Summary of City Council Meeting - 10/20/2009

Tonight's meeting did not reveal anything earth-shattering. It was a relatively short meeting. There were a lot of people there because proclamations were given to German exchange students. More on that below. I learned that the seats in the Bosque Theater have writing desks. That's MUCH more convenient. I'm left-handed, so I just used the one on the seat to the left of me.

Mayor DuPuy proclaimed today "German American Partnership Program Day". A German teacher from Waco High came with his German exchange students. This program has been in place for 24 years and is very successful.

This is the kind of community activity that I would like to hear and know more about. These are the things that make a city into a community.

There was a bit of a discussion about PH-568. Apparently, some platting requirements had not been met. A speaker from the development company came and wanted it noted that some requirements had been met. The council explained that they use the wording, "disapproved until all platting requirements are met" instead of a flat disapproval to speed up the process. Several years ago, they would have had to disapprove the request and it would have to be submitted again when the requirements were met. This way, they in effect approved it. The company will not have to come back before the city council. Once the planning commission finds that the requirements have been met it will be automatically approved. They said that this should not create any delays for occupancy of the properties.

When they asked if citizens wished to address the council, Marsha Fountain, an oncology nurse from Smoke-Free Waco stepped up. She provided some of the same information that was provided at the last meeting. Essentially saying that 83% of Waco citizens do not smoke. That smoking ordinances have no effect on sales of food or alcohol when looking at sales tax information. She also mentioned the costs of second-hand smoke regarding health and safety.

These guys are pushing really hard for this. No one is speaking up for the personal freedom of citizens. As much as I hate cigarette smoke, I hate governments eroding our personal freedoms even more. That's a blog for another time, I think. I'm considering writing a 3-minute speech of my own. It scares me....what do you guys think? Leave it in comments.

They saved a LOT of time by approving many items from the consent agenda with one motion. Very efficient. These things are listed on the agenda and nothing was out of the ordinary. Just normal routine business.

The City Manager report was very interesting. Apparently, this has been in the works for some time, but I had no clue. I pay attention to this stuff, too! The City is inviting citizens to participate in generating ideas for how downtown can be revitalized. There will be two sessions next Monday and Tuesday. They would like for citizens to register beforehand because space is limited. Larry Groth said there is a lot of space, but it is limited. We are invited to participate in one or both of the conferences. Click here to sign up and learn more about the project. There is also a link in "Helpful Links" on the right.