The Dublin City Council voted Monday, Dec. 9 to restructure code enforcement operations, approved Dublin Lions Club to make improvements at the City Park and approved an ordinance regulating game rooms in the city.
Councilmember Nancy Williams addressed the code enforcement operations, saying the proposal was to make the position operate under the same hours as other city employees (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and to have code enforcement/animal control (often handled by the same employee) put under the supervision and budget of Dublin PD instead of under the city manager.
City Manager Bobby Mendez suggested having some flexibility on hours for the position so they can make contact outside of business hours when residents are more likely to be home.
Councilmember Darren Turley remarked he didn’t know how that would work with the proposal to put the position on the same hours as everyone else.
Police Chief Cameron Ray was questioned on what he would need for the transition. He said he couldn’t talk specifics in open council but appreciated a grace period suggested by councilmembers. Ray offered that the position would be subject to overtime outside of regular hours.
The move was made to change the working hours with the transition to be settled by around mid-January. The vote carried with Turley opposed.
Dublin Lions Club Daniel Smith informed the council the Lions Club was wanting to replace/fix the picnic area/Electric Co-op building as it has fallen into disrepair. Smith estimated the cost at about $20,000 to fix everything in the 40’x40’ space and is planning to have several fundraisers and work with Dublin FFA students for some of the work. The council unanimously gave approval for Lions Club to pursue the project.
Chief Ray requested an ordinance for the regulation of game rooms and ‘amusement redemption machines’ as he has noticed the machines popping up in Dublin businesses. Ray said the machines are perfectly legal but without regulations like signage, machine placement and set hours, they can invite unwanted activity. Ray said he would print a fact sheet and present the information should the ordinance be approved.
The council also unanimously approved an ordinance for the annexation of Highway 6 and the right of way from the end of West Blackjack to just inside the Dublin Loop. The vote came after a public hearing in which there were no speakers.
The council also unanimously voted to absorb a rate increase in trash collection from Waste Connections after Sean Dowden reported the increase in costs they were facing as it used to cost $9 to bury a load in Weatherford (which recently closed its landfill) and now costs $21 to transport to Alvarado. Dowden said the increase is equal to $1.89 per home with nothing change in its offerings like large pickups. Waste Connections is reportedly opening its own dumpsite to help with the issues it’s facing.
A unanimous vote was also carried for a property transfer with Dublin ISD as the fence between the Dublin Airport and the FFA barn property didn’t reflect the actual property line. Mendez proposed the switch as the school is looking to sell its barn and build a new own on the secondary school property for the safety and convenience of its students and project animals.
Augustus Queen also presented a proposal for the Dublin Airport and invited councilmembers to contact him. Queen spoke at the November meeting about his experience as a mechanic and said he’d like to open a hangar to help entice pilots to use the airport. Queen said he compiled several bids on the cost to resurface or patch the runway and remarked that fuel stations could be used and cleaned, depending on which company the city contracts with.
Queen said the facility shouldn’t have been allowed to get in its current condition but wasn’t there to cast blame, just offer solutions because it can benefit the town in business and increased traffic.
Jennifer and Richard Young of the Dublin Renegades fast draw shooting group also returned to request the opportunity to host a championship competition in Dublin in July. The couple reported the sports has a meticulous safety record and will draw people from other states. They also invited people to Locked and Loaded Training Center on Jan. 18 as they are hosting a laser fast draw competition but are treating it as if the firearms are loaded with the regular slow-firing rounds so people can see the safety protocols in place.
Chief Ray said the options would be limited in town for the amount of space needed but Sammy Moore suggested the Youngs reach out about renting the closed Red Barn shooting range because it would be ideal.
The council also approved a 10-week period of temporary on-call pay as two officers may soon be leaving and a third will be on maternity leave. Officers on call will have a $200 per week stipend as long as they are able to respond to calls within 1520 minutes and will clock in while on assignment.
Council also approved a no parking ordinance on North Post Oak from East Blackjack to Church Street.
The council also approved revisions to the Master Fee Schedule to reflect previous council votes on the Ad Valorem Tax Rate, Building Permit/Inspection Fees, Game Rooms Fees and the state set fees for Open Records Requests. City Secretary said she plans to update the fee schedule on the city site and make where people can make open records requests through the site.
Councilmembers also approved the appointments of Troy Camp and Ben Pate to Dublin Economic Development Corporation. (Sammy Moore abstained from the vote as he is related to Pate.)
Carmen Andersen also provided a year-end update on Revitalize Dublin, saying the banners recently installed downtown have proven popular and will be replaced with general Welcome to Dublin banners after the holidays. She also reported RD were involved in the improvement of five homes in the past year and looked through surveys identifying common criticisms of the town including water rates/ quality, animal control, code enforcement, city progress and growth and lack of faith in city council and mayor.
Andersen reported that the group has provided a list of homes with code issues on multiple occasions and was disheartened that the city has not contacted them for assistance in resolving issues and perceived little progress on this list.
Andersen said through RD’s work that she believed the group understood the wants of the people of Dublin, possibly even better than some of the people in the council room.
During public comments, Mindy Gardner, treasurer for Dublin Chamber of Commerce and Revitalize Dublin, requested more transparency in the city budget, asking if the council were aware the budget online didn’t seem to match the budget they approved at the beginning of the year. She questioned what seemed like extra revenue and the enterprise fund, saying these matters weren’t clear to visitors on the website. She also said she noticed $116,000 budgeted each year and not utilized. She had a list of questions and requested time be set at the next meeting to address them.