City to echo county on extended voting
The San Marcos City Council won’t have a regular meeting this evening, but it has scheduled a special meeting to amend its ordinance calling for a regular and special election on Nov. 6.
The amendment is needed to align city polling locations for Election Day and early voting with the county’s expanded locations. Last Friday, the Hays County Commissioners Court held an emergency meeting prompted by the threat of a lawsuit from the Texas Civil Rights Project regarding early voting and Election Day voting on the Texas State University campus. The county added two days of early voting on campus — Nov. 1-2 at the LBJ Student Center — and, to maintain balance among the county’s four precincts, early voting on Nov. 1-2 was made available at the Live Oak Clinic/health department on Broadway Street in San Marcos and the Belterra Welcome Center in northern Hays County. In addition, an increase in the number of registered voters in Election Precinct 334 will allow the county to give that precinct its own Election Day polling location: the LBJ Student Center on the Texas State campus. Previously, 334 shared a polling location with precincts 319 and 330 at Crockett Elementary.
Council is amending its original ordinance ordering the election for the sake of consistency. The city also will declare an emergency creating the need to adopt the ordinance with only one reading.
The county and city both established early voting locations and schedules on Aug. 7 after recommendations from both primary parties and input from third parties.
After the special meeting, council will hold a workshop on the city’s Transportation Master Plan. City staff presented the plan to council in May and to the Planning and Zoning Commission in June. The commission okayed the Transportation Master Plan with the condition that the proposed Craddock Extension be removed. The extension would mean building a road through an environmentally sensitive area.
In August, council directed city staff to incorporate citizen comments received during a council meeting. Since then, the city agenda states, staff has revised the Transportation Master Plan draft report to include sections on development processes and goals, performance measures, traffic and parking demand management, the existing and proposed bike plan, autonomous vehicles and coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation. All the maps in the proposed master plan have been revised to remove the Craddock Extension. The first reading of the transportation plan is scheduled for Nov. 20, with a second reading scheduled for Dec. 4.
Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Conference Room
