Inter-local agreements discussion tops Joaquin council

• Joaquin mayor Jessie Griffith presides over the city’s council meeting held last Tuesday. David Danley Light and Champion

Discussion of two inter-local agreements led a regular meeting of the Joaquin city council held on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

The council considered an inter- local agreement between the city and Joaquin ISD to allow the city to establish a well on a small portion of the school district’s property. Mayor Jessie Griffith reported to the council that he had been in communication with Ryan Fuller, the school’s superintendent, and that the school board planned to consider the matter at its October meeting.

The agreement would allow the city to use the land as long as it operated a well on the property and stipulates that the property could not be used for any other purpose. The agreement also states that if the city ever ceased to use the property it would revert back to the school district.

After discussion, the council voted to approve the agreement and authorized Mayor Griffith to continue negotiations with the school superintendent and to sign the agreement once the school district approved it.

The council considered an inter-local agreement between the city and the Sabine River Authority, but held off on approving it due to the insertion of a line item that the council had not agreed to.

City Secretary Cheryl Green spotted the change and brought it to the attention of the council.

“If you look at ‘g’, it says the city shall be responsible for any damage due to vandalism, burglary, collision or any other act committed by a third party or any natural disaster or occurrence to the improvements of the SRA property,” she said.

“So that says if a tornado comes and blows it away, we’re responsible,” council member Rusty Wilson inquired.

“That’s what it says is, we’re responsible. So I sent it back and said ‘no’, we didn’t agree to that,” Green confirmed.

“I talked to Mr. Mann, personally, and he said that should not have been on there. The agreement was for us to mow it and pick up the trash, that’s all. It’s not city property. That’s Sabine River Authority property,” Mayor Jessie Griffith said.

The council voted to table the item until they received a new contract with the correct verbiage.

The city had received a letter of violations from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Among the violations, according to Blake Cranford, utility contractor for the city, is that the pumps and tanks on the city’s water towers are too small and that the overflow pipes on the standpipe is too small. However, Cranford reported that one of the violations was canceled out when the city replaced an overflow pipe on the tower with the correct size.

The council reviewed the other allegations of non-compliance and then agreed to forward all the pertinent information to its engineer for him to prepare a letter to be sent to TCEQ, to detail the steps the city is taking to remediate the violations it is charged with.

In department head reports, Ashley Peters, utilities billing manager, reported that $74,181.63 in utility bills were mailed out with a current outstanding amount of $1,461. Sewer accounted for $13,613.16, while gas was $3,391.73, with $65.24 in gas sales tax. Public safety was $1,383. The financial statement showed $58,706 in bills to be paid with a current bank balance of $35,069.19, leaving a deficit of $23,636.90. The city also received $35,568 in sales tax payments for the month.

Green brought to the council’s attention that the proposed city property tax rate had been incorrectly posted in the newspaper as .2912, while the actual rate approved by the council on Sept. 12 was .3031. Green noted that unless someone filed an injunction by Sept. 27 to challenge the rate as voted upon, it would go into effect.

Cranford then updated the council on city projects that had been completed along with water line and gas line and other repairs that had been done.

The council voted to table any action on the 2024 Downtown Revitalization application through the Texas Department of Agriculture until it could clarify the participation commitment of a local business in the project.

In other business, the council appointed Jason Harvey to the city’s Economic Development Board and approved the minutes from its previous month’s meetings.