City Government
Everything City-related with a little editorial nonsense to keep you from nodding off. (just kidding)
City Council Meeting Summary
May 16, 2024
The most recent city council meeting was May 16. The agenda was available at https://www.martindale.texas.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2333/2024-05-16—Regular-Packet-City-Council-Meeting
Key notes
- Storm reaction debrief from City Hall.
- Election certification and swearing in of new council members.
- US Soccer Foundation and Musco Sports Lighting Mini-Pitch Athletic Field donation–further discussion and cost estimates.
The city declared a state of emergency the night of the storm last week. The worst damage was from trees or tree limbs that fell in the streets or damaged property.
Fortunately, several good Samaritan neighbors got out after the storm cleared and immediately got to work clearing the roads and helping neighbors take care of their property. Special shout out to Shawn McDonald for all his hard work! Thank you, neighbor!
The election results were certified by the council. Sonya Villalobos took a moment for the sake of voters to note that initially Mike McClabb’s name was accidentally left off of the ballot, and Laura Sanchez Fowler’s name was misspelled on the ballot. The result of Mr. McClabb’s name omission, a total of 15 votes were not able to be counted in the final tally. Otherwise, no other irregularities resulted.
The two new members were sworn in and Mr. McClabb was reelected and sworn in also.
The city council continued it’s discussion of the donation of an athletic field called a “mini-pitch” that the US Soccer Foundation and Musco Sports Lighting have offered to Martindale. At the last council meeting, the city admins were tasked with getting a quote on a concrete foundation pad. The City must have a pad the soccer field can be installed over.
Adrian Flores followed up by saying it would cost approximately $29,000 to lay a foundation for a field 50 x 80 feet. We have a resident willing to donate $20-25,000 toward the foundation for the field. The city would need to pay the balance.
A workshop will be held on June 1 from 4-6pm in the city council meeting room at 407 Main Street to discuss the requirements and expenses. A survey of residents’ interest in the field will be posted online on the city website.
Updates as of January 2024
Grants
01
TXGLO-MIT NW River Road grant
The project design was approved by City Council in December. It was design #5 if you were keeping up. Engineers for the project are Freeland and Turk. The City must be in land acquisition phase by now?
02
TXGLO-MOD
City Council selected a project for this 2.3 million dollar project at a Jan meeting. It will create a bridge structure near Riverbend Lane and NW River Road. They have been surveying recently. (I think)
03
TXGLO-RCP
This is a Resilient Cities grant, which is intended to help the city create a Master Plan. It is a 3-year project. The lead team of consultants came to the April 4 council meeting for the first public meeting of three total public meetings.
04
TXCDBG-Dept of Agriculture
In Dec 2023, the TX Department of Agriculture awarded us a grant of $500,000 to repair the sewer treatment plant and Crocket lift station.
05
TXDOT Shared Use Path ("Sidewalk" grant)
The City applied for a grant that would have put wide sidewalks in downtown starting out down Lockhart St, turning left at Main, then down to Phase 1 river park. However, we were not selected for the project, so never mind all that.
06
TXGLO-RCP
This is a Resilient Cities grant, which is intended to help the city create a Master Plan. It is a 3-year project. The lead team of consultants came to the April 4 council meeting for the first public meeting of three total public meetings.
Y'all, I'll do some good old fashioned investigative journalism on these grant updates I listed right above, because the city hasn't put out any more updates like the table above since JANUARY '24. [But the real humor is that I am only a pretend journalist. I am really just a resident who got tired of not knowing stuff so I thought I'd start a website to share information with other residents.]
City-Led Committees
City Council has four standing committees that are made up of community volunteers. Committees meet once a month at a regular time in the City Hall meeting room (407 Main St, downtown). Depending on monthly business, meetings might last an hour or two. The City sends out the agenda by email, posts it on the City website, and posts a paper copy on the bulletin board in front of City Hall at least 72 hours before the meeting. All committee meetings are public and open to any visitors who want to learn more about the topics.
Committee Membership
Each spring new applications are accepted for each committee to replace outgoing members. There's a one-page, simple application that asks your name & contact information and why you want to be on the committee. You do NOT need to be an expert, you only need an interest in helping out our community. Call the City for more information (512-357-2639). There is always a need for another good person who wants to make Martindale a little better for the rest of us!
Have something to say to a committee?
Every committee also welcomes residents to come make public comments at the start of the meeting. Anyone can make a public comment relevant to the committee. It should be 3 minutes or less. (The committee is not allowed to respond directly to the resident because of a State law that says they are simply supposed to listen.) If you want to make a public comment, simply come a few minutes before the meeting starts and ask to make a comment. Same process for city council meetings if you want to make a comment there.
Creating opportunities for fun
Martindale Parks Advisory Board
The Parks Committee met on April 22 at 6:30pm in the City Hall meeting room at 407 Main St. or on Zoom
The most recent agenda is available online at https://www.martindale.texas.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2317/2024-04-22---Park-Advisory-Board-Agenda?bidId=
The committee needs YOU! There is an open spot available. Please think about this opportunity when you are deciding how to volunteer your time for your town! Talk to the current members to learn more or call City Hall. Current members are: Korey Rohlock, Jeffery Latimer, and Angela Jimenez.
Sam Houston Clinton and Jeff Latimer were trying to keep up with parks' maintenance. But now the city has hired a landscape maintenance group out of San Marcos with the money provided from charging a parking fee at the parks of $10.00 a car for visitors outside the Martindale (MTD) city limits. So far so good-- they are keeping the landscaping done well. They are mowing once a week at this point in time.
MTD citizens can obtain a free parking permit from City Hall, yearly Mr. Latimer believes. He asks that people please park in the parking lots only.
Important housekeeping reminders for guests of the parks, if charcoal grills are used in the upper Allen Bates Park, please ensure the fires are completely out, and dispose of the charcoal briquets in the trash receptacles. And of course, please dispose of your trash and recyclables in the various cans that are provided in all our parks.
Mr. Latimer said he is also trying to have a permanent bathroom built in Allen Bates near the highway. Would appreciate any help here if anyone knows of donors, patrons, or grant writers who are available to assist, please contact Mr. Latimer at jlatimerbrooks@gamil.com
Additional notes that Sam Clinton and Adrian Flores mentioned during the River Board meeting this week regarding our parks: (1) revised park rules will be posted in each park soon; (2) only propane grills are allowed in Phase 1 park and the cooking surface must be elevated at least 3 feet from the ground. Charcoal may be used in upper Allen Bates park. (No one has mentioned about the rule for grilling in Guardiola Park.)
STEWARDSHIP OF THE RIVER
City River Advisory Board Info
The River Advisory Committee met on May 15th, 2024 at 1:00 P.M. in the City Hall meeting room at 407 Main St. or on Zoom
The most recent agenda is available online at https://www.martindale.texas.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2324/2024-05-15---Agenda-Martindale-River-Advisory-Board-Meeting?bidId=
The River Advisory Committee makes recommendations to the Martindale City Council to vote on regarding important social and community events (such as River Appreciation Day), environmental recommendations for preservation, growth and futures planning along the San Marcos River in Martindale TX
Presentation by CHARM
Two staff from the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension/CHARM, which is an off-shoot of Disaster Assistance and Recovery and FEMA, presented to the committee about providing technical assistance and resources to help the city and its residents be better prepared after the next big storm or flood. CHARM stands for Community Health And Resource Management.
"CHARM is a mapping application supported with a library of mapping data about urbanization, storm surges, conservation, public facilities, and coastal resources. The CHARM application can leverage local community knowledge for better long-term planning, and is an ideal tool for communities, watersheds, and environmental projects along the US Gulf Coast."
CHARM staff has recently completed a report they wrote focused on Martindale as one of the case studies. In the report they created maps of the potential environmental impact of residential development, both in the city and in the ETJ, in flood plains during a flood. It is available from the City (512-357-2639), but has not been posted online.
The River Board is going to plan collaborative trainings and possibly a flyer to mail out with the staff from CHARM to help Martindale residents plan ahead for the next big disaster.
Lots of action at the meeting this month.
Councilwoman Sonia Villalobos made a public comment thanking the committee for their dedication and work. She also offered to continue planning the River Appreciation Day festivities in coordination with the River Advisory Committee after she retires her council position next week. Stay tuned for this year's date and line up.
The River Advisory Board also heard public comment from Sam Houston Clinton, who noted that Liberty Hill's waste treatment plant has the lowest required ph level in the state, at .015, yet the San Gabriel river still has huge amounts of algae growing in it. Since Martindale closely monitors ph for negative impact on the river water, Sam suggested maybe the River Board would do a comparison study to see what our situation looks like compared to Liberty Hill.
The Board noted that at one point recently they did a mail out to all local land owners who's property boarders the San Marcos river and/or is situated in the flood plain. The mailing was 8-pages of information about the importance of riparian cover and flood plains. It was a total of about 400 people.
Last, Adrian Flores, who is the Assistant City Administrator / City Clerk, recommended that FEMA and CRS would like Martindale to have a realtor as a standing River Board member. That recommendation seemed well received.
HONORING OUR PAST
Martindale Historic Preservation Commission
Martindale Historic Commission will meet again on May 28, 2024 at the City Council meeting room at 5pm in the City Hall meeting room at 407 Main St. or on Zoom
The agenda for the meeting is available at GR1000-54 - 2024-05-28 - Historical Commission Agenda
The committee needs YOU! There are two open spots available. Please think about this opportunity when you are deciding how to volunteer your time for your town! Talk to the current members to learn more (Randy Bunker, Carlton Carl, Maury Domengeaux) or call City Hall.
The historic commission is busy working on reviewing the local and national boundaries of our historic district. We are researching what guides other towns use for their Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) to give Martindale helpful guidance when planning their maintenance and renovation projects. Public meetings will be held once a draft is ready!
The commission aims to study the most important aspects of historical preservation in Martindale, and make recommendations to the Martindale City Council for formal planning or changes to our existing ordinances. The council may plan social and community events to educate, inform and celebrate our historical origins.
The purpose of the COA is to help foster a partnership between the city and the property owners of some of our historic homes and businesses. The goal is to make sure that the historic old town feel of Martindale is preserved, because it makes Martindale special.
Comments, questions, thoughts, or concerns?
According to the 2020 US Census--
1,253
Population of Martindale TX
14.1%
( ±7)
Veterans in City of Martindale
42.4%
(±10)
Spanish Speakers
25.4%
(±10)
People living in City of Martindale are children under 18 years old
All content on this website is protected by U.S. copyright and may not be reproduced without permission.
Comments, questions, thoughts, or concerns?