City Council News - April 2009

City Council News - April 2009

By Robert Bell and Kara Vaught Friday, 17 April 2009

Renaming old section of FM 1431

Council heard from residents of the old section of FM 1431 on the west side of town as to renaming the road. The city sent out a survey asking what residents wanted to name the road and received several responses. The discussion centered on naming the road Woodall Drive, after the Woodall family, who have owned businesses on the road over the years. Council approved the change at its next meeting.

COPS money for new police officers

Council authorized the police department to apply to Community Oriented Policing Services for federal stimulus money to hire four police officers. If approved, COPS would pay for the first three years of starting salary for new officers. The only conditions are that the city must keep the officers on payroll for at least one year after the three-year period ends, and the money will only cover beginning-level salaries. Henry Fluck, Cedar Park police chief, said that to keep up with the city’s growth, he needed to hire four officers in the near future.

Staff researching park annexation

Mayor Bob Lemon asked city staff to research the implications of annexing the portion of Twin Lakes Park not currently inside the city limits. Lemon said County Commissioner Cynthia Long brought to his attention that the boundary line between Cedar Park city limits and Austin’s extra-territorial jurisdiction runs through Twin Lakes Park, 2300 S. Bell Blvd., Cedar Park, which can cause confusion when first responders need to be sent to calls in the area. This is not the first time the cities have moved boundaries to prevent confusion.

Village at Leander Station approved

Council approved a 60-acre development around the Capital Metro commuter rail station. Several residents of the east old town area addressed council members with their concerns about access to the area since Capital Metro closed an unofficial road used to cross the train tracks. They also requested connectivity to the train station. Residents told council they were worried that if a train were to derail in that area, it could close off their neighborhood and make it difficult for emergency responders to get in. Council approved the development 5-1, with John Perez, place 3 councilman, voting against it.

Public arts committee appointed

Council appointed members to the Public Arts Committee. Elizabeth “Skip” Dunnett, Jack Kushner, Kathleen McElwaine, Stan Holcomb, John Jagger and Carmen Amaya were appointed to the committee, as were Michell Cantwell, the designated council member, and Kirk Clennan, the staff representative.

Parking commission appointed

Council appointed 12 people to the advisory committee for the revision of Section C of the current parking ordinance. The committee includes nine residential representatives, two commercial representatives and one industrial representative. Appointees for the residential portion of the committee are Larry Bloomquist, Franklin Thrower, Antonio Arredando, Christine Nolan, Ray Rodriguez, Dr. Frank Stiles, Mike Borden, Edmond Henry and Clifford Worthy; commercial appointees are Mark Bell and Sharon Stegall; the industrial appointee is Joseph Greene.

Leander earns budget award

Leander received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association, which has members from both the United States and Canada. The award began as a way to encourage state and local governments to prepare budget documents of the highest quality that reflect both the guidelines established by the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting and the GFOA’s recommended practices on budgeting, as well as recognizing individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal, according to the GFOA website.