Council moves ahead with business relief
The San Marcos City Council moved to relieve food establishments that are struggling with the impacts of COVID-19 during a special meeting on Thursday.
The council made plans to vote on an emergency ordinance to create a payment plan to assist local food establishments that have been affected by the economic impacts caused by COVID-19 during its upcoming regular meeting on Tuesday.
The plan will divide the food establishment permit fee into three payments to be paid in the second, third and fourth quarters. No payment will be due in the first quarter for those using a payment plan.
Food establishment permit fees make up an estimated $35,000 for the city’s general budget revenue through the end of the fiscal year. The amount may seem nominal but the city is expecting reduced sales tax revenue and other reductions in revenue for the coming year due to COVID-19 shutdowns.
Director of Public Safety Chase Stapp gave a COVID-19 update during Thursday's meeting. Stapp said that the city and county convened in a recovery taskforce with 23 local public and private industries represented, including health authorities, restaurants and business associations. The group met to respond to reopening measures in San Marcos and developed an FAQ page.
The city's parks remain closed and will be evaluated on a weekly basis.
Testing has been expanded in Hays County and there are at least seven medical facilities in San Marcos conducting COVID-19 tests: Care Now Urgent Care, Live Oak Health Partners on Broadway and on Wonder World Drive, My Emergency Room 24/7, Premier ER and Urgent Care and San Marcos Family Medicine. The Live Oak Health Partners locations are providing free tests to uninsured or underinsured residents of Hays County.
On May 10, the Texas Department of State Health Services and National Guard will conduct two drive through testing sites, one in Wimberley and one in Dripping springs, with 120 test kits funded by the state. Those sites will still require advanced screening that can be accessed by calling the COVID-19 hotline at 512-393-5525.
In other business, council voted, 4-2, against a resolution to ask the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) to further extend public comment on their 2045 Transportation Plan. Councilmembers Maxfield Baker and Melissa Derrick were in favor of the resolution because they wanted residents to have more time to provide input.
Councilmembers who were opposed to the resolution agreed with Mayor Jane Hughson, the city’s representative to CAMPO, when she explained that the way items get added to the CAMPO plan is through the updated city and county transportation plans. Hays County recently began updating its transportation plan and encourages residents to participate with public comment.
The May 5 council meeting will also look at reallocating Community Development Block Grant funds for fiscal year 2020.
