City council agreed Aug. 7 to enforce fines on houses where numbers are not visible from the road, citing its importance in case of emergency.
Other actions included amending a parking lot expenditure, hearing an update on park improvements, denying a water permit to Camp OTX and more.
The addressing of the house numbers issue came following online outcry from multiple city residents.
“Emergency services should be able to see the numbers from the road,” said councilwoman Lynn Palmer.
When concern was raised that some residents claimed that buying numbers for the house was a financial burden, council said they would address those issues as needed.
Mayor Gibson suggested the city’s public works department put the numbers up themselves and simply bill the residents for it. While they ultimately made no decision on that end, the council found the idea intriguing.
Methodist Church Lot
The next agenda item regarded the land use agreement with Methodist Church.
The current agreement is that the city pays the church $500 a month to use the church’s parking lot as a public lot Monday through Saturday. The $500 is supposed to go toward general maintenance of the parking lot.
A recent addition to the agreement includes a semi-annual audit on the church, where they are to show the city just how much they are spending on maintenance for the parking lot itself.
“I think $500 is ridiculous,” said councilwoman Debbie Breen, arguging the lot didn’t leave a lot of maintenance.
The council made a resolution to change the agreement to only having to pay $300 a month.
The Bandera Methodist Church was not present at the meeting.
Park Improvements
A presentation was made by the Ardurra Engineering group, about updates on the improvement project to Bandera City Park.
The project includes multiple facets. They plan to improve the drainage and roadway on Maple Street and the City Park, to include more pavement walkways, fishing pier platforms, and a kayak and canoe launch.
The project also intends to beautify the area while making it environmentally safe, including bio-swales leading down to the river, to improve drainage, and decrease erosion due to weather. They also plan to plant multiple native plants in an effort for riparian restoration.
The engineers cited the parks in Boerne and Kerrville as examples of the intended final product.
Other Agenda Items
In other business, the council denied a permit from Camp OTX to use extra water from the aquifer. The council unanimously agreed that it was not a good idea.
“It’s a threat to our water resources,” said Gibson.
Camp OTX wants the water to transition from a summer camp to a yearround camp. However, they currently do not use all of their allocated water every year, according to presentation at the meeting.
The council also passed the expenditure of $6,499 to the marshal’s office for new body-worn cameras.
Following a letter from concerned citizen Josie Evans, council discussed the current improvements being made to the city park and the entrances to make it accessible to the disabled or those with strollers.
Council also consulted with the city attorney about the current lease agreement with the Bandera County Commissioners’ Court, and they also approved the use of Bandera City Park for the upcoming track meet on Sept. 7.
The city council meets every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at city hall (the Aug. 7 meeting was a special meeting because the regularly scheduled meeting had been postponed for weather).
