Cleveland City Council, at the monthly meeting on Nov. 21, gave the go-ahead for an agreement with Bleyl Engineering to conduct an impact fee study. The study will provide invaluable insight into how the city should be assessing impact fees and help set a range for these one-time payments to the City.
The impact fees would be paid by property developers to help offset the cost of infrastructure that comes with development – increased water wells, sewer and water treatment plants, water and sewer lines, and street improvements.
Blake Barringer with Bleyl Engineering explained that once the study is complete and approved by Council, it will still take another year before the City can start collecting those fees due to a state mandate. As the study is expected to take around 9 months to complete, it will likely be 2025 before the impact fees are assessed by the City.
City Manager Scott Swigert asserted the urgency of conducting such a study, stating that the city is already behind the ball. He explained that impact fees are a useful tool used by many cities to help pay for growth.
While Councilmen Julius Buckley and Roscoe Warrick, and Councilwoman Desiree David were in favor of the study, and voted for it, Councilman Fred Terrell pushed back and asked how long it would take for the City to recoup the $130,000 that will be spent on the study.
“That depends on the development. Nothing that has been built to date had impact fees,” Swigert answered.
City Attorney Mary Ann Powell added, “Right now your recoupment is zero dollars.”
Council also gave its support to a future observation area at Cleveland Municipal Airport. The site selected for the observation is just west of the airport terminal and has clear views of the runway. The City previously looked at three other potential spots for the observation area off of FM 787 but they all posed safety concerns for the public.
The observation area is still unfunded, however Cleveland Economic Development Corporation has shown support for the project and may be willing to pay for it, Swigert said. It was also mentioned that the new airport manager, who replaces the outgoing fixed based operator Clay Dean, whose contract expires at the end of the year, will be Dickie Harbour, a city employee with aviation experience.
Council also voted in support for a recommendation of the lowest qualified bidder for construction of water and sewer lines for the Buzzy Bee development that is being built on the 1600 block of US 59 South in Cleveland. Due to the agreement the City has with the developer, the City went through the standard procurement laws for bidder even though the project will be funded by the developer.
Cleveland Fire Chief Sean Anderson spoke to Council at the meeting with a request to auction off Engine 41 as the cost to repair it has far exceeded the value of the truck.
Anderson explained that the truck is old and has a broken gear box. Finding parts to fix the old truck are an issue as are the costs of the parts if they are located. The cost of replacing the broken gear box far exceeds the value of the truck, so Council agreed to place it up for auction.
In other business, Council approved a right-of-way easement agreement with Entergy Texas for a 1.03 city-owned tract of land that needs to be accessed to run a utility line to a residence, voted against a request for de-annexation of a property at 26156 SH 321 and set the date for the December council meeting on Dec. 14. Council also allocated all its votes for the Liberty County Appraisal District’s board of directors to Bobby Coats. The City has one vote with the Montgomery County CAD board and allocated that vote to Mike Hopkins and its five votes with the San Jacinto County CAD board to Crystal Dominy.
Evan Roberson, executive director for Tri-County Behavioral Healthcare, gave a presentation to Council at the start of the meeting about Tri-County’s new facility for Cleveland. The project officially broke ground in October 2023 and will be completed by December 2024.
He cited a growing need for mental health services as the impetus behind constructing the new facility, which will replace Tri-County’s current facility in Cleveland, located at 2004 Truman Street. The new facility will be located at 402 Liberty St., Cleveland.
“We are going to have mental health services of all types, including outpatient services for kids. There will be no beds in this facility because nobody is staying the night. It will have an open foyer entrance with natural light and open space. By having two lobbies, we can have services going for adults and children at the same time,” Roberson said, explaining that the current operation on Truman Street has to alternate treatment days between adults and children.
The cost of the Tri-County project is $11.5 million.
“This is a big commitment to Cleveland, Texas, and north Liberty County,” Roberson said, adding that both the chair and vice chair for the organization’s board are from Liberty County.
Council also recognized former Cleveland Airport Board President Bob Bartlett for his 38 years of service and presented Public Works employee Joshua Knox with his 10-year anniversary pin. Angela Valdez was also recognized as the Employee of the Month for November 2023.
Don’t us citizens, as well as businesses already get their asses taxed into the ground? The fees will be passed along to the business’s customers (us), and this sounds like another borderline extortion.
Ryan is exactly right folks, more tax