Parks Street and in the general area, has inconvenienced some Breckenridge residents, but the project engineer says that paving should begin soon. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

“Potholes, yes, that’s always been a problem; that’s just standard. But, the number one thing that these people want done…for us to do, between Andy (McCuistion), Larry (Mahan, police chief) and the city attorney…is to work together and try to come up with a better …. Panhandlers….t