This is sent to me after each council meeting. If you are interested in receiving this type of recap of the council meeting by email please contact citizens2008@hotmail.com .
Hello, friends.
Council met on a strange date this month, as it was a combined meeting for November. It was not according to the usual second and fourth Tuesday schedule. (You need to memorize that schedule, as a person who is very interested in the City of League City: every month except November and December,Council meets the second and fourth Tuesday at 6pm.)
First the holiday announcements, for your pleasure:
The Library Board, staff, and Friends of Helen Hall Library will be hosting a Christmas Open House on Thursday, December 4th, from 5 to 6:30pm. Santa will arrive at 5:15pm, and the City's 'new' Christmas Tree will be lit at 6:30, courtesy of the Knights of Columbus #9310 and the League City Parks and Recreation Department. Come on out for this one--it is alot of fun!
Secondly, although the City is not the sponsor of Holiday in the Park, it is a wonderful Holiday event and your whole family will enjoy it. For more information and the schedule, check out www.holidayinthepark.org/.
The agenda was long, and held a variety of items. Included were many zoning changes, mostly just cleanup stuff, and other miscellaneous items that are mundane but do require action by Council.
One thing you should be interested in is that we awarded the annual mowing contract at a cost of almost $100,000. We all see such wonderful grassy parks and roadsides, and we just take the manicured mowing for granted, but it is a big expense for the City. There were four bids, and the City picked the lowest.
Now that cleanup from Ike is almost complete--with mostly damaged fencing left still unpicked up because it had to be inspected by insurance adjusters, the City has received a bill for an additional $72,000 worth of landfill fees that are above and beyond our garbage contract. Although Ameriwaste did not provide detailed backup for this bill, and in spite of the fact that there were some glitches in the paperwork between the City and Ameriwaste, Council voted 5-2 to pay the bill, without asking any more questions of the trash company. We have been told that FEMA should reimburse us 100%, so cross your fingers. The 2 dissenting votes were Mike Barber and Tim Paulissen.
Item 10F of the Consent agenda was to consider and take action to accept a quitclaim deed conveyance to the City of League City for a portion of Marina Way. When Mr. Cones inquired as to why the item was pulled from the agenda, Larry Herbert, Director of Public Works, said that it was pulled by staff. Actually, it was I who pulled the item because I have some questions about it. In the past few years, the city has had some trouble about accepting and changing deeds, and I just want time for due diligence to be properly done.
Another item on the agenda that was discussed at length was the matter of "contracting for surveying, environmental, schematic, and drainage design of the proposed extension of Palomino Road from its current terminus north to the vicinity of Bay Area Boulevard." Several Council members (Barber, Paulissen and Cones) said that it was their understanding that a study was going to be done to fine the best route for crossing the Creek going northbound, between the Freeway and the Bay Area Blvd. The motion was made and seconded to postpone this item until the next Council meeting.
The December Council meeting, which will be held on the 9th, promises to be another full agenda. Various items will be a Charter Review Workshop, with Council members and the 2007 Committee, at 5pm before the Council meeting. Other interesting and important items such as this bridge over the creek, the Mayor's appointment of citizens to the City Boards and Commissions, and many others of interest will be posted.
Remember, if you have a dish and therefore don't get Channel 16, you can now watch the Council Meeting live on the city website, http://www.ci.league-city.tx.us/ The sound has been improved.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! This year for sure, we are reminded how much we have to be thankful for!
