July 15 City Council Meeting – Important Issues Will Be Discussed
A little over a month ago, the Friends of Rollingwood reported that John Hinton called a Special Meeting to, among other things, consider reducing the City’s staff and personnel. In response to that agenda item, more than 100 people crowded into City Hall to have their voices heard and at the end of the night, that agenda item was pulled. Well, that and several other items, are back on the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting (July 15).
The agenda for Wednesday’s meeting is now posted on the City’s website. Here are some highlights:
Should we fire the City Administrator?
Agenda Item No. 6, by Alderman John Hinton, calls for discussion and possible action regarding hiring an employment attorney and the possibility of buying out the City Administrator’s employment contract, which was just renewed. Of course, hiring an attorney costs money, and this comes at a time when some believe that the City of Rollingwood does not have enough money to pay for ADA accessible restrooms. If you have an opinion about the City Administrator, contact Brian Nalle and share your thoughts with him before the meeting.
Should we buy back the Wastewater System from the LCRA?
It is a well-known fact that the LCRA is interested in selling the wastewater systems that it owns and operates for small towns in Central Texas. Recently, the LCRA agreed to sell the wastewater system back to the cites of Cedar Park and Round Rock. Cedar Park’s Mayor, Bob Lemon said: “While the city of Cedar Park is appreciative of the LCRA for setting up this system and providing a necessary service to our residents, we believe by purchasing the system we can save our rate payers money.” “Ultimately, this is in the best interest of our city and our residents.” (read more . . .)
Rollingwood could also purchase the system and reduce the wastewater bills for residents, which by the way is the single biggest complaint of residents in the City. However, this undoubtedly would require the City to borrow money in order to purchase the system (just like we borrowed money from LCRA). The Mayor’s recent article in the Westlake Picayune said: “As a result, the City Council soon will be discussing the feasibility of paying off the LCRA in an action that would result in Rollingwood owning its wastewater system. By refinancing at a lower interest rate, and having current staff take over routine operations and maintenance duties, sewer related expenses would be lowered significantly. You can read more of the Mayor’s comments on this topic in the Westlake Picayune.
This really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reduce our wastewater bills, particularly those on a fixed income. The City should explore this idea in a serious fashion and we would encourage you to attend the meeting and share your thoughts with the City Council. Here are some pictures of the outdated and rotting Rollingwood water system:
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Should we dissolve the RCDC?
Mr. Hinton has added an agenda item regarding using RCDC funds to pay for the water project. The estimated cost for the water project is $669,000. RCDC has about $468,500, or about $200,000 less than is needed to fund the proposed water project. There is some question about whether the RCDC can even fund this project under the Development Act. If those funds were used for the water project, there would no money to fund park maintenance and this would effectively end the RCDC for several years to come.
On a related note, Alderwoman Jayakumar would like to discuss the idea of taking ½ of RCDC’s sales tax revenue to create a street maintenance fund. In the past, the RCDC has made between $10,000 — $15,000 per month from sales tax revenue. If sales tax revenue declines rapidly, it could be considerably less. Taking ½ of that amount would generate approximately $60,000 per year for the street maintenance fund. It will cost between $125,000 — $250,000 per mile to repair the streets in Rollingwood. Therefore, the street maintenance fund would be able to “resurface” approximately 1 mile of road in about 2 years. It will take 4 years to “rebuild” one mile of road, or sometime in 2013.
Should we lower the requirements to serve on a Board or Commission?
Finally, Mr. Hinton would like to hear your comments about revising the City Code regarding membership requirements for volunteers who serve on Boards or Commissions. At issue is a requirement preventing anyone who is adverse to the City of Rollingwood in litigation, or who has been convicted of a felony or a Class A or B misdemeanor from serving on a Board or Commission. Should the City lower the standards for Board/Commission volunteers?