City to Apply for 2017-18 Texas Community Development Block Grant, Appoint New City Attorney at Latest City Meeting

Commissioners also Approve Updated Policy Manual and Agree to Participate in Texas Cooperative Liquid Assets Securities System

by Martha E. Ibarra/LFN

The La Feria city commission held a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 24, in the La Feria city commission meeting room located at 115 E. Commercial Avenue.

Following the usual protocol of a city meeting (Invocation, pledge, and determination of quorum), Commissioner Victor Gonzalez Jr., who has missed several meetings due to his health, thanked the commission and the community for their understanding, “I want to thank our commissioners and our mayor for allowing me to be off and miss all these meetings due to my illness. I want to thank the Lord for bringing me along to this point. It is a day to day thing and I will continue to take chemo until, hopefully, we get rid of this disease. I thank you all for your prayers, your patience with me, your visits and kind words, not only from the commission but from the community. Groups of different churches are praying on my behalf- to me that is what moves me along to the next day. I sincerely want to thank you from the bottom of my heart and I hope that my progress continues.”

The commission then went on to hold a public hearing regarding the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. The Texas Department of Agriculture website states, “The primary objective of the Community Development Block Grant program is to develop viable communities by providing decent housing and suitable living environments, and expanding economic opportunities principally for persons of low- to moderate-income.” After a short public hearing, the commission went on to approve a resolution to apply for 2017-2018 Texas CDBG.

Next, the commission went into closed executive session where they remained for fifty minutes. After emerging from executive session, the commission approved the recommendation of city manager, Jaime Sandoval, for the appointment of attorney Rebecca S. Hayward as the duly appointed city attorney for the city of La Feria as well as the retention of the law firm of Denton, Navarro, Bernal, Hyde & Zech to fulfill the legal service needs of the city.

Attorney Ricardo J. Navarro then went before the commission to present an updated rough draft of the Personnel Policy Manual for the city of La Feria. After reviewing the draft, the commission approved an ordinance providing for the adoption of an updated manual.

The commission also approved four resolutions, presented by Thelma Banduch, a partner at Perdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott LLP, authorizing the proposed resale of foreclosed real estate properties.

After the approval of the minutes of the previous city meeting (January 10), the commission approved to select Cameron County Elections Department to administer the city’s general elections scheduled for May 6, 2017.

Finally, finance director, Frank Rios, went before the commission to discuss the approval of a resolution for the city to participate in the Texas Cooperative Liquid Assets Securities System (CLASS)

“Texas CLASS is an organization that was created to help local entities, governments, school districts with public funds. Better rates than savings accounts would have, which would benefit us tremendously, as we have all these accounts that are sitting at the bank. With something like Texas CLASS we can just throw that money over there and you’re going to make more on your dollar than you are just having it in a bank account,” explained Rios. A motion was made and approved.

The next city meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 14, in the city commission meeting room located at 115 E. Commercial Avenue in La Feria.