A new fire station and park ranked among the most mentioned items at the Cleburne City Council’s third budget meeting, held Tuesday at city hall.
Council members discussed uses for about $3.2 million in unpledged revenue from Fund 21, which holds revenues from gas well royalties and leases on city-owned land.
Council members agreed a new fire station is needed in the northern section of the city, by the industrial area. The project would probably be complete in two years, with land being purchased in the upcoming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. Construction of the building would likely occur the year after that, officials said.
City Manager Chester Nolen estimated land for the station would cost about $150,000.
“I don’t have an estimate on the entire cost of a new fire station,” Nolen said. “It would depend on material and construction costs. The last one we built three years ago was about $1.25 million.”
Councilman Kyle Boles called the fire station project a “fundamental issue of safety.”
Other members agreed.
“We’ve got to at least purchase the land for a new station this year,” Councilman Sonny Russell said. “We can’t do it all this year and will have to spread the project out, but we have to get started.”
Council members also favored buying land to develop a park in northwestern Cleburne.
“This should have been done long ago,” Councilman Bob Force said. “We need to purchase the land and get started planning on this.”
More budget options
Other projects mentioned include $1 million for street projects such as repairs to Trinity and Elmo streets and additional money for downtown and citywide sidewalk repair.
Force said he supports downtown sidewalk repair but is disappointed that money budgeted for it this year went unspent.
“I’m all for it, but I’m reluctant to put money there unless I’m sure we’re going to get this done,” Force said. “I thought this was supposed to be a four or five-year project until we got it all done. There are Texas Department of Transportation issues on some of those, but there are a lot of sidewalks around downtown TxDOT doesn’t have anything to do with.”
Other suggested projects also led to differences of opinion.
Reynolds suggested using $330,000 from Fund 21 to increase police and fire officers pay in addition to the suggested step increase and 4 percent cost-of-living increase for all city employees. If approved, police and fire officers would receive between 4 and 5 percent above the suggested raises for all employees.
“I’m very pleased all our city employees are going to get a significant increase,” Reynolds said. “But our fire and police are underpaid to the point we’re below parity with other cities.”
Reynolds said the investment required to train officers means it’s important the city also retain them.
“I don’t want to have to worry about losing our officers to other cities,” Reynolds said. “I want other cities to worry about us.”
Force disagreed.
“It’s a recurring expense every year out of our gas fund,” Force said. “In my opinion, Fund 21 revenue needs to be spent on capital improvements, not things like this, which should be paid out of the general fund.”
Force agreed with the need to retain quality firefighters and police officers but said such a raise would send the wrong message to other city employees.
“We’ve got about 100 in the police and fire departments but more than 200 other employees,” Force said. “The old boy laying down asphalt in August needs that raise just the same as a firefighter does. If we have unequal equity it will cause dissension among employees, and we already have enough trouble retaining the employees we have now.”
Force said he would be more amenable to a 5 to 6 percent raise for all employees, versus the proposed 4 percent across the board.
Place to skate
A proposed $225,000 skateboard park also raised concerns, although several council members supported the idea.
“I think this demands a little bit more thought and could maybe be something for a future year,” said Boles, who also serves as principal at Coleman Elementary School. “I just haven’t received enough feedback to justify a quarter-of-a-million dollar skateboard park, and I work with kids everyday. I just question whether kids will actually use it or figure it’s still more fun to go up to the school because it’s more taboo.”
Boles didn’t completely dismiss the idea, however.
“My question is, if you build it will they really come?” Boles said. “If there’s an outcry and folks want it and will use it, I’m all for it. But I think we need a little more info first.”
Force said he believes the demand exists.
“Evidently there’s a demand just from the number of Texas cities that are building or already have one,” Force said. “If it’s a way to get kids off the street, I’m for it. I know I’m certainly not going to use it.”
Russell and Councilmen John Warren tentatively agreed with the project but said more research should probably be done to determine if residents want and would use it.
Plans for museums
Plans to renovate the Layland Museum and Lowell Smith Sr. History Center also received mixed reaction.
“It’s something we need to address, or we’re going to lose that building,” Boles said. “Maybe it’s something that will have to be done in increments, but we need to start paying attention to it now.”
Reynolds said he supported the project but not its estimated $2 million cost. He suggested pledging $500,000 toward the project this year with future phases to be carried out later. Others questioned whether, given rising construction costs, the project could be carried out over several years for the original cost estimate.
Other projects discussed included providing money for drainage problems, an expansion of the city’s animal shelter and repairs to the sports center in Hulen Park.
At the sports center, old, unsafe fencing and light poles might be removed, and new lights might be installed. Residents still use the old facility as a practice field, said Max Robertson, Cleburne Parks and Recreation director. Robertson said the Sports Complex would probably not be used for practice to maintain the integrity of the new facility.
“We need to get those old poles down,” Warren said. “But I have a problem with putting new lights in when we’ve just recently built a new complex. Let them practice until it gets dark then go home or over to the Sports Complex.”
Council members did not discuss expanding or moving the library or police station, which share a building on West Henderson Street. Council members discussed doing so several times during the two previous budget hearings.
“We’re not sure yet what to do on that,” Force said. “Three or four years ago we got an estimate from an architect for [a combination police, fire and permit office] of about $11 million. I think if we’d have put some of those Fund 21 dollars back we could be building that now.”
The council made no final decisions on budget expenditures. A final budget workshop takes place at 5 p.m. today at city hall.
Council members will vote to adopt the budget in September.
Matt Smith can be reached at 817-645-2441, ext. 2339, or msmith@trcle.com.
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