Rockeymoore, Scott and Spell seek City Council Place 4

Mark Rockeymoore

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

Rockeymoore: 1) Workforce development housing shortage; 2) Flood mitigation issues; 3) Cost of living increases

SMDR: How would you balance historical preservation efforts with environmental concerns? How about balancing historical preservation efforts with economic development opportunities?

Rockeymoore: Historic preservation efforts take second to environmental concerns. We only have one set of springs feeding the San Marcos river. Only one river. If something happens to threaten the purity of those springs, nothing can be done to restore them. While the built environment is important and should be protected, the resource that caused this city to be in the first place is of paramount concern. Historic preservation efforts take precedence over economic development opportunities, if that history is seminal and unique to this city and region. What makes San Marcos unique must be preserved and takes precedence over economic development as that area is so broad and there are so many wide-ranging opportunities in so many areas. 

SMDR: In the wake of the Iconic Village fire, do you believe the city should revisit its fire code and consider making the rules for multifamily and purpose-built student housing projects more stringent?

Rockeymoore: Yes I believe we should make the rules stringent in that landlords and owners must be accountable for maintaining the safety standards the city requires for all residences in order to protect their residents. It is important that safety standards be enforced and that all domiciles that house residents are registered as such.

SMDR: Regarding “workforce housing”—- do you support the city’s efforts to make more affordable housing options available to local residents? What would you suggest as a way to make housing more affordable?

Rockeymoore: I do support these efforts. They are necessary, in that families need places to live as well as students and there should be multiple types of rental options as well as opportunities to purchase homes.The city, county and school district alliance designed to look into and begin a process of increasing workforce development housing is a much needed initiative that should be supported and extended if successful.

SMDR: How do you think we should deal with increasing traffic congestion? 

Rockeymoore: Build more overpasses over the train tracks to allow traffic to flow more smoothly and continuously as these are the major causes of congestion within the city. We should also repair and widen roads when necessary to accommodate traffic needs. 

Shane Scott

Editor’s note: Shane Scott did not respond to the question about the top three major issues the city is likely to face in the next two years.

SMDR: How would you balance historical preservation efforts with environmental concerns? How about balancing historical preservation efforts with economic development opportunities?

Scott: This question is somewhat ambiguous, and, in my view, the two elements have nothing to do with one another. As a former City Council member from 2010-2015, the preservation of our historical heritage has always been important to myself and our community. All historical land makers have been identified and efforts to preserve them already exists. As for environmental concerns, the land development code has rules that are intended to best protect our environment. I believe these two elements can coexist. With community input and the assistance of our qualified staff at the City, developers can be guided to preserve the historical nature of a particular location without compromising its charm or historical significance. To me, it’s not a one or the other outcome. We can have both.  

SMDR: In the wake of the Iconic Village fire, do you believe the city should revisit its fire code and consider making the rules for multifamily and purpose-built student housing projects more stringent?

Scott: I am confident the city’s fire marshal and building inspectors are already working to explore ways to reduce the risk of another devastating fire. All newer multi-family and student housing projects have the current mandatory fire suppression systems that would prevent a similar fire from happening.  The older projects that were built under old codes are of concern to me. I would be in favor of asking our City Manager to work with our fire professionals and building owners to explore way to have more of a failsafe early warning system built into these older projects to alert the inhabitants of potential fires. 

SMDR: Regarding “workforce housing” — do you support the city’s efforts to make more affordable housing options available to local residents? What would you suggest as a way to make housing more affordable?

Scott: The short answer (to the first question) is Yes. A realistic way for housing to become more affordable is by designing and implementing policies that encourage new housing options be built particularly close to needed services and jobs.  Additionally, attracting companies that offer jobs and careers with higher paying jobs to allow our workforce families to buy a house they can afford. What makes both of these hard to achieve is the predictability of development.  You can’t tell them to follow your code and then not approve their projects. This is currently happening on our City Council.  Investors will go elsewhere, and the problem will only get worse.  

SMDR: How do you think we should deal with increasing traffic congestion?  

Scott: As a 30 year resident I have seen the traffic increase every year. A large part of our traffic comes from commuters from the north and the south. I recommend working with the university to build parking locations north and south of town, allowing the university bus system or a consolidated mass transit system to pick up students on the periphery of the city decreasing vehicular traffic in the town. Second to work with federal, state and county to build a loop around the entire city allowing for a way to still move our citizens when traffic stops on I-35. 

Griffin Spell

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

Spell: My top priorities for the next two years are working to provide new housing options where it will not disrupt our established neighborhoods, supporting good growth and economic development in San Marcos, and preserving our unique cultural and historical legacies that makes San Marcos the shining gem of Central Texas.

SMDR: How would you balance historical preservation efforts with environmental concerns? How about balancing historical preservation efforts with economic development opportunities? 

Spell: As Chair of the San Marcos Historic Preservation Commission, I believe I have a unique and experienced perspective on this topic. I don’t see a conflict between historic preservation and economic development. Through tax credits at the state and national level, as well as proposed local tax credits that are being discussed now, preservation is an underutilized catalyst for economic development. The Old First Baptist Church on MLK is being revitalized because of the work of many in our community and the support of our Historic Preservation Commission. As for environmental concerns, I know Cape’s Dam is being considered for local landmark status, but no recommendation has been made, and only City Council can approve landmark status.

SMDR: In the wake of the Iconic Village fire, do you believe the city should revisit its fire code and consider making the rules for multifamily and purpose-built student housing projects more stringent? 

Spell: I live just a few blocks from Iconic Village Apartments, close enough to see fire and smoke from my front door on the morning of Friday, July 20th. Since that day I have called for a full and complete investigation into the causes of the fire, including a list of recommendations for potential changes to our fire code from professional firefighters and fire investigators, so that something like this never happens again in San Marcos.

SMDR: Regarding “workforce housing” -- do you support the city’s efforts to make more affordable housing options available to local residents? What would you suggest as a way to make housing more affordable? 

Spell: I fully support our new Workforce Housing Task Force, and attended their first meeting on September 13th. I look forward to hearing the Task Force’s recommendations next year. As a resident of our community for over a decade, I know firsthand that the cost of housing in San Marcos has been rising. We should be encouraging apartment construction in places that are zoned for multifamily and not next to single family neighborhoods or in areas of stability. We should also be supporting new single family home construction and encouraging home ownership. I would like for us to consider expanding the Texas State professor residency initiative to include SMCISD and CTMC employees.

SMDR: How do you think we should deal with increasing traffic congestion? 

Spell: We need a “leave no stone unturned” approach to traffic and parking in San Marcos. That means looking at options like expanding CARTS/San Marcos Transit, and extending bus service to Martindale and other surrounding communities. We need to work with the state legislature to give Texas State more flexibility in how their Bobcat Shuttle service works so they can extend their program to include Downtown, which they are currently prohibited from doing. We also need to support taxis and ridesharing services.