In a brief meeting, Stephenville City Council met Tuesday, Sept. 3 in its regular council meeting.
During the regular meeting, council unanimously approved a negotiated settlement between the Atmos Cities Steering Committee and Atmos Energy Corp.
Councilmember Alan Nix questioned why the negotiated rate for the steering committee that Stephenville is a part of is higher than some others, and questioned if the city could get a lower rate on their own.
City Manager Jason King stated the city would be required to hire its own specialized legal council in order to do that, which would be cost prohibitive.
“That’s exactly what I thought,” Nix said.
Approval was given for an administrative services agreement with SEDA.
“The city and SEDA have had an agreement since 2016, and we are really happy with that agreement,” King said.
In the Planning and Zoning Commission portion of the meeting, council looked at two different cases. The first was to rezone 1.38 acres located at 1125 Alexander Road from R-1 (Single Family residential) to R-2 (one and two family residential districts) for the construction of duplexes. The council considered the item, and held a public hearing. The project would have five duplexes constructed.
Four letters of opposition to the project were received by P&Z and one person spoke. Director of Development Services Steve Killen stated there were concerns with sewer and the property is currently septic and water well. P&Z recommended denying the project.
“It troubles me that it’s not connected to the city,” Nix said.
Councilmember Gerald Cook questioned if there was any multi-family in the area, to which Killen clarified most were single family.
Council unanimously denied the rezoning.
A timeline extension was granted to Taylor Kanute of Harbin Street in regard to the planned development (Tarleton Crossing townhomes) located on Harbin Drive.
All residential units are anticipated to be completed within 18 months.
In the nominations committee, Jerrod Hancock was appointed to the electrical board, Bruce Delater was appointed to the Planning and Zoning Commission and Mike Jones was appointed to the Library Advisory Board.
In the finance committee, unanimous approval was given in regards to an interlocal agreement with the city of Midlothian for purchasing EMS supplies.
Fire Chief Robert Isbell explained that pricing was substantially lower getting supplies through Midlothian than what they could outright purchase.
In the public health and safety committee, council gave unanimous approval for the fire department to submit a grant application for a Texas A&M Forest Service grass fire truck.
Every 10 years departments are eligible to apply for a new truck replacement.
“We usually score better than average with this grant,” Isbell said.
The grant is 100% with no matching and would be for a Type 6. Cities also own the trucks once they are received.
Council also held a budget workshop Wednesday, Sept. 4 where King presented several options to aid the budget.
The council will consider and approve its budget at its Sept. 17 meeting. All city council meetings are open to the public.