Hughson takes on Thomaides for mayor

Jane Hughson

SMDR: What do you see as the three major issues the city is likely to face in the next two years?

Hughson: Growth, stormwater/flooding, and workforce housing. We address the growth that we are experiencing through our Capital Improvements Program (CIP) which includes 10 years of projects including major infrastructure projects around our city. Our new land development code promotes home ownership. There are new neighborhoods built in the past 10 years providing housing for new and existing residents.

Builders are seeing the strong need for lower priced housing. I’ve seen smaller homes with smaller price tags in two new developments recently. The homes are attractive and provide options such as adding a garage at a future date. Our Workforce Housing Task Force will address additional housing needs in our community. The city council has passed new building codes such that new development is less likely to be flooded or cause additional flooding for others. We will continue to use the federal funding to assist in addressing stormwater and flooding issues.

SMPD: Gentrification is a growing concern. What policies would you pursue in order to keep working families from being priced out of their homes?

Hughson: The major concern with gentrification is the displacement of long-time residents who can no longer afford to stay in their neighborhood after it is infused with higher priced housing and retail establishments. Property values go up and familiar shopping places are gone. The Workforce Housing task force will consider this when it looks for land. There have been a number of articles recently about short-term-rental units removing housing from the market. Given our location and beautiful river, that could happen here. In our new land development code we placed some requirements on short-term-rentals (STR) and accessory dwelling units (ADU) that will help keep houses available as homes. Only the owner of the property may rent all or part of his/ her property as a STR. For ADUs, the owner of the property must live in either the main house or the accessory unit. I strongly supported this concept.

SMDR: Living by the San Marcos River is both a delight and a risk. What would you do to further protect the river for future generations, and what is your position on current flood mitigation efforts being discussed?

Hughson: I attended the recent meeting about the Blanco Riverine Flood Mitigation Project which is a complicated, massive, and expensive project. I await the results of public input and engineering studies to see what will be best not only for San Marcos residents but those who live down river.

Currently we are using some of the federal funding and our own stormwater funds to increase and replace drainage pipes in the flood prone areas. We will also clean and deepen selected drainage channels. Those plans are included on our existing city-funded Capital Improvements Program to include street reconstruction on those projects. We now have data we need for the 2D modeling which will help us determine what is needed for new development in the floodplain. We updated our codes to require a building to be two feet above the floodplain, instead of the previous one foot requirement.

SMDR: How are “town and gown” relations right now? What is your position regarding the belief by many that the university is “taking over” the town?

Hughson: City and university staff meet regularly to determine how to meet the growing needs of each, including infrastructure projects. When I ask people why they say the university is “taking over” the town it is usually because of the multiple student housing projects all over our city that are under construction now and the number of projects in the last 10-15 years. Those are private developers meeting the need for student housing for sophomores and older. University dormitories house freshmen as required and others students who wish to live in a dormitory. There are a limited number of rooms available for students past their freshman year. The university has met the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board “Closing the Gaps” enrollment goal of 36,000 students by 2015 with an enrollment of 37,979 that fall. As mayor I will start a dialogue with university officials about their long-term goals and enrollment expectations.

SMDR: The animal shelter has ended the practice of allowing volunteers to photograph adoptable animals and post them on social media as well as selecting “Pets of the Week” to distribute to local media. What would you do to increase adoptions and volunteer involvement?

Hughson: I met with animal advocates and city staff on the topic of increasing live outcomes at our shelter. I supported the increase in funding for the animal shelter which will provide for additional contracted vet services, an additional vet technician, a full -time volunteer coordinator, and an additional animal shelter technician. I strongly support photographing each animal when they enter the shelter and posting the photos the same day. This will increase the likelihood of reuniting pets with their people and adoption of other animals. I also strongly support extending the hours of the animal shelter for adoption. Being a regional shelter means people will have to travel to get here and extended hours will help meet their needs. I believe more volunteers will want to help at our shelter once we have significantly increased our live outcomes.

SMDR: With the Texas Legislature convening in January, it likely won’t be long before the issue of local vs. state control resurfaces. Will you fight for the rights of cities to enact the ordinances that are right for them?

Hughson: Yes I have and I will. It is important for every city to retain the rights to handle the issues that occur in their cities. Each city is different and local officials know needs of their own city. Cities that are growing have needs that are different from those that are not. I have attended workshops on this topic at the Texas Municipal League annual conference. I attended meetings at city hall on legislative issues where we discussed upcoming bills with our state government relations firms.

During the last legislative session I went to the Texas Capitol to testify regarding Senate Bill 2, which would have severely limited any city’s ability to determine the tax rate needed to support our needs. Note that the only tax rate increase we have implemented in many years was due to the 2015 Bond election items which passed by a vote of over 75 percent.

John Thomaides

SMDR: What do you see as the three major issues the city is likely to face in the next two years?

Thomaides: Our city has a significant number of families with incomes below the median wage for our area. The impact of this is felt at our food bank, medical facilities and in our schools. Fortunately, over the past two years, we’ve welcomed an additional 3,000 new jobs to San Marcos. I’ll continue to work tirelessly to attract great employers who offer career quality jobs with benefits and

John Thomaides advancement opportunities for everyone. With inevitable increases in population, I’ll support strategies to offer housing choices that are affordable, close to needed services and workplaces and limit increases in traffic congestion. With this inevitable growth we must improve our quality of life by continuing to invest in, protect, and preserve our established neighborhoods, the San Marcos River, and our community’s unique culture.

SMDR: Gentrification is a growing concern. What policies would you pursue in order to keep working families from being priced out of their homes?

Thomaides: Many of our workforce homes are occupied by families on fixed or moderate incomes and even if the tax rate stays the same, their overall tax bill will continue to rise. The supply of housing within our city’s core is one key factor to help keep skyrocketing property assessments under control. During my term as Mayor, we passed a new land development code intended to address this situation. The economics of our situation are clear. As our population increases without an adequate supply of housing options, the demand will continue to increase the value of our existing housing stock. I support providing additional exemptions for homesteads which can have some impact on the overall cost of housing but in the end, only an adequate supply of housing and better paying career opportunities for all our citizens will move the needle on rising tax obligations and the affordability of housing.

SMDR: Living by the San Marcos River is both a delight and a risk. What would you do to further protect the river for future generations, and what is your position on current flood mitigation efforts being discussed?

Thomaides: The San Marcos River is the heart and soul of our community and the main reason I chose to move to this city 25 years ago. My mission is to pass along to future generations the same experience of enjoying the clear flowing 72-degree water that I get to experience today. We have passed the most comprehensive aquifer recharge zone development regulations in our region and a new land development code that regulates development in the flood plain and along our rivers. Additionally, I have led delegations as Mayor to Washington, DC and participated in 5 fly-in efforts since the 2015 floods to garner federal support to “dry out” our most vulnerable neighborhoods within our city. I am the only candidate for Mayor who has participated in these critical trips that have proven to be invaluable and we’ve received nearly $60 million in federal grants for these efforts.

SMDR: How are “town and gown” relations right now? What is your position regarding the belief by many that the university is “taking over” the town?

Thomaides: Working with Texas State University is critically important for our future. We now have open communication between both staffs and as Mayor, I meet regularly with President Trauth. Our economic development focus is coordinated, effective and mutually beneficial. We’ve partnered on Innovation Districts, Bike and Car share programs, and a possible joint Transit System. The council has addressed previous development compatibility conflicts through our new land development code by preventing any new large-scale student housing in or near our existing single-family neighborhoods. Over the past 2 years I’ve worked extensively with Texas State volunteer groups on community and river clean-ups, and I can say unequivocally that many students truly love our city and want to give back in some way or make their home here after graduation. Engaging students deeper into the fabric of our community will have long-term positive impacts to this important and permanent relationship with the University.

SMDR: The animal shelter has ended the practice of allowing volunteers to photograph adoptable animals and post them on social media as well as selecting “Pets of the Week” to distribute to local media. What would you do to increase adoptions and volunteer involvement?

Thomaides: I have a rescue dog, Andre, and I encourage anyone thinking of getting a pet to visit our animal shelter and adopt. Our shelter serves almost all of Hays County and must accept all animals. I believe there needs to be additional shelters in other the parts of the county to relieve the tremendous intake of animals and associated costs to San Marcos taxpayers. We recently increased our 2019 budget by $200K for shelter operations. We will be discussing a no kill shelter policy, but as of right now we have not been given the details about annual budget expenditures necessary to accomplish that goal. I support improving Live Outcomes at our shelter by expanding hours for adoption and reclaiming to include evenings and weekends and improving our digital efforts to showcase adoptable pets. I support our staff and volunteers working collaboratively, and their efforts to save our pets.

SMDR: With the Texas Legislature convening in January, it likely won’t be long before the issue of local vs. state control resurfaces. Will you fight for the rights of cities to enact the ordinances that are right for them?

Thomaides: I have testified numerous times at the State Capitol and Governor’s Office about our Councils position on issues such as preemption of local control, tax and revenue caps, annexation and other issues critical to San Marcos. We must also look beyond the borders of our city to effectively represent the best interests of our citizens. As Mayor, I initiated the Corridor Mayors Council to collaborate with Mayors along the IH-35 corridor to have strength in numbers when we discuss issues during this and future legislative sessions. We participate in the Texas Municipal League and submit our legislative priorities prior to each legislative session. Lastly, we retain a legislative consultant to monitor and help us communicate our positions on issues effectively to the Texas Legislature. I remain committed to working alongside our local, regional, and state partners to get the best results for our city from each legislative session.

** UPDATE: 

The city of San Marcos has pointed out an apparent inaccuracy in questions the Daily Record posed to mayoral candidates John Thomaides and Jane Hughson. The question addressed the suspension of practices using volunteers to photograph animals at the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter and designating “Pets of the Week.” Here is a statement from Communications Director Kristy Stark we received on Thursday, Oct. 11:

“While we thank you for highlighting the needs for increased adoptions and volunteers at the shelter, there are several issues in this statement that are inaccurate and need to be addressed. Volunteers are currently working at the shelter to photograph adoptable animals and post them on social media. Several weeks back we did stop utilizing one volunteer while we sorted through some policy and procedure issues and that volunteer has since returned and continues to photograph the animals. Additionally, the “Pets of the Week” story was temporarily suspended during a staffing change, and has not only returned, but has been featured in your paper for the past two weeks. In both instances, printing of the information has occurred the week following press submittal to the Daily Record. If this interview question was drafted in error or before these recent changes, we request that you issue a point of clarification for the sake of accuracy. Thank you for your consideration.”

In fact, the questions were prepared before either practice was resumed, and long before the candidates’ responses were published on Oct 7.

We hope the question did not cause any confusion.