The Dublin City Council unanimously voted to appoint Kim Seider as the interim City Secretary following a closed session in a busy regular meeting Monday, Jan. 13.
The closed session followed the acceptance of Melissa Minor who has been serving as City Secretary since November 2020. Her last day was Dec. 31, 2024.
The council present (Barrett Joiner was absent) voted to appoint Seider to the position with a $1,000 pay period stipend for the extra work she takes on. Seider also handles finance for the city. The city will continue to review applications to hire a permanent city secretary.
The council also got a chance to greet Larry Stanford, who has taken on the role of Code Enforcement officer after the duties were moved under the Dublin Police Department and Keith Riley resigned from the role after serving for around three years.
Stanford is the President of the Stephenville Area Elks Lodge and has worked for the city for about two years. Chief Cameron Ray reported that Stanford’s hours were set at 7:30a.m. - 4:30 p.m. so he has time to handle duties at the animal shelter where they have been focusing a lot of their work. This includes securing an arrangement with an Austin-based organization who is assisting with veterinary costs and the adoption of two dogs that have been at the shelter for well past the stray hold.
Stanford has also visited with a few residents about code issues and is taking courses to guide him with the shelter and code duties.
Chief Ray requested the reallocation of ‘development duties’ from the PD to the City Manager’s office as Code Enforcement switched departments. Ray said the handling of planning and zoning matters made more sense for the City Manager’s office and although they are all going to work together, he admitted the PD wouldn’t have a lot of experience for matters like a property replat. Council unanimously approved the request.
The council also unanimously approved a resolution proclaiming Jan. 13 Dalton Kasel Day in honor of the Dublin resident who led the Austin Gamblers to victory at the Professional Bull Riders World Championship in October. Rod McNeal reported from the audience that Kasel was ranked second in the world currently and on his way to Houston for an event so he couldn’t attend.
Public Works Director Cory James was also on-hand to deliver a report, saying that his crew has done considerable work on the rec. hall, worked on 23 service leaks, four main breaks and three sewer line collapses (two of which were on East Travis).
He also thanked WWC Enterprises who assisted on a recent sewer call as the city’s sewer truck was having pump problems.
He also reported a few lines will need to be moved as TXDOT has submitted plans to rehab FM219 going towards Edna Hill. (This will not include the new Liberty Street line that was installed.)
City Manager Bobby Mendez addressed water issues during the meeting as he requested approval to seek a Texas Water Development Board grant to replace a 14-inch line for the city’s water tower and presented an updated drought contingency plan to reflect the recent increases in water fees from the Upper Leon Municipal Water District. Council unanimously approved both items.
Chief Ray presented a couple of requests relating to the purchase of mobile data terminals with a $75,000 grant acquired from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program. Ray reported Peacemaker Technologies offering the items and service they want but to buy from them, the City needed to sign an agreement with the Vi rginia Sheriffs Association who hosts a buy board similar to the one in Texas. The Council approved the membership and the purchase of the units from Peacemaker.
The council also approved a request from Ray to seek a criminal justice grant for $67,000 to purchase more radio equipment.
Ray also delivered the 2024 racial profiling report which revealed that no physical force or profiling complaints resulted from the 1,465 stops conducted in 2024.
The council also unanimously approved an extension of its contract with Green Creek Water Supply and the Election Services Contract with Erath County.
Mack Stewart addressed the council about a ‘threeplex’ he owns in the converted Blackjack Cleaners building, saying he initially paid for one tap among the three units and it increased to three after several months with no notice. He was asking for it to revert to one and to be reimbursed from the increase. Mendez reported the city ordinance has the fees defines for any multifamily structure and Stewart’s bill was updated to be in line with what others pay. He added that Stewart should have been contacted if he wasn’t but didn’t know those specifics.
A closer examination of Stewart’s bill revealed the base water charge was less than he expected. Councilmembers showed him the breakdown of his bills and said to come back to the city if he had more questions later.
In public comments, Mindy Gardner presented a series of questions she asked at the last meeting and wanted them to be part of open discussion in next month’s meeting. The items included why there was a difference between the annual budget and the one presented online, what is the enterprise fund, where EMS and airport funds came from and can the $116,000 in unused annual budgeted items be used elsewhere such as sidewalks.
Seider was provided with a list and said she would get answers.