City Commission Begins Process for New Annexation

The La Feria City Commission held their regular meeting Tuesday, September 23, at the City Commission Meeting Room in La Feria.

With a full quorum present, the Commission heard brief public comments and after some deliberation approved the minutes for the September 9th meeting before moving on to consider other agenda items.

The first item to be considered was the approval of the Tax Roll for the City of La Feria authorizing the Tax Assessor/Collector to implement and begin the collection of city taxes for the 2014 Tax Year. This item was met with unanimous approval.

The next item on the agenda was the consideration of a resolution allowing the city’s Planning Department to prepare Service Plans for an area being considered for possible annexation, including a possible commitment to build a fire station to service the area in question.

The resolution would also authorize the City Manager to offer Development Agreements to owners of land appraised by the Appraisal District for Ad Valorem Tax purposes and to schedule two public hearings and complete public notices informing the public of the city’s intentions to annex. The area in question would be south of U.S. Highway 281 on the east side of Santa Maria.

Commissioner Esmeralda Lozano raised concerns related to the language of the agenda, uncertain about the consequences of approving the item due in part to her inexperience with the process of annexation. City Manager Sunny K. Philip and City Attorney Richard Talbert proceeded to explain that the resolution would only set the wheels in motion for annexation and that the commissioners would have the chance to vote whether to annex part, all or none of the proposed area at a much later date.

“I’m the kind of person that questions everything,” Commissioner Lozano said. “I have a duty to my constituents to know what exactly we’re voting on.”

Mr. Philip and Mr. Talbert tried to assuage the Commissioner’s concerns by providing draft copies of the Service Plan and a copy of a Development Agreement from last year’s annexation of several areas surrounding La Feria.

After a bit more deliberation, the Commission approved the resolution and will be scheduling the publication of Public Notices as well as public hearings for the end of the month of October.

The Commission then reviewed bid tabulations for bids received for improvements to be made on the Unit 3C Evans/Wilson Canal Crossing. The commissioners awarded the bid to the “lowest, most qualified and responsible bidder” which was Mor-Wil, LLC of Mission, TX.

Next, the Commission approved a contract between the city and Cameron County Emergency Services District No. 1 for firefighting services to unincorporated areas of Cameron County with a unanimous vote.

Finally the Commission was presented monthly financial reports for the month of August 2014 with a short presentation by city staff outlining the details of revenue and expenditures, performance indicators, investments and a report on tax collections.

The City Commission then went into closed session before returning to hear reports from the city staff concerning progress on several projects, including the Drainage Improvement Project, Water and Wastewater Improvement Projects and the status of the Safe Room/Dome Shelters.

The next scheduled City Commission meeting will be on October 14th at 6:30 pm in the City Commission Meeting Room. The public is welcome to attend.