Clifton swears in city council aldermen

Clifton swears in city council aldermen Subhead Council approves new farmers Market at Legacy Park, free concert series Nathan Diebenow Wed, 05/22/2024 - 06:12 Image

• Aldermen Dale LaRue and Leslie Perry took the oath of office administered by Clifton City Secretary Angela Smith during last Tuesday's meeting. Nathan Diebenow | The Clifton Record

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The City of Clifton swore in two of the three aldermen who won re-election during the city council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, May 14, in the chambers at the civic center.

Clifton City Secretary Angela Smith administered the oath of office to aldermen Leslie Perry and Dale LaRue. Alderman Cybil Humphreys was not present for the swearing-in ceremony.

The May 4, 2024 city council election was canceled because all three incumbent aldermen ran unopposed this election season.

Farmers Market

The council approved a new farmers market to be located at the Auction Barn at Legacy Park that began on Saturday, May 18, 2024.

The new “Market at Legacy Park” will run through Saturday, July 20, 2024, and will be monitored by volunteers with the Clifton Main Street Programs’ Legacy Park advisory board members.

Clifton Economic Development Coordinator Hayley Sanders made a presentation on the proposed market.

Sanders said that the intent of the market is to activate the barn with local farmers and producers in order to raise awareness of their products and services as well as the history about Legacy Park.

The market will charge a small fee for vendors to reserve spaces in the barn; the funds raised will go toward the renovation of the historical barn, she said.

Legacy Park Fence

The council approved the City of Clifton’s request for $7,000 from Hotel Occupancy Tax Funds for a split-rail fence around the Legacy Park Historic District.

Concert Series

The council approved the City of Clifton’s request for $3,000 from Hotel Occupancy Tax Funds for concert series called “Small Town, Big Tunes,” running for three consecutive Friday evenings this June.

Free admission to the public, the concerts start on Friday, June 7, 2024, at the On5th Gallery in historic downtown Clifton.

Guests will be allowed to BYOB as well as bring their own food to the gallery’s outdoor venue for the concerts.

Sanders said that the sound system for the concerts will be donated by Toney Rogers; the HOT funds will pay for the live music entertainers.

Sanders added that the concert service aims to increase tourism and drive revenue to the historic downtown district.

The concerts will end before the City of Clifton’s annual “Fireworks on the Bosque” display on Saturday night, June 29.

Alzheimer’s Association Walk

The council approved the Alzheimer’s Association’s request to hold a fundraiser walk in Clifton City Park on Saturday, September 21, 2024, from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. Sanders spoke on behalf of the Association’s local committee about the walk.

BAC Grant

The council approved a request for $5,000 from the Bosque Arts Center from Hotel Occupancy Tax Fund to promote the 2024 BAC Quilt Show on June 7-8, 2024.

BAC Events Coordinator Deb Phinney stated that the requested funds increased from last year’s grant to advertise the event through additional mediums, including radio and television.

This year’s quilt show already has 80 entries – up 20 from last year, she said. The BAC expects almost double the attendance from last year’s show.

HBF Grant

The council approved a resolution for Harris Brothers Fabrication regarding a $63,246.14 grant for their site development.

This was the second reading of the HBF resolution, which stated that the grant had received no opposition during the public review process of the Clifton Economic Development Corporation.

Financial Conduits

The council approved the creation of three special entities that can generate passive income to the city in exchange for approving tax-exempt bonds to private companies and non-profit organizations.

The conduit financial entities created include the Clifton Industrial and Economic Development Corporation, the Clifton Cultural Facilities Corporation, and the Clifton Health Facilities Development Corporation.

Recently, the council had approved the creation of a conduit named the Clifton Economic Development Corporation, but since the city already had an entity by the same name, the council rescinded the original resolution and approved the creation of the newly named Clifton Industrial and Economic Development Corporation.

All three conduits have the same fee structure and board of directors: Betty Murdoch, George Larson, Mechelle Slaughter, Mike Mabry, Gene Albrecht, Doug Kieta, and Ed Reiser.

The city’s financial consultant Lee Donner made a presentation in support of these three entities’ creation during the meeting.

ARPA

The council approved the America Rescue Plan Act Document Management & Records Retention Policy (ARPA Project: RCP-055980) as well as the American Rescue Plan Act Standards of Conduct and Conflict of Interest Policy for the City of Clifton.

Disaster Declaration

During the city council meeting, a statement of declaration of disaster was ordered by Clifton Mayor Mike Schmidt.

The mayor determined that “extraordinary measures must be taken to alleviate the suffering of people and to protect or rehabilitate property,” according the to declaration.

The statement was issued due to the widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life resulting from severe weather events and flooding since April 26, 2024.

The declaration was made pursuant to 418.108 of the Texas Government Code for no more than seven days from the date it was issued on May 14, 2024.

The declaration activates the city’s emergency management plan, it said. The order went into effect immediately.