Archives for September 2003

Jerri Shields was hired as the new director of the Burton Memorial Library when the Clarendon Board of Aldermen met in regular session last Tuesday.

City officials looked over several applications for the position before selecting Shields, who was already employed as an assistant at the library and has been in charge there since the July departure of Librarian Carolyn Blackerby.

Blackerby resigned her post after the city denied her request that her salary and the salaries of those working under her be raised. Aldermen at the time urged her to stay on, saying they couldn’t consider such a request until the city adopts a new budget.

Aldermen voted 4-0-1 in favor of hiring Shields. Alderman Michael Tibbets abstained, saying he supports Shields but wanted to interview other applicants as well.

In other city business, the board considered a revised franchise ordinance with GreenLight Gas. City officials are seeking to receive the municipal franchise fees quarterly rather than annually. The total would be the same for the year.

GreenLight, in return, wanted to extend the agreement, which now has 18 years remaining, by seven years and offered to give the city a three percent franchise fee instead of the current two percent.

But aldermen felt the contract period was long enough as it is and noted that an increase in franchise fees would come straight from local customers. The ordinance was unanimously rejected.

The board also discussed the 2003-04 municipal budget and set September 3 as the date for a budget workshop.

In the city administrator’s report, Sean Pate discussed what he learned at a grant-writing workshop he attended recently in Austin. There are several grant opportunities that he will be looking into as a result of the conference. Pate also reported that the city had received a 20’ x 300’ easement to run utilities to the new motel and any other new businesses that might open up on adjacent lots.

A town hall meeting concerning the city’s paving proposal will be held next Monday night, September 8, at 7 o’clock in the District Courtroom of the Donley County Courthouse.

The meeting, sponsored by the City of Clarendon and The Clarendon Enterprise, will give local voters the chance to learn the facts about the paving plan and to ask any questions they may have.

“If you have questions, please come to this meeting and bring those concerns with you,” said City Administrator Sean Pate. “Find out the facts before you vote.”

The city has proposed issuing $2.5 million in certificates of obligation to finance paving and installing curbs and gutters on 152 blocks across town. A petition, bearing the valid signatures of less than 10 percent of the registered municipal voters, was submitted to the city in July, resulting in a special election which has been called for September 13, 2003.

At the meeting, Pate will be joined by Mayor Tex Selvidge, city engineer Che Shadle of OJD Engineering, and city financial advisor Vince Viaille of First Southwest Company of Lubbock.

Shadle was the principal designer of the paving plan and is qualified to answer questions about storm waterflow, concerns about existing utilities, and the selection of streets for the project.

Viaille’s company is handling the issuance of the certificates of obligation and can answer questions about the cost of the project to the local citizens and can also speak on the current state of interest rates.

The panel will also be joined by Damian Esquivel with Oller Engineering, Inc. His company has operated a joint sealcoat program since 1995 with several cities in the Panhandle and South Plains, and he can address how the city can maintain and care for the streets once they are properly paved.

City officials say they have fielded calls from citizens concerned about the cost of the project, and there appears to be some misunderstandings along those lines.

The certificates would be paid for over 20 years by increasing municipal water rates by $1.10 per month, raising sewer rates by $10 per month, and increasing the ad valorem tax rate by 15 cents. The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation has also voted to dedicate $20,000 per year from its sales tax revenues to the paving project.

The cost of the project for each household, therefore, would be $11.10 per month plus the higher property tax.  For the average home in Clarendon, a 15-cent tax rate would amount to $51 per year.

Some comments have been received regarding Clarendon’s water and sewer charges compared to other area communities. A chart accompanies this article showing those figures. Current local fees are well below some nearby towns and are also well below the state average for towns of the same population.

Early balloting to vote “for” or “against” the paving plan is underway at City Hall and continues through September 9, 2003.