City approves handful of development projects around Hallettsville

Wrapping up action items from the rather lengthy September city agenda, Hallettsville council members threw their support behind two projects proposed by the city’s economic development corporation.

The projects involved two of the four public hearings held at the Sept. 16 council meeting, of which none attracted any speakers that day. Both also involved the second readings of resolutions first brought before the council as part of their August meetings.

Both received the city’s stamp of approval following their required readings of their respective resolutions.

One dealt with a plan to extend city utilities down FM 2314, which as one council member noted not only catered to the existing business activities along that stretch of road, but it also extended those services to an area that held the best promise for future development around Hallettsville.

The other item, though not specifically named for public consumption just yet, was referred to by city officials as Project “Love Actually,” which like the one before it, also involved EDC expenditures of more than $10,000.

State law requires that expenses in that dollar range not only gain approval by the council-appointed EDC board in the cities where they serve, but also by the city council itself because much of the EDC funding available for such expenses is supplied via tax dollars, specifically, they receive a portion of the statewide sales taxes collected.

In other related development issues, the city signed off on its publicity and tourism agreement city the Hallettsville Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture and Visitor’s Center.

Also, city administrator Grace Ward informed the councilmembers during her monthly report that she had recently spoken with officials from the Texas Department of Transportation about their plans to install sidewalks along portions of FM 957 coming into the city that front the city park and school’s ballfield along that road, once the city completed its drainage work in the area, part of the city’s ongoing $9.9 million General Land Office Mitigation grant projects now underway around Hallettsville.

In other business:

• Council approved a policy change that permits certain city officials, with approval from the mayor and another council member, to make automated clearing house purchases.

• Council members were informed of a policy that city officials were currently developing to have a similar approval process for recurring bill payments in the city, with staff explaining that given ever tightening grace periods many businesses now have in place for everyone to make payments on their bills, the city has more than once run afoul of late charges, given that the current bill paying process relies on a monthly vote by the council after all have had opportunity to review said bills on the register.

Late fees have thus far been waived once the city’s finance director called and explained the issue, but there were no guarantees that would always hold true, Ward said, which was why they were working on the policy change. It would be introduced for approval on a future agenda as soon as it was completed.

• Council members cast their votes for the 2024 Texas Municipal League Intergovern - mental Risk Pool board of trustees, of which there were apparently several names to choose from. All involved city leaders from elsewhere in Texas.

• The time and date were approved for the city’s annual safety and service banquet, planned one week from today (Wednesday Oct. 23).

• City leaders heard an update from the librarian on various items taking place at the public library, most notably, several recent renovation projects that were progressing nicely.

• Council approved what they termed the annual employee “morale and welfare grocery incentive,” something ward said she intended to revisit with council at a future meeting.

• Council agreed to an early closure of city hall on Dec. 31 of this year, not so staff can get a jump on New Year’s revelries but so they can run the many end of the fiscal year reports now require of those who make use of tax dollars in Texas, which makes dealing with customers right then nearly impossible. As such, city hall will lock its doors at 3 p.m. that day instead of the usual 5 p.m.