Is it a bailout or smart economic development? FreeFlight loan highlights prickly issue
More opinions on the FreeFlight deal. It stands on it's own and needs no further comment from me.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Notes from the November 17th meeting
Last week's meeting did not contain any truly controversial decisions.
They did the second reading of the smoking ordinance which makes it official.
There was to be a public hearing about lowering the maximum height of fences. That was taken off the agenda. I have not seen any word on why that was.
There were several zoning changes approved. I need to learn more about the codes. I know that generally there are commercial, residential, and mixed use zones, but I don't know the difference between an M-2 and and M-1 or M-3. More on that later.
There was one speaker, Mr. Green. He had a complaint about city inspectors. He hired a contractor to repair some steps on his property. A city inspector told him to stop work on it until he got the proper permits. Later, he was told the work did not meet code. When the inspector came back out, Mr. Green was at home, but the inspector drove off without inspecting the steps or going to the door of his residence. He was informed that the work had failed inspection because the inspector could not get to the steps. Apparently, the permits were close to expiring. It sounds like this man was not treated fairly by city workers and this concerns me. It took a lot of courage to stand up in front of the council and cameras to make this statement, so I do not believe he is a complainer. I applaud him for using this chance to air his grievances.
They did the second reading of the smoking ordinance which makes it official.
There was to be a public hearing about lowering the maximum height of fences. That was taken off the agenda. I have not seen any word on why that was.
There were several zoning changes approved. I need to learn more about the codes. I know that generally there are commercial, residential, and mixed use zones, but I don't know the difference between an M-2 and and M-1 or M-3. More on that later.
There was one speaker, Mr. Green. He had a complaint about city inspectors. He hired a contractor to repair some steps on his property. A city inspector told him to stop work on it until he got the proper permits. Later, he was told the work did not meet code. When the inspector came back out, Mr. Green was at home, but the inspector drove off without inspecting the steps or going to the door of his residence. He was informed that the work had failed inspection because the inspector could not get to the steps. Apparently, the permits were close to expiring. It sounds like this man was not treated fairly by city workers and this concerns me. It took a lot of courage to stand up in front of the council and cameras to make this statement, so I do not believe he is a complainer. I applaud him for using this chance to air his grievances.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
DVD Copies of Work/Executive Sessions of the Waco City Council
I copied the following from the minutes of an old meeting agenda from March.
DVD's and audio tapes are available.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DVD copies of either the Work Session or Business Session may be requested from the Municipal Information Department anytime within four months of the meeting date. Citizens should send a check or Money Order for $5.00 to:
City of Waco Videos,
300 Austin Ave
PO Box 2570
Waco, Tx 76702
300 Austin Ave
PO Box 2570
Waco, Tx 76702
Please specify the date of the meeting and whether you prefer the Work or Business Session. If you would like both, the cost is $10. The DVD will be produced within three business days and mailed to the address provided. Citizens can come by City Hall to pay and place an order. When orders are placed at City Hall, citizens can request that the DVD be mailed or request a phone call notification when the DVD is ready to be picked up.
To request an audio tape of the meeting, call (254) 750-5750 or e-mail: City Secretary.
Monday, November 9, 2009
TIF board weighs whether to change how it doles out funds for downtown projects
TIF board weighs whether to change how it doles out funds for downtown projects
This article explains a little about the TIF district and how the money has been used and will be used. It seems that this is actually working.
The article discussed how the area has changed since the creation of the district in 1982 and now it is time to change how the money is spent.
This article explains a little about the TIF district and how the money has been used and will be used. It seems that this is actually working.
The article discussed how the area has changed since the creation of the district in 1982 and now it is time to change how the money is spent.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Tonight's council meeting - preview
Tonight is the Waco City Council meeting. It should be a good one because there are two items on the agenda that people have been watching for awhile. The Trib had an article today about them.
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/11/03/11032009waccounciladv.html
One is the smoking ordinance. There are two options on the agenda. Option 1 will practically ban smoking in public areas. Option 2 will amend the current ordinance to remove some exemptions. I wish they would just drop the whole thing and fail them both, but that isn't likely. They are getting pressure to do something, but they also have pressure from the business community to leave the exceptions.
The other is replacing the metal trash bins in alley in certain neighborhoods with curbside service. I'm all for that. The bins are smelly and attract pests. It makes the alleyways look trashy. Curbside service is also less expensive.
Meeting is tonight. I'll give an update then.
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/11/03/11032009waccounciladv.html
One is the smoking ordinance. There are two options on the agenda. Option 1 will practically ban smoking in public areas. Option 2 will amend the current ordinance to remove some exemptions. I wish they would just drop the whole thing and fail them both, but that isn't likely. They are getting pressure to do something, but they also have pressure from the business community to leave the exceptions.
The other is replacing the metal trash bins in alley in certain neighborhoods with curbside service. I'm all for that. The bins are smelly and attract pests. It makes the alleyways look trashy. Curbside service is also less expensive.
Meeting is tonight. I'll give an update then.
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