The Spur City Council had a full house April 19 at the Spur Senior Center — and its hands full with a hefty agenda of action items. Due to space limitations, this week’s report will cover several of the most pressing issues; we will follow up in next week’s issue.
Swimming pool presentation. Tops on most citizens’ minds appeared to be the eagerly anticipated presentation of design options for the Spur swimming pool being donated by new corporate citizen Argo Blockchain, but several groups also had requests before the council relating to a variety of development questions.
Matt Nackino, Argo’s head of construction and design, showed a PowerPoint explaining in more detail the dimensions and features of the pool that will be built inside the 1937 40-by-60-foot structure in Spur’s Swenson Park. The smaller-footprint pool, said Nackino, should provide the efficiency and ease of maintenance the city should find desirable. While planned features included a diving board and a slide (with the pool size carefully engineered to meet codes and safety standards), enhancements included by Argo included shade structures whose roofs will match the profile of the historic bathhouse roof; picnic tables and lounges; a soft-surface play area; and a barbecue grill. An option the city might consider funding, Nackino said, was a play structure inside the fence.
Some uncertainty was expressed by those present, regarding the depth of the pool for use by small children; in response, Mayor Louise Jones set a public forum for April 25 for citizens and council to examine these options more closely.
Request for water service connections for new residential development. Ole Olsen was present to request ater connections to serve a a new residential area for Spur. Olsen explained that the supply pipe from White River Municipal Water District (WRMWD) runs through the parcel of land on the east side of Spur on which he plans to build up to nine new residences. To provide service to individual water customers, Olsen requested the City of Spur construct a tap and lay 500 feet of pipe into the development. While some council members said that new homes (and their utility service) would represent a revenue stream for the city, alderperson Rhea Melton said that she had some concern about setting a precedent by the city providing such construction outside the city limits. The matter was tabled for further consultation with water district staff and Olsen.
Mortenson Construction request for water allotment. Representatives of Mortenson, the construction firm that is building the Texas Solar Nova solar farm in Kent County bordering on Spur’s water district, presented a proposal to use the land and fire hydrants located off FM 651 to provide waer for construction use. Gary Forsberg of Mortenson said the company anticipated needing 80,000 to 120,000 gallons of water per day for a 14- to 16-month period or possibly two years, a purchase it would make from Spur. The concern expressed by all was whether (WRWMD) could guarantee such a supply during drought conditions: WRWMD manager Shane Jones, who was present, said Spur’s water system could handle that volume
City works superintendent Chris Cornett noted that if drought were to pose an increased risk, “we might have to shut you off” and that the supply could not be guaranteed. Jones agreed that drought might force a restriction on optional uses, and offered for WRMWD to provide further documentation to the City of Spur for their requested allotment up to that drought point. A well could also provide some of the water. Forsberg assured the council that Mortenson tracks all water uses and pays a commercial rate.
As council raised no objection so long as WRWMD provided a resolution approving the request, and Mortenson is hoping to being work as early as next week, alderperson Don Wright moved to table the matter until such a resolution as obtained, and Jones agreed to call a session of the WRWMD promptly to handle it.
“Mortenson hires local,” Forsberg said to the council, for jobs that will soon involve dirt work, installation of solar panels, and other related skills.
KCBD Community Coverage in Spur. Mayor Jones reported that KCBD-TV, Lubbock Channel 11, had approached the city with an opportunity to be featured in the station’s 2022 Community Coverage Tour. As the previous event in Spur, in 2017, was deemed a success, council approved the request and will await notification of an exact date for sometime in June.
Personnel matters. After adjourning to convene an executive session, council returned with five motions regarding city personnel.
Codes compliance officer John Schmidt had tendered his retirement from the position after seven years service, effective June 30. The action was accepted by council.
Police chief Billy R. Spears, whose probationary period had come to an end as of the previous month’s council action and promoted to full-time, was provided his 25-cent-per-hour pay retroactive to cover the period from that action to present, and going forward.
The salary for police officer Taylor Howerton, who also was removed from probation as of the previous month, was raised to an annual salary of $35,568.
The probationary period for city worker Hayden Palmer was extended by three months.
The position of city clerk was offered to applicant Linda Alexander at a rate of $11 per hour with a start date May 2 and a probationary period of six months.
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.
