After spending almost two hours behind closed doors, the Snyder City Council reappointed Municipal Judge Deborah Boyd.
The city council met with the city’s attorney Bryan Guymon for 30 minutes before meeting with Boyd and her attorney, Linda Russell, for nearly 90 minutes.
Boyd was re-appointed municipal judge after the second session by a 5-0 vote. Council member Bill Harris abstained. No action was taken after the first closed session.
Former council member Ron Shaw discussed creating a historical district in the downtown area, and shared information from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Shaw said he was suggesting creating a historical district to preserve Snyder’s history.
“If we’d had an ordinance, maybe we could have saved the Brownfield Building, the BNSF building. I think it’s imperative we get things in motion before we have to expand the pocket park (to 25th Street),” he said of the condition of the Boren Building.
Scurry County Historical Commission member Drew Bullard said he would love to see the downtown buildings preserved and renovated, but that getting the property owners on board was crucial. He suggested some type of downtown business association organize the effort.
“If they are enthusiastically behind it, we could get it and make it a historic district,” he said.
Bullard pointed out that property owners would face expenses for upgrading and maintaining the buildings in a designated district and would face a review process before many changes could be made.
Three additional property-related matters were approved during Monday’s meeting. The council approved the final reading of an ordinance that would change the zoning of 1801 and 1803 19th Street from manufacturing to residential. The property owner plans to demolish the existing structures and bring in a pre-manufactured home.
The council also approved Michael Ulm’s property tax abatement request for 1603 Preston Trail and Armando Valdez’ $151 high bid for a parcel at 207 35th Street from a tax deed auction. Council member Terry Martin voted against the tax abatement.
The Development Corporation of Snyder’s (DCOS) budget and annual report were approved. Rather than a handout, Executive Director Brooke Proctor presented a slide show outlining DCOS activities over the past year and plans for the upcoming year. Council member Vernon Clay abstained from voting on the DCOS budget.
As part of the city’s new fiscal year, the council approved the city’s investment policy and named the Snyder Daily News as the city’s official newspaper.
The council also re-appointed Steve Rich as chair and Vernon Clay as vice chair of the Building Standards Commission. Steve Highfield was appointed secretary. The commission is made up of city council members.
The council approved several line-item transfers and transferring $362,681 from unrestricted funds to committed funds to purchase a new fire truck. The city has already received insurance proceeds to reimburse that money, but because the truck will be delivered in a different fiscal year than the reimbursement was received, the vote was required.
The council also approved a resolution related to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) matter involving paperwork the Texas Municipal League filed late with the IRS, a resolution approving the West Texas Council of Governments Hazard Mitigation Plan update and the July financial statement.
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