The first neighborhood code enforcement board given the OK to form in Temple, it came about after approval of the mechanism to form the boards in a February council meeting.
?We certainly have a group of passionate citizens in that area who want to do this,? said Jonathan Graham, Temple city attorney. A request to form a board begins with a petition of at least 15 names. He said more than 25 signatures were on the historic district?s petition.
He said the board members will be appointed at a later date and encouraged neighborhood residents to express their interest if they wish to be on the board. Each board will have five members and two alternates.
Facilitators also will be part of the process of neighborhood code enforcement. Facilitators are not on the board and will work with offenders to get voluntary compliance with local ordinances.
Although the vote was unanimous to form the neighborhood board, not everyone among the onlookers in council chambers was in favor of it.
Although not part of a public hearing, Temple Mayor Bill Jones III allowed William J. Stanley, a resident in the neighborhood, to address the council regarding the boards.
?I think we?re dealing with something that could divide people, and I wish we could take that into consideration,? he said.
Jones said the program is experimental and is ?sunsetted,? meaning if the council does not renew it, it will not continue.
?We understand and recognize that this is an experiment and an opportunity for us to come up with a mechanism to hopefully get more code enforcement within our community and have communities take responsibility for the conditions of their neighborhoods,? he said.
?I assure you it will be evaluated along the way, and it will be governed by the Open Meetings Act,? he said. ?No question there is some risk associated with it, and your concerns are certainly shared by others and they have been expressed to members of this council,? he added.
Graham said in previous presentations that the program would serve to empower residents to work together to improve the look and safety of their neighborhoods and at the same time take some of the load off of the Buildings and Standards Commission and city code enforcement officials.
The neighborhood boards would be modeled after the commission, although they would not be able to render decisions on demolitions. The groups would only operate within a specific neighborhood.
Offenders of city codes could face neighborhood boards, although city employees would actually bring cases before the board.
Any decisions by the neighborhood board could be appealed to the Building and Standards Commission within 10 days or the decision becomes final.
The city attorney?s office will train the board members and facilitators.
The boundaries of the first board are limited by Adams Avenue on the south, North 3rd Street on the east, Nugent Avenue on the north and North 17th Street on the west.
The council also approved the second reading of amendments to the Reinvestment Zone No. 1 financing plan that would open the door for an estimated $9.1 million in zone projects.
Projects include a $2.5 million rail spur project, $1.38 million in improvements to the Southeast Industrial Park on Lorraine Avenue, Bioscience Park improvements estimated at $2.08 million and Airport Park improvements estimated at $2.75 million.
The cost of the improvements would come via a combination of revenue and tax bonds.
The council authorized a contract with Pate Transportation Partners in Houston as consultants to prepare an application for financing with the Texas Department of Transportation and serve as project manager for a related construction project for improvements to Loop 363 in West Temple. TxDOT has authorized plans to construct two additional frontage roads on Northwest Loop 363. The funding would finance an expansion of that project beyond TxDOT?s plans.
According to David Blackburn, Temple city manager, the company?s role in the project will not fully defined until a time when the project is given a ?green light? by TxDOT, and therefore the cost of the contract has not been determined. He said the council will have the opportunity to consider the contract once the amount has been determined.
Blackburn said after the meeting that the company in the past has worked both on a percentage basis and with a flat rate.
The council approved the first reading of a conditional-use permit that would allow a women?s shelter to be located at a former Temple Housing Authority structure at 701 E. Central Ave.
The shelter is part of a Leadership Temple project in conjunction with Families in Crisis. The shelter would be for victims of domestic violence and their families. The Temple Planning and Zoning Commission approved the conditional-use permit at its April 2 meeting.
Also at the meeting, the council authorized a $295,150 contract with Architectural Edge of Temple for architectural and engineering services for the renovation of the old police building, or possible construction of a new building, to house municipal court and water department.
The firm?s work would include space needs analysis, site selection, design and construction administration.
