Some of the city’s top priorities identified by city staff include legislation related to aquifer storage and recovery as well as the use of hotel occupancy tax revenue to improve sporting and event facilities. According to the meeting's agenda packet, the state water code has some regulatory obstructions that affect aquifer storage and recovery, which Buda is interested in pursuing.
The city of Buda is also concerned with legislation such as Senate Bill 2, or the Texas Property Tax Reform and Relief Act of 2017, that would cap revenue and appraisal. Buda is one of multiple Central Texas cities along I-35 that say the bill would make it harder to accommodate the rapid growth in the area. Under this law, critics of the bill say the cities of of Austin, San Marcos, New Braunfels and San Antonio would have lost $770 million over the past decade while saving the average homeowner just a few dollars a month.
Also on the agenda:
- Council is scheduled to discuss and possibly nominate and appoint applicants to the Main Street Advisory Board.
- Buda was designated a 2017 official Texas Main Street City by The Texas Historical Commission in early January. Last week, it was announced that Maggie Gillespie was hired as the first Buda Main Street manager. Gillespie will lead the advisory board in stimulating the downtown economy and retaining, expanding and recruiting local businesses.
- The board will consist of nine members, at least six of whom reside within the corporate limits of the city, with the remaining three either owning or operating a business within city limits. The initial board will have five members appointed for one-year terms and four for two-year terms. In the future, all terms will be for two years.
- Council is set to deliberate and possibly take action to execute a contract between the Texas Water Development Board and the city for a grant to fund a flood early warning system project.
- The TWDB offers grants to evaluate flooding solutions. Grants for flood protection planning require a 50 percent local match of the total project cost, which would be an estimated $181,324.55 for Buda.
- The grant money would be used to install early warning equipment at flooding-prone areas of the city. Four or five new automated signals would be placed at Onion Creek Bridge on RM 967, Cole Springs Road at RM 967, a Garlic Greek culvert on RM 967, Bluff Street at FM 2770 and Main Street at Bradfield Park. The most recent estimated cost is $362,649 for all five locations.
- The city’s fund match was not included in the 2017 budget and municipal plan. According to the agenda packet, city staff recommends pledging money from the general fund balance for the grant match to be allocated during a future budget amendment.
The Buda City Council meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Council Chambers, 121 S. Main St., Buda.
