Calling 12 the perfect biblical number, Snyder Mayor Tony Wofford appointed 12 members to a committee that will review the city’s zoning ordinances and possibly recommend changes.
At the encouragement of Snyder City Manager Merle Taylor and the city’s attorney, five additional city staff members were added and approved by the Snyder City Council, bringing the total to 17 members.
The original 12 members were Abel DeLoera, Keith Matthies, Dan Evans, Bill Lavers, Sarah Jamison, Ronnie Wooldridge, Eddie Williams, Vernon Clay, Thomas Strayhorn, Cody Wall, Earl Ware and Dan Hicks. Also appointed were Taylor, Zoning Administrator Vick Chambers, Public Works Director Eli Torres, Police Chief Terry Luecke and Fire Chief Perry Westmoreland.
The advisory committee will identify any issues in the existing ordinance, make suggestions to the city staff, which will develop proposed changes for review by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, which will then recommend any changes to the Snyder City Council for approval. At previous meetings, Development Corporation of Snyder Executive Director Bill Lavers suggested adopting a zoning ordinance similar to that of the City of Boerne.
The council also approved, on a split vote, the first reading of an ordinance formalizing the fee structure for fire department calls.
According to Westmoreland, since 2013 the fire department has billed insurance companies — and in some rare cases individuals or companies — based on who was at fault and what the fire department had to do when called to the scene of an emergency. He said Scurry County taxpayers were never charged, even when they were at fault.
He said the company the department has been using is no longer working with fire departments, and the new company — which the council also approved on a split vote — required the city to pass an ordinance that included a rate structure.
Included in the rates are $700 for a basic hazardous material response, $275 per hour for fire investigation and $435 for motor vehicle incidents. Westmoreland said the department could also bill for water rescues when drivers go around barricades or for responding to an illegal fire, such as during a burn ban.
The council approved the ordinance’s first reading and hiring Fire Recovery USA, LLC, to assist with billing, with council member Vernon Clay voting against both.
The council took the final vote setting the speed limit for Snyder Junior High School’s school zone.
In November, the Texas Department of Transportation installed lighted signs on FM 1607, (37th Street) at Midland Ave. and on the west edge of the campus. The speed limit will be 35 miles per hours when the signs’ lights are flashing and 45 miles per hour at other times.
The council approved Henry Ramos to replace Jon Lewis on the Planning and Zoning Commission, but Wofford said he was still trying to get in touch with the candidate to replace John Shirley on the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
The council also approved the final version of an ordinance that will regulate plumbing cross-connection, the final plat of the Snyder Junior High School subdivision and a $154,197 bid for a vibratory soil compactor.
No action was taken after either of two closed sessions. The council met in closed session for 13 minutes to discuss real property and for 1 hour, 23 minutes to conduct Taylor’s evaluation.
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