In January 2024, Spur city council met twice, once in regular session January 16 and again in a special session Jan. 30 primarily to take action on a personnel matter.
We’ll catch up with board action of Jan. 16 first.
In open forum, Annette Cantu of Spur addressed the council regarding demolition of a house on her property. She is having it cleared and plans to put a tiny house on the property.
On regular agenda items, Deborah Milbern, client services manager for the Texas Department of Agriculture, was given authorization by city council to act on behalf of the City of Spur to issue a request for proposals (FRP) and request for qualification (RFQ) for the 2024 Texas Community Development Block Grant Program, Downtown Revitalization Program (this is not the actual grant application).
Mary Alice Molina asked the council to extend her variance for remodeling at 507 Franklin Avenue for six more months. The motion carried, 4-0.
Matthew McArthur, president of the Spur Area Chamber of Commerce, asked the council to allow the Chamber to adopt the Garden Club Park on Burlington Avenue for beautification purposes. A council otion to that effect carried, 4-0.
Council’s discussion of the longevity pool was tabled again, with Mayor Louise Jones appointing council members Elaine Harris and Rhea Melton as a committee to come up with a fair distribution plan. The matter of the city’s sick leave pool was also tabled again until more thought is given to it.
Under Department Reports, Police Chief Ramon Golden reported the following calls for December 2023: Unwanted guest 1; Traffic 8; Criminal Trespass 3; Alarm Call 1; Burglary 3; EMS 3; Theft Investigation 2; Escort 1; Noise complaint 1; Animal control 1; Welfare check 4; Lift assist 1; Juvenile Problems 3; Death Investigation 2; Citations 1 Chief Golden will purchase tuning forks or the radar system. These calls led to no arrests by the spur Police department, Golden reported.
For Public Works, supervisor Chris Cornett reported dealing with three water leaks in December, and repaired street potholes near the school.
There were no monthly report from the Spur Volunteer Fire Department, Municipal Court, Code Compliance, or City Secretary.
Minutes of the Dec.19, 2023 regular meeting and the special meeting of Dec. 28, 2023 were approved as read.
Absent from meeting were council members Hope Ortiz and Laidy Vasquez. At the special meeting of Dec. 30, 2023, two matters were dealt with.
First, Mayor Louise Jones read a request from Fire Chief Wess Abbott for approval to retire and donate the department’s1972 exmilitary deuce-and-a-half brush truck. The department would like to give it to the small rural Maryneal Volunteer Fire Department, which is in need of this truck. The truck, which was from a Texas Forest Service grant received in 2008, has been housed outside for about three to four years, said Abbott, and is in need of many repairs. The Maryneal department believes they can keep it running. The council approved the donation and authorized Mayor Jones to execute the necessary documents and an interlock agreement between both fire departments. The motion carried 5-0.
At 6:07 p.m., council went into closed executive session, reconvening at 6:38 p.m. with no action taken in open session.
Council then voted on a resolution, 551.074, to remove the City Secretary, Nanette Yanez, for lack of confidence in accordance with the Texas Local Government Code 22.077(b). The motion carried, 5-0.
Council voted to appoint Ashley Carothers, a former city sectretary, as interim secretary. The motion carried, 5-0. Council member Hope Ortiz was absent from the meeting.
