Friday's Internet Edition, July 25, 2008.
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| NUCOR BAR MILL GROUP vice president and Jewett plant manager Jim Darsey shows off a signed picture of plant employees. Darsey has been promoted and is leaving the facility. |
Last week’s council meeting included an item on the agenda regarding the renewal, or non-renewal, of the Main Street program, with four of the five council members leaning toward its termination.
Aside from what supporters view as a generally beneficial program, a grant for $150,000 is up in the air and will be affected by the council’s decision. The grant has already been approved and will pay for parking behind offices located on the south side of Commerce Street between Mount and Keechi streets, but will be lost if the council does not renew the Main Street program.
The businesses affected currently have limited parallel parking on 84, and council members said the state plans to take that parking away soon, after a review of highway 84 travel was held.
Prior to discussion, city secretary Jana Taylor read a letter penned by Mayor Roy Hill, who could not attend Tuesday’s meeting. The letter asked council members to approve or table the Main Street issue, not cancel it, and allow citizens attending the meeting to speak.
A motion to table the issue until details on costs of the business parking grant could be reviewed was made by the only Main Street supporter on the council, Joe Lee Kirgan, and kicked off the agenda item, but fell on deaf ears and failed to get a second.
Fairfield resident and business owner Mary Small read a letter written by John Wilson, another affected business owner, who also offered his support for the program, as well as a petition signed by other area business owners.
James Tyus, county developer, took a neutral position and said, “I’m all for the alley thing, but I think we should look at additional parking. The alley will still not be enough parking.”
Kirgan’s second motion, this time to renew Main Street to retain the grant, again died for lack of a second.
“I would like an update on the estimates,” asked Loretta Anderson. “Have KSA (Engineers of Lufkin) and Kerbow (and Associates of Palestine, grant manager) even been asked?”
City administrator Mike Gokey answered the question by saying, “I asked them to come back and redo the numbers.”
Mrs. Anderson responded that she had spoken to representatives at both the engineer and grant management offices and they said Gokey told them not to move forward because of the issues the city is currently facing regarding the Main Street program.
Gokey disagreed, saying that engineers told him they would get back with Gokey as soon as they could, and that was three weeks ago.
“We are in the sixth month of a two year grant,” Mrs. Anderson pointed out. “Do you intend to call him back?”
“If the council wants me to,” Gokey said.
“Do we need to make a motion for you to do that?” asked councilman Kirgan.
Before sitting down, Mrs. Anderson asked council members to keep the program, and to move forward with hiring a coordinator. “We need a decision.”
Council member Charles Easterwood said he felt the program would cost the city $100,000 a year, regardless of who was hired. “I don’t think the taxpayers want that. That money could go on street repairs.”
Cynthia Rikard, who owns Special Touch Custom Framing with husband Bob, disagreed with Easterwood, and challenged him to ask Fairfield residents how they want their tax money spent. She also challenged taxpayers to go to city hall and voice their opinions.
SMC Nursing owner Susan Marberry, attending with co-owner and husband Paul, told council members Jo Olive Zickhur, Easterwood, Linda York and Emilee Terry, “I am very disappointed in you four, and I commend Joe Lee Kirgan for having the courage to stand up to you.”
“You four are an embarrassment to me and my community,” she said. “You use your personal vendettas, and I am sorry you represent us.”
Mrs. Rikard reminded council members, “This is critical. People say it will do no good for me to come here, just like the school board, but I’m here. Some of our livelihoods are on the line—-literally on the line—-and I don’t think you understand that. My building isn’t worth one third what it was when we bought it, because now it is on an island. You’re killing me and Paul Marberry and the other business owners.”
Council member Mrs. Zickhur told the crowd the parking grant “is a gift with strings” and that several other city departments need money. “I would like to help, but I don’t think this is the thing to do. Why don’t we wait and maybe the city can do something.”
“I don’t want to get ugly, but the city won’t pay to fix this,” Mrs. Rikard retorted.
Tyus commented that someone should ask the state to postpone the highway 84 parking issue for a year until the disagreements can be straightened out.
Former Main Street director Melinda Bonds attended the meeting and offered her opinion based on six years with the program. “It’s a good program. It brings in money. You have to look at five or 10 years down the road to see if the program works, like the $600,000 in sidewalks we have in Fairfield now.” She also noted that the program shouldn’t cost $100,000 a year.
Mrs. Zickhur said, “I know Main Street does the car show, and they do an excellent job.” Also, the city had looked at reverting the program back to volunteer staff. Mrs. Bonds said that Texas Main Street says a city must pay a full-time salary as well as provide some operating dollars.
“This is something the business owners do not understand,” Mrs. Zickhur added. “The contract for the parking lot was signed and we didn’t see it for six weeks. It included a lot of other stuff, and that’s where the problem started.”
A misconception about the Main Street deadline was discussed, and council members told the audience that Dec. 31 is not the deadline. “They want it in their file by Feb. 15,” Mike Gokey said.
Lane Stripling summed up by saying, “Texas has 80 Main Streets. These grants have been around for years. This is not from Mars, people do this everyday. If we don’t act quickly, decisively, aggressively, we will have a downtown like Oakwood.”
In closing, Mrs. Anderson asked council members if they had not signed an agreement giving city mayor Roy Hill the right to make the decision about the application.
“That was a mistake,” Mrs. Zickhur said.
A final motion to table the issue was raised by Kirgan, and approved by the rest of the council.
In other business, Fairfield Police Department chief Kenny Bulger told the council that the police car furnished to the school resource officer at Fairfield high school “cratered”. Fairfield Independent School District superintendent Tony Price told Bulger that because the school gains the benefit of the police officer without providing any funding, he would ask the school board to provide a new police car with “school resource officer” written on the car.
A monitoring system for lift stations needed only final approval by council members. The system adds a battery backup that will alert city cell phones and computers of any problems. Cost of the system is about $21,000.
Property owned by First National Bank on Texas 75 South has been listed as a subdivision, and FNB attorney George Robinson asked council officials to abandon the subdivision listing, so that an incoming business can buy the property. The request was approved.
A workshop/public comment meeting is set Jan. 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the green barn for public input regarding the Texas Department of Transportation proposed I-45 ramp relocation project, and approval was given to advertise for employment in an entry level position with the water department.