City Commissioners meet, don’t pass parking ordinance, receive updates

The Breckenridge City Commissioners met Tuesday, Dec. 4 and did not approve a parking ordinance that would have made it illegal to park vehicles on unimproved surfaces. They also gave awards to city employees who have been with Breckenridge for an extended period of time.

On top of this, they tabled a public hearing regarding the rezoning of Wheeler and Elliott Street to allow for townhouses. They will have a new vote for it at the Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday, Dec. 13, which will determine if the P&Z board sends a recommendation to the city for approval.

In the consent agenda, they appointed a member to the Board of Adjustments and the P&Z Commission to replace outgoing member Mike Hinyard. At the last P&Z meeting, Hinyard made the motion to open voting for the rezoning of Wheeler and Elliott. But his permanent address had been changed to outside of Breckenridge, making him ineligible to vote in the commission. The new member, Coby Walker, will be in Hinyard’s place to vote at the next P&Z meeting on Dec. 13, where they will revote on the rezoning.

The biggest item of the day regarded the parking ordinance that would make it illegal for residents to park their vehicles in their yards without improving the surface with concrete or gravel. The board did not take any action on the item, voiding it. At the meeting, Fire Chief Calvin Chaney said he recommended not passing it.

“I’ve heard nothing but negativity [from the public],” Chaney said. “People are totally against this.”

He said the issue is the houses in the area are mostly designed for two cars but several families have more than that, creating an issue of parking for residents.

At their meeting in November, the item was tabled initially due to lack of clarity and questions on how to enforce it. One resident showed at the meeting and said he did not think this was a good idea, as it would cause people to park on their streets or force them to make drastic changes to their yards in order to be able to park their cars. Chaney said these are questions he has also been getting from the public.

City Service Pin Awards were given out at the beginning of the meeting. The winners include:

Diane Latham - Assistant City Secretary - 30 years

Stacy Harrison - Public Service Director - 25 years

Larry Mahan, Jr. - Police Chief - 20 years

Scott Bills - WTP Operator Supervisor - 10 years

Wesley Duggan - Parks Department - 10 years

Christi Tidrow - Permit Clerk - 10 years

Justin Rose - Patrolman - five years

Shelby Buckhalter - WTP Operator - five years

John Everette - WTP Operator - five years

Jarrett Elting - Patrolman - five years

Chad Skiles - Fireman - five years

Felicia Anthony - Bookkeeping - five years

Tim WIlliams - Street Foreman - five years

Other business at the meeting involved an update on several construction projects occurring in the area. They also awarded a bid to NG Painting for $71,000 to renovate the inside of the Walker Sayle Elevated Storage. Currently, the city has only allocated $60,000 for the project, but City Manager Andy McCuistion said the city would find a way to re-allocate some funds.

The updates for the construction projects included improvements to the waste water treatment plant, which is scheuled to finish in March 2019, the U.S. Highway 183 North Utility relocation, which will be bid out in January 2019, Park Street improvements, which is 65 percent finished and set to be completed in May 2019, the prison elevated storage tank rehabilitation, which involves the NG Painting bid, and the Texas block grant for a water line replacement. The Breckenridge City Commissioners meet on the first Tuesday of each month at the city offices at 105 N Rose Ave. Their next meeting will be Wednesday, Jan 2 due to the holiday.