City council discusses CDBG-DR Plan

The San Marcos City Council received a presentation and discussed the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) Action Plan during Tuesday’s meeting.

The $33 million funding comes from CDBG-DR grant money that was allocated to the city following the Memorial Day and All Saints Floods of 2015 from the U.S. Department of Housing.

A presentation on the amendment was given by Amanda Hernandez, assistant director of planning and development services. The amendment is a twopart project, with the first being a budget change for the Blanco Gardens Infrastructure project.

“We received bids that exceeded the amount expected and staff conducted a cross-analysis and concluded that the prices proposed were fair considering current market conditions,” Hernandez said. “Therefore we are proposing to move a little bit over $2 million from the Midtown/Aquarena Springs project to the Blanco Gardens project so that construction can commence on the Blanco Gardens project.”

Funding will be needed outside of the CDBG-GR grant to complete the Midtown/Aquarena Springs project. Those funds have not yet been identified.

The second part of the project includes housing activities such as new construction, demolition, clearance and temporary relocation. There is no budget implication associated with this change.

Following the presentation, San Marcos resident Lisa Marie Coppoletta voiced her concerns with the projects.

“They [Blanco Garden residents] vote and you guys let them down, they show up to public hearings and you guys let them down, they get on boards and now you want to change the option for the board,” Coppoletta said.

Coppoletta went on to say that she supports anything that the council could do to help the Blanco Gardens neighborhood residents.

No action was taken following the public hearing, the council is expected to vote on the item on March 23.

The council voted to approve the installation of speed cushions in both directions in the 500 through 1200 blocks of Franklin Drive (from Old Ranch Road 12 and Bishop Street).

Speed cushions were defined as a variation of a speed hump that provides wide space gaps in the middle of the speed hump that specifically allows emergency management vehicles to cross the speed hump without impacting the emergency vehicle and to not increase emergency response times, said Sabas Avila, director of public works.

Concerns were expressed by councilmembers after a survey previously taken in the neighborhood favored the installation of speed humps rather than speed cushions. However, council went on to vote in favor of the installation during the first of two readings.

The council also went on to approve the reduction of the speed limit from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour in the Vista De Los Santos Neighborhood.

Approval by the council also authorized the installation of signs and traffic control devices reflecting the new speed limits.

Councilmembers approved a change in the source of funding between the American Rescue Plan Funds and the General Fund for Human Services Grants.

Despite the changes, the amounts awarded for projects already approved by council will be maintained.

Councilmembers held a discussion relating to potential projects being presented to the council by anyone wanting to build or start a business in San Marcos.

While the council went over the many ways in which those looking to open and start new businesses and projects, Mayor Jane Hughson suggested that council receive a weekly update from the City Manager and provided videos new developers can watch to learn more and not have to wait for city workshops.

In terms of developers wanting to develop in the community, City Manager Stephanie Reyes agreed with providing videos and suggested that developers attend the planning staff’s pre-development meetings.

Council agreed that a plan and process should be made for new developers or those new to opening a business in San Marcos. Reyes agreed to work with staff to ensure what process would work best.

“I just want to be sure that we can do it and not cause more confusion because it may not be a one size fits all still, depending on you know, where they’re developing and what that looks like,” Reyes said.

To end the meeting, council held a discussion on the current ordinance requirement of a needed supermajority council vote to overturn a Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation of denial and provide direction to the City Manager.

Councilmember Shane Scott had concerns regarding the diversity within the Planning and Zoning Commission in terms of price barriers and income.

“We put in some guidelines and requirements that we would try to look for but it doesn’t seem to be working because we still seem to have a very one-sided I guess, P and Z,” Scott said.

Scott further explained that he wanted the council to explore other options and ideas to meet the goals of the council and the community.

Councilmember Alyssa Garza expressed why she initially seconded the agenda item.

“As someone who has felt perpetually gaslit and dismissed by my peers when I share historically dismissed or unrecognized voices and perspectives, it would just feel disingenuous for me to do that to a colleague,” Garza said.

Garza went on to highlight that when the council appointed individuals to boards and commissions, she saw many of those shared similar demographic backgrounds and concentrated in certain parts of the city.

Hughson brought up the point that there weren’t many applicants when it comes to certain roles on the Planning and Zoning Commission and the importance of “casting a wider net.”

Councilmember Mark Gleason expressed that he is not for changing the supermajority vote saying, “There’s just no way I can see supporting changing it and state law kind of binds our hands, it’s either majority or supermajority from what I understand and there’s really no compromise there.”

Ultimately, the majority of the council did not agree to make any changes. However, more discussion regarding diversity and equity will take place at a later date.

To view the complete meeting and agenda, visit http://san-marcos-tx. granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=9.

agonzales @sanmarcosrecord.com

Twitter: @alyssagonz89