City, ISD open talks on ballfields’ ownership

The City of Clarendon began talks last week about transferring its ownership in two local ballparks to the public school.
The topic was first discussed publicly at the July 12 meeting of the Clarendon ISD Board of Trustees and was also discussed at the city council meeting last Thursday, July 14.
Currently, McClellan Field is used by the varsity Broncos but is owned by the city. Meanwhile, the Lady Broncos softball field is on property that is owned half by the school and half by the city. Hart-Moore Field, which is used by local little league teams, is owned by the school.
City Administrator David Dockery and CISD Superintendent Mike Norrell say water is the driving issue that has opened the discussions between the two entities.
As part of the conditions of the USDA funding the city is receiving for its upcoming $4 million water system improvements, all water usage in the city must be metered and paid for. City Hall, Prospect Park, and other city facilities will have to have metered watered services for the first time, and those services will have to be paid for.
As city facilities currently, the water use on the ball fields is not metered.
Neither the city aldermen nor the school trustees took any action last week pending more information being gathered about that subject.
In other city business, Sara SoRelle addressed the council in public comments regarding fireworks being set off in the city during the Fourth of July. She said she called the sheriff’s office but that no deputy showed up. She also said that animals and some people are agitated by loud fireworks. She asked the council to increase the fine for setting off fireworks in the city limits to $2,000.
The council discussed a request from Meals on Wheels for funding from the Community Programs line item and approved $1,000 for that program.
In his administrator’s report, Dockery said the water looping project has been tied in at Carhart Street and about 1,000 feet of lines remain to be installed. Preliminary designs have been received for the USDA-funded water project and will now be finalized. Also, the city has some concrete work to do at the low-water crossing on Front Street to finalize its in-kind contribution for the 2001 TxDOT bridge replacement grant, and proposals will be taken soon on that work.
The board approved accepting the parks master plan and approved a resolution adopting open space master plan.
Aldermen also approved a resolution authorizing the city to apply for a Community Development Block Grant for $250,000 in sewer system improvements with a $41,250 match.
City officials feel there is little chance the grant will be awarded because the city has not raised sewer rates and has not raised taxes over the effective rate recently, both of which will negatively impact the Clarendon’s score on the grant application.