Hill Country Weekly - Thursday, October 15, 2020

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BERGHEIM • BOERNE • COMFORT • FAIR OAKS • KENDALIA • SISTERDALE • WARING • WELFARE

Thursday, October 15

O C TO B E R M E E T I N G

Commissioners Court

Zooms through agenda items Bars to reopen, County will seek legislative help and flood control revisions discussed Christina Ryrholm Hill Country Weekly Commissioners Court had their first October meeting on Tuesday. Per the new normal, the meeting was held by zoom with all the commissioners and most of the staff participating from their own desks. In less than an hour and a quarter 28 agenda items were discussed and handled with one agenda item dealing with a maintenance contract for the Law Enforcement Center being pulled at the request of general counsel, Bill Ballard. There were three issues that consisted of most of the discussion and they will require future action. The first was an update for COVID-19. County Judge Darrel Lux informed the commissioners that bars would be able to open on Wednesday, October 14. Governor Abbott’s 32nd COVID proclamation included the provision for establishments that derive the majority of their revenue from the sale of alcohol would be permitted to reopen at not more that fifty

percent occupancy if the county judge filed the requisite form with TABC (Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission). This only effects two establishments in Kendall County as all others are also serving enough food items to qualify for reopening. The two businesses are The Long Branch Saloon on North Main and Salvador Dobbs on River Road. They have been closed since the middle of March. The second item is to prepare for the 87th Texas Legislature that is scheduled to begin on January 12 of next year. The plan is for Mary Ellen Schulle, County Development Engineer, and Bill Ballard, General Counsel, to write up a proposal with the help of input from various elected officials and staff outlining what Kendall County would like to have accomplished by Austin. This action is the direct result of a meeting held earlier with Lux, Ballard and Schulle and State Representative Kyle Biedermann and his chief of staff, Karen Dyer, on the topic of county control over development regulations. Lux stated that “We have been given the opportunity ask and ask we should”. While Schulle and Dyer will be working on the language to be used they will include impact fees, capital costs and land use as other areas to ask for help at the county level. It was also suggested that the County work in tandem with Cow Creek

Explaining Judge Darrel Lux at the Commissioners Court meeting Groundwater Conservation District and Hill Country Alliance (for dark skies initiatives). Consideration and action of adopting revisions to the 2010 Flood Damage Prevention Order is meant to update language and requirements based on events of the past ten years. These will include building at least a foot above base level, requiring flood studies and clarifying the types of development permitted. It is also attempting to align with the city of Boerne regulations. There will be further action at a later court date. Some of the other actions taken include the burn ban remaining off, the tax levy of almost twenty-seven million dollars being approved, items were approved to allow Christmas in Comfort to take place as usual and various service and maintenance contracts received commissioners support.

O C TO B E R 8 M E E T I N G

FOR P&Z commissioners attend

workshops and training Connie McFall Clark Hill Country Weekly The Fair Oaks Ranch (FOR) Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) met on October 8 to attend five training workshops. City Attorney Cynthia Trevino introduced the Commissioners to the Texas Open Meetings Act and Public Information Act sessions. She also conducted a Legal Training workshop. Two additional workshops were conducted: P&Z Planning and P&Z Administration.

The Commissioners also recommended changes to the P&Z Commission Rules of Procedures as stated by Christina Picioccio, City Secretary. These were approved by FOR City Council and deal with setting three-year terms with October 1 start dates and the procedure to fill openings. A Chairman was selected: Frank Trapasso and Vice Chair is Bobbe Barnes. As background for the Public Information Act, Ms. Trevino showed a slide with the following:

• Governor Abbott: “A democracy depends on fully informed citizens and they in turn depend upon a government that is open and accessible.” • Sharpstown stock fraud scandal of the 1970s: Following the scandal in the Texas Legislature, the Public Information Act was enacted to promote transparency in government. • Senator John Cornyn: “It is only See P&Z, page 4

City council focus on safety Safety is the theme of much of the council’s discussions Christina Ryrholm Hill Country Weekly On Tuesday night Boerne City Council had their first October meeting in Council Chambers. The hour and a half meeting handled most of their business with the consent agenda in the beginning and reports/ updates given at the end at the request of City Manager Ben Thatcher. Mayor Tim Handren and all five of the council members were present – Ty Wolosin, Nina Woolard, Quinten Scott, Bryce Bodde and Joe Macaluso. Seven of the eight consent agenda

items were approved but the item concerning an agreement between the city and Dude Solutions, Inc. was pulled to discuss at the request of Quinten Scott. Dude Solutions is a software company that aids in the management of maintenance and facilities. After being assured that the system will allow for transparency in the permit process and the ability to track projects in real time, including the handling of complaints, this item passed with a ceiling limit of $39,290. In short order two parcels of land that had been annexed last year were

rezoned after clarification that once the Unified Development (UDC) code is adopted they will be rezoned again. The council was then updated on the progress of the Blanco Road improvements/reconfiguration. Safety is the primary concern, specifically at the Plant Street school crossing and the pedestrian crosswalk for the No. 9 Trail. Back in June a proposed solution of reducing the four lanes to two with bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides

the new

voting

system Christina Ryrholm Hill Country Weekly Writer’s note: I really dislike change. I am so far behind in accepting faster and more efficient aspects of technology that friends and family despair. A case in point was when we still had the option of paper ballots versus machine voting - I always chose paper until finally the election volunteers said, “Sorry, we no longer offer a choice, it’s machine or no vote”. So machine it was. Kendall County Elections office is diligently preparing to institute a new system for voting for the November 3 General Election. This system combines the most advanced technology AND a paper ballot. The machines have arrived and the training for the staff and election judges has been completed. Every polling location is required to have both a Democrat and a Republican judge present to process each step in tandem. The new system is in two-parts, a Ballot Making Device (BMD) and a Ballot Scanner. After the voter registration information has been verified a thermal paper ballot, the Express Vote Activation Card, is given the individual. The actual ballot takes into account what county precinct and city district the voter resides. Each ballot has a serial number so that there is a check and balance of the number of ballots issued and number that have been tabulated. The voter then goes to any one of the BMD’s, where each Express Vote privacy station has been set up, and after inserting his/ her ballot begins to cast his/her vote for each office starting with the president and working through federal, state and down to local elections. It is strongly suggested that voters bring a completed sample ballot for reference as cell phones will not be permitted. If the voter wishes to cast a write-in vote it can only be for an individual that has been approved and accepted as a write-in candidate and those name will be on the side of the privacy walls of the BMD. The BMD has some unique features such as changing the screen from white to black (to aid those that are color blind), a zoom button to enlarge the size of the type, a jack for head phones for individuals with eyesight issues and a remote control device for those that will need the BMD brought out to them curbside. After the voter has completed making his/ See VOTE, page 4

See CITY COUNCIL, page 7

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Index This and That.............................................................................. 3 Library.......................................................................................... 9 BEC Awards................................................................................. 7 Explore Boerne........................................................................10 Friends of the Night Sky......................................................... 8 Haunted Hospital...................................................................11

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To subscribe, call (830) 331-8454 or visit hillcountryweekly.com. Volume 13 Issue 24


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