Buffalo City Council curtails comments

The members of the Buffalo City Council are holding their cards close to their chests these days. Monday evening's meeting was short 'n sweet -- in that it was without interruption or conflict. Mayor Pro Tem Royce Dawkins prefaced the meeting with a reminder to those in attendance that comments from the floor would be limited to the public comments section at the beginning of the meeting, and requested that speakers limit themselves to two minutes.

Two speakers, Gayle Ray and Johnny Wilson, suggested that the Council might do well to welcome input from audience during their meetings. "Hear all the information before the votes. There are some educated people in this room...with the best interests of Buffalo at heart. If you'll let us have a little bit of input, it helps everybody in the long run," Ray concluded.

The Council went immediately to the posted agenda, approving the regular reports and routine housekeeping matters. Included were bills to be paid, the financial report for February, and Budget Adjustment #2 for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Police Chief Lance Pavelka reported that "our officers have been real busy", and cited 89 incidents, seven arrests, and 381 citations last month. He pointed out that our city of 1800 residents has an average of 48,000 vehicles come through town each day, according to a TxDOT estimate.

Roy Kingsbury reported that the current water project is about 90% concluded and the sewer project will start on the April 19.

In preparation for next month's election, the Council appointed the following election officials: Donna Blount (Election Judge), Sharon Hawthorne (alternate), and Alicia Folsom (clerk). Salaries were also established for each position. The appointed election officials were also established as the Early Voting Ballot Board, and two long days were set for early voting: April 28th and May 4th, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. An agreement was signed to lease two electronic voting machines equipment from the county, as well as obtain training on the election equipment. In a related action, the May meeting of the Buffalo City Council was moved ahead by one day to May 12th, in order to include the canvassing of the votes.

As a pre-requisite for submitting a grant request to ORCA, the Council approved a resolution regarding the Hurricane Ike Disaster Relief Program. Buffalo lost power for 14 hours during Hurricane Ike. Mayor Pro Tem Dawkins explained that, if approved for the grant funds, the City's Number One priority would be to get a generator for the main sewer plant, with generators for the water well and main lift station being the next priorities.

The Council considered adopting a Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance requested by FEMA. The general consensus was that no one on the city's staff is qualified to either approve or deny permits for new construction as related to flood plains. The Council therefore tabled any decision on the ordinance, a related resolution and the permit application, pending further review.

Lastly, the Council approved a $5000/year, fiveyear lease-to-buy for 13.3 acres of land off John Bullock Blvd, adjacent to the existing city sewer plant. The land is earmarked for future expansion of the sewer plant, or the addition of a second plant. Mayor Pro Tem Dawkins clarified that the action was recommended by the engineering firm of KSA.