Photo by Jessica Nohealapa’ahi
September 7, 2023
Bandera EDC funds city playground; discusses meeting places, website design and parking lot
By Jessica Nohealapa’ahi
The Bandera Prophet
Asking the Bandera Economic Development Corporation to reimburse the City of Bandera for what it has paid toward the Bandera City Park playground, City Administrator Richard Morton said a $25,000 balance remains.
The city received a 50/50 matching grant for the playground; $75,000 was donated by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Recreation Grants Branch, and $75,000 was the city’s portion. Although there is no written contract obligating the BEDC to pay, “I’m here asking for you to fund it,” Morton said.
BEDC Member Lindsay Barnett motioned to amend the budget, and transfer $25,000 from miscellaneous projects to pay the balance. The motion was approved, with BEDC President Andrea Jankoski and Member Deanna McCabe opposed, who suggested bringing the matter back to the board with a contract.
BEDC members then approved the 2023-24 proposed budget, with Member Laura Devenport opposed, stating she was concerned about how the sales tax revenue was budgeted.
~ In other business, members set a Jan. 1, 2024 deadline to receive applications for promotional funding applications for the next fiscal year.
~ BEDC members voted down a motion to hold regular BEDC meetings in the Best Western conference room, and special meetings/workshops at the Bandera Library.
Jankoski said she contacted the hotel general manager, and negotiated use of the conference room at no charge, which she said would alleviate potential issues gaining access to City Hall after hours for evening meetings.
“I like the idea of being independent of the city,” BEDC Member Tom McEachin said.
BEDC Member Alan Arterbury said he felt holding meetings at City Hall afforded a better opportunity to integrate with the public.
~ Members reviewed three bids to design a website for the BEDC, before tabling a decision on which direction to go, pending more research.
McCabe acquired bids from EDSuite, Golden Shovel Agency and CivicPlus, which ranged in price from $21,000 to $4,758 for one-time and annual fees, depending on the services procured. She said she would confer with local companies she felt could do the work, including designing a website, gathering content, and training BEDC members to update.
Board members agreed to table the item until their next regular meeting.
~ During their last meeting, City Council members denied a zoning change request for BEDC property at 10th Street and Maple, instead instructing staff to continue issuing permits for temporary vendors on the vacant lot. Morton told the board he researched the zoning ordinance, but made an error while advising council.
“I made a mistake, I looked for prohibition,” Morton said. “In zoning, you look for what is allowed, not prohibition…the real discussion should have been what is allowed in P-3. I would suggest that you bring the zoning case back to council.”
BEDC members were seeking to change the zoning from P-3 (residential) to P-4 / P-5, which allows temporary vendors such as food trucks and parking in a residential area. When the land was first purchased in 2015/16, the intent was to use it for overflow parking, Devenport said.
“The president of EDC asked for it to be purchased as a parking lot,” City Council Member Lynn Palmer said. “But council didn’t realize at the time is was zoned as R-1, which did not allow a parking lot. It was never zoned for a parking lot. It was a big mistake…That’s my fault, too. As a council member, I should have checked to make sure it was zoned to allow a parking lot, and I did not.”
According to city ordinance, Morton said, once council takes action on a rezoning request, it may not be brought back to council for one year, unless substantial new information is presented. He said given staff’s misinterpretation, he felt the matter could be brought back to council.
McCabe motioned to bring the issue back at a future meeting, to discuss what the board would like to see moving forward.
“I think there are a lot of things we could do besides fight over a parking lot,” she said.
The city received a 50/50 matching grant for the playground; $75,000 was donated by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Recreation Grants Branch, and $75,000 was the city’s portion. Although there is no written contract obligating the BEDC to pay, “I’m here asking for you to fund it,” Morton said.
BEDC Member Lindsay Barnett motioned to amend the budget, and transfer $25,000 from miscellaneous projects to pay the balance. The motion was approved, with BEDC President Andrea Jankoski and Member Deanna McCabe opposed, who suggested bringing the matter back to the board with a contract.
BEDC members then approved the 2023-24 proposed budget, with Member Laura Devenport opposed, stating she was concerned about how the sales tax revenue was budgeted.
~ In other business, members set a Jan. 1, 2024 deadline to receive applications for promotional funding applications for the next fiscal year.
~ BEDC members voted down a motion to hold regular BEDC meetings in the Best Western conference room, and special meetings/workshops at the Bandera Library.
Jankoski said she contacted the hotel general manager, and negotiated use of the conference room at no charge, which she said would alleviate potential issues gaining access to City Hall after hours for evening meetings.
“I like the idea of being independent of the city,” BEDC Member Tom McEachin said.
BEDC Member Alan Arterbury said he felt holding meetings at City Hall afforded a better opportunity to integrate with the public.
~ Members reviewed three bids to design a website for the BEDC, before tabling a decision on which direction to go, pending more research.
McCabe acquired bids from EDSuite, Golden Shovel Agency and CivicPlus, which ranged in price from $21,000 to $4,758 for one-time and annual fees, depending on the services procured. She said she would confer with local companies she felt could do the work, including designing a website, gathering content, and training BEDC members to update.
Board members agreed to table the item until their next regular meeting.
~ During their last meeting, City Council members denied a zoning change request for BEDC property at 10th Street and Maple, instead instructing staff to continue issuing permits for temporary vendors on the vacant lot. Morton told the board he researched the zoning ordinance, but made an error while advising council.
“I made a mistake, I looked for prohibition,” Morton said. “In zoning, you look for what is allowed, not prohibition…the real discussion should have been what is allowed in P-3. I would suggest that you bring the zoning case back to council.”
BEDC members were seeking to change the zoning from P-3 (residential) to P-4 / P-5, which allows temporary vendors such as food trucks and parking in a residential area. When the land was first purchased in 2015/16, the intent was to use it for overflow parking, Devenport said.
“The president of EDC asked for it to be purchased as a parking lot,” City Council Member Lynn Palmer said. “But council didn’t realize at the time is was zoned as R-1, which did not allow a parking lot. It was never zoned for a parking lot. It was a big mistake…That’s my fault, too. As a council member, I should have checked to make sure it was zoned to allow a parking lot, and I did not.”
According to city ordinance, Morton said, once council takes action on a rezoning request, it may not be brought back to council for one year, unless substantial new information is presented. He said given staff’s misinterpretation, he felt the matter could be brought back to council.
McCabe motioned to bring the issue back at a future meeting, to discuss what the board would like to see moving forward.
“I think there are a lot of things we could do besides fight over a parking lot,” she said.