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Juan Salazar’s controversial Timberlane development project is back on the table.
When Jacksboro City Council members met Tuesday in regular session, James West, whose property on N. 11th Street is “downstream” from the proposed project, spoke out against the development. “If y’all let him build, there will be more water coming to my house … Somebody will have to pay for it,” West told council during public comment.
Salazar countered West’s protest, saying that his engineers have come up with a plan to correct any potential problems. Salazar has been trying to develop several tracts of land in the western portion of the city, but has been met with strong opposition regarding drainage. City council last year directed him to submit professional documents and proof developing the land will not adversely affect neighboring properties. City Manager Shawna Dowell said those documents were recently been submitted and have been turned over to the city’s engineers for inspection. “We hope to have a response in a couple of weeks,” Dowell said. In other business, council members agreed to allocations of the city’s hotel/motel tax monies. Dowell explained that although higher requests were made from several eligible entities, “We don’t like to give more than is taken in.”
Projected revenue to the fund is expected to be about $25,000, therefore council agreed to divvy up the money for fiscal year 2010-11 accordingly: $10,000 each to the Jacksboro Chamber of Commerce and Mesquiteville Committee, $2,500 to Friends of Fort Richardson and $2,000 to the Jack County Museum. Council appointed City Secretary Shirley Grantham, who has previous experience in this position, to serve as municipal court judge on a temporary basis. “Judge (Scott) Spiller will be unavailable for a short time period,” Dowell explained. “This is just an interim change.” Council also authorized the mayor to enter into a renegotiated interlocal agreement with Jack County for emergency/dispatch services. According to Dowell, the city will pay $100,000 for the service, which is the equivalent of two dispatchers, “although the language of the contract does not spell it out.” “It is a purchase of services,” Dowell explained. Aldermen also approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to enter into See COUNCIL, Page 2 an agreement with Texas Municipal League for intergovermental employee benefits. According to Dowell, insurance premiums for employees will go up about 26 percent to $491.40 each month, which the city funds. Similarly, additional insurance premiums, which are paid by city staff, were up across the board. Dowell said the increase was due, in part, to a high level of claims and that, hopefully, next year’s negotiations will have a more positive outcome. In order to cover higher rates set by the city’s garbage collector, council approved a pass-through increase to consumers. Residential polycart charges will go up 11 cents per month, with each additional container charge increasing 16 cents. Commercial rates will remain relatively the same. City Finance Director Erika Hobson reported that new property values are in from the Jack County Appraisal District showing a 9 percent decrease over the previous year. She added that staff will recommend council will set a 99.37 cent tax rate to cover the projected budget. “That’s an increase of $66.37 per year on a $100,000 valuation,” Hobson said. The rollback rate is set at $1.03, she added. “We’re going to be collecting less money, but the taxpayer will be paying more.” |
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