Meridian City Council approves changes to subdivision’s lots, new parks board officers

Meridian City Council approves changes to subdivision’s lots, new parks board officers News Staff Wed, 02/21/2024 - 05:46 Image Body

The Meridian City Council approved changes to three lots in a local subdivision during its regular meeting at the Meridian Senior Center on Monday, February 12.

The request for the changes came from a representative of the lots' owner, so they could divide and sell the property in the Hayes subdivision.

One of the lots had a structure located directly on the property line, she said.

Public comment

During the public comment period, a resident inquired about a sewer line leak from a piece of property outside the city limits causing wear to a city street.

While city council members and city staff normally do not address comments made in the comment period, Mayor Ryan Nieuwenhuis made an exception.

City Secretary Tiffany Gentry explained that the property’s owner has not paid the city to connect their septic system to the city's sewer system yet.

Mayor Pro Tem Sharon Wilson said that the Texas Center for Environmental Quality should be notified since the leak is still occurring within the county.

Mayor Nieuwenhuis said that city staff would look into the situation and contact the inquirer with an update by the end of the week.

Regarding another issue, the same resident sought information about whether he or the City of Meridian was responsible for building a sidewalk in front of his house.

A sidewalk is not currently present on his property, and he expressed interest in placing one there.

The mayor said city hall staff would assist him moving forward.

Council policies

City Secretary Gentry inquired about the city council members' preferences for placing items onto the council's meeting agendas.

She noted that since the council had recently removed its policies and procedures manual, Robert's Rules of Order (RRO) was now the council's guide by default.

Under RRO, any council member can request that items be placed on the agenda; however, if an item has been taken up and dealt with, the item would not be returned to the agenda, she said of the RRO guidelines.

The council discussed the matter, agreeing to follow RRO and to submit agenda items to city hall the Wednesday prior to the Friday before the city secretary posts the agenda for the monthly meetings.

Parks board officers

The council approved the slate of officers of the Meridian Parks & Recreation's Board of Directors, as presented.

The current officers are Jennifer Lumpkins, president; Trey Finch, vice president and treasurer; Lacey Coon, secretary.

The council also approved reducing the size of the Meridian Parks & Recreation Board of directors from nine to seven members, as requested by the parks board.

Included in the motion was allowing the parks board's directors to live outside the city limits.

Consent agenda

The council approved the consent agenda which included the minutes from the January 2024 regular meeting, the payment of bills, and a preliminary review of the first quarter's expenses.

No financial report was submitted by Meridian City Administrator Kris Garza, who noted that she was still organizing previous years' financial statements.

Updates

Gentry reported that JCB Tractor lawsuit was headed to trial, but the trial date moved to May 6, 2024.

Garza noted that she and Gentry recently had an informative meeting with a representative of the Texas Municipal League (TML) about the lawsuit.

Garza stated that the City of Meridian had not notified TML about the lawsuit, and had it done so at the time, the City likely would have averted a lawsuit by The city staff also reported that city hall's Fundview program was now fully operational, as utility billing was complete and working correctly.

The council also heard about the current status of lighting and electricity work at the public parks in the wake of the two floods from the Bosque River last fall.

All council members were present for February's regular meeting.