Editor: Shannon Cottongame
June 21, 2023
The Whitney City Council expressed interest in pursuing a traffic study in the city, discussed the need for repairs to city property and considered possibilities for city park improvements in a meeting held Thursday, June 15.
Council member Martis Ward requested an agenda item related to stop signs in the city, saying that he believes some of them are unnecessary and could be replaced with yield signs. This sparked a discussion about neighborhoods that have four-way stops at multiple intersections.
Public Works Director Billy Pribble told the council that many of the traffic control devices in the city were installed incorrectly based on requests. While some of them may be unnecessary, there are other areas that might need signs or speed bumps that don’t currently have them.
Pribble recommended that if the council intends to move forward with changes, a city-wide traffic study be done to determine what is actually needed. He reported that he reached out to the Texas Department of Transportation for advice, which recommended a local surveyor.
The council asked Pribble to pursue more information about conducting a traffic study.
The council also discussed the condition of the city’s property on Colorado Street, which currently houses the city annex, police department and office space for the Hill County Salvation Army.
The city has been working to correct some of the issues and awarded a bid to a local company for roof repairs at the Salvation Army office in August of last year. Leaks have continued to be a problem since that time, and Pribble said that heavy rainfall that occurred in March and April led to the ceiling collapsing, causing serious damage to the interior of the building.
Pribble said that the roofing company reported that the damage was caused by an issue with a false facade on the building and not the recent roofing work.
After presenting proposals and costs for repairs, Pribble said that it is important to understand that the recent damage is not the only problem with the structure.
He told the council that discussions have been held with Shane Baker about the new Whitney Business District on North Brazos Street and the possibility of the city leasing office space in the complex. This would create a central building for city offices.
The council requested that Pribble gather information and costs for both options—repairing the current facilities and leasing new space—and present it for consideration.
In another agenda item, Mayor Janice Sanders requested a line item in the administration budget for mayor’s projects. Her specific project would be city park improvements, and donors requesting to assist would be able to pick an item like equipment, lighting, etc. to contribute to the effort.
The mayor reported that First Baptist Church has donated its playground equipment to the city for the park, and there have also been discussions about creating walkways and other improvements. Several citizens and groups are standing by waiting to assist with the effort.
Several agenda items were considered relating to matters that have been before the council in the past but never fully implemented. Pribble, who has been assisting with administrative tasks, has been researching the issues and bringing them before the council.
In 2016, the council approved a personnel policy that called for the 1:1 match that the city offers employees through the Texas Municipal Retirement System to be increased to a 2:1 match. That was never implemented, and the council agreed to make the change to assist with employee recruitment and retention efforts. Pribble said that nearby cities offer the 2:1 match, and it is important to incentivize and encourage long-term employment with the city.
Another 2016 change was raising the rate of longevity pay to $100 per year for each full year of continuous service to the city after two years, with a maximum payout at 25 years. That was an increase from $48, but the change was never implemented. The council agreed to make the necessary adjustment.
The council authorized an ordinance ratifying the council’s August 16, 2021 vote to change the zoning classification of almost 47 acres in the city from agricultural to single-family two. The zoning change was made, but the zoning ordinance was never amended to reflect the change. The action relates to the development of the Trinity Estates Addition.
A development agreement and final plat for the Stillmeadow Estates subdivision east of town was approved. The development is located east of town off Highway 22 in the city’s extra-territorial jurisdiction.
The council also selected a deputy mayor pro tem, which performs the mayor’s duties in the event of absence or disability of the mayor and mayor pro-tem. Council member Aimee Boswell was selected to fill the role.
In other action, the council approved Juneteenth as a City of Whitney holiday and amended the city’s personnel policy to add Columbus Day and President’s Day to the holiday schedule. These two were already holidays but were not been added to the personnel policy in 2020, so Pribble brought them back before the council to make the addition.
A replat of property at 304 East Roosevelt into two lots was also approved by the council.
In public comments, First Baptist Church Pastor Jay Morris spoke to the council on two issues. He spoke about the church donating its playground equipment to the city to support city park improvements and said that there are issues in the city that hurts its impression on new residents and reputation. He said that his church has an issue with chickens and feral cats coming onto the campus and pointed out that the cat problem is why the church is unable to have a playground. He said that he was also bitten by a dog while on a walk in a local neighborhood. He encouraged action on such problems.
In departmental reports, it was reported that the fire department responded to 51 calls in May and the police department is continuing its recruitment of quality officers. The municipal court reported nine total tickets written in May, and public works is continuing to try and hire employees and is performing ongoing pothole repairs as weather permits.
Library Director Denise Carter said that summer programs are underway, and the library was preparing to host the Lake Whitney Amateur Radio Society’s field day. She pointed out that the library can help people get passports as one of its many services, and she encouraged everyone to view the library’s website for a wealth of information about services offered.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Whitney City Council will be held Thursday, July 20.
The Lakelander 