Council OKs funds for Early Flood Warning System

The San Marcos City Council voted to approve an amendment to the Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation Action Plan to designate projects and allocate funding. 

The funding was awarded in response to the 2015 Memorial Day Weekend Floods and is intended to support projects that will reduce the risk of loss of life and damage to property in the future, prioritizing lower income areas while addressing the most impacted areas from the 2015 floods. 

Fourteen million dollars will be allocated to the Blanco Riverine Regional Flood Mitigation project, providing a berm and relief channel to lessen the risk of flooding in southwest San Marcos from the Blanco River. 

Two million dollars will go toward the Blanco Gardens Neighborhood Drainage project, to provide for channels, outfalls and River Road regrading to reduce risk of flooding in the Blanco Gardens Neighborhood.  

Another $300,000 will go toward an early warning flood system, by placing 12 stream and rain gauges in the San Marcos River and electronically integrating them with the Hays County Flood Warning System. Hays County is already doing work to place gauges in the Blanco River.

There will also be $60,000 for signs and barricades. 

In other business, there was a heavily attended public hearing to receive comments related to an ordinance that would rezone 14.71 acres out of the J.W. Berry Survey located near the 1500 block of N LBJ Drive from Future Development District to Single Family District. The item has come before the city council several times and the developer made some changes like changing the minimum lot size to 10,000 square feet instead of 6,000 square feet. 

Although staff recommended approval with some restricted covenants reducing density and the Planning and Zoning Commission denied it, ultimately the item failed due to traffic, safety and environmental concerns. 

After the COVID-19 update, Councilmember Shane Scott proposed removing the COVID-19 update and discussion item from the agenda in an effort to speed up the meetings which have gone well past midnight most sessions this year. 

Scott suggested that the report be sent out via email to councilmembers and still provide an in person update “as needed” or every third meeting, as suggested by Mayor Jane Hughson. 

The suggestion was supported by Scott, Hughson, Councilmembers Melissa Derrick and Mark Gleason.

In response, a COVID-19 committee was proposed to meet and discuss meaningful interpretations of data, what is currently being done to ensure vaccinations, barriers to vaccination access, misinformation barriers and funding opportunities. 

“That is going to shape how we emerge from covid,” Garza said. “We want an economically prosperous and healthy community.”

The item will come back at the next meeting to discuss the purpose in more detail and ideally appoint members.

The councilmembers voted to approve the San Marcos Regional Airport Master Plan, after a majority of the council supported exploring a community health study in conjunction with the plan at a previous work session. 

Councilmember Maxfield Baker proposed including the study in the master plan, stating that there may be increased health risks to the residents surrounding the airport that come with increased airport traffic.

Four councilmembers supported exploring the idea, but did not want to hold up the master plan in the process, while Baker expressed concern that it would not happen if it was not included in the master plan. 

“I think that if we are creating a master plan for the airport, the health and consideration of the neighbors should be at the utmost importance for our community,” Baker said. “Our budgets are moral documents and I think that if we are not dedicating money to health then I think that is a failing of city government.”

Assistant City Manager Joe Pantalion explained that they do not have the expertise on staff to conduct a public health study; the city could however explore working with the Hays County’s Office of Epidemiology or another organization.

“I’m not willing to hold up the master plan,” said Derrick. “I trust staff will take this seriously.”

The councilmembers also approved a change order to the Police Department Additions and Renovations Contract, increasing contingency funds  from $350K to $529K increasing the total amount of the contract by $179K from $9.1 million to $9.3 million. 

Later, a majority of the councilmembers supported continuing discussions on allowing goats for urban farming. Staff will work to create a new ordinance and bring it back before the city council.