A 24-member Bond Advisory Committee that will help identify community projects for a potential 2019 bond election will convene for its initial meeting Jan. 9 from 6-7 p.m. at the New Braunfels Civic/Convention Center, 375 S. Castell Ave., in the Garden Rooms.
The committee is made up of appointed persons from each City Council district, members of city boards and commissions, one member from each of the Comal County and Guadalupe County Commissioners Courts and three at-large candidates. Ray Still, pastor of Oakwood Baptist Church in New Braunfels, is chairing the committee as a non-voting member.
The members of the Bond Advisory Committee represent a broad range of occupations and interests.
“We believe the BAC’s membership represents a cross-section of experience and perspectives that will be incredibly valuable as they work to identify community projects for a potential 2019 bond election,” said a statement released by the City Manager’s Office.
During the first phase of the process, the BAC will identify projects for preliminary design analysis which may be selected from the city’s capital improvement plan, completed master plans or other community needs identified by the committee. The BAC will reconvene in late summer 2018 for further analysis before providing its recommendations to the New Braunfels City Council.
An amount for the 2019 bond package has not been specified, but the BAC will take the city’s financial status, capabilities and the potential tax impacts of different levels of investment into consideration. Potential partnership opportunities with other groups will also be explored, the City Manager’s Office said.
The following potential meeting dates have been set for the first phase of work, although the BAC may elect not to use all of them: Jan. 17, Jan. 23, Jan. 30, Feb. 1, Feb. 13, Feb. 22, Mar. 13, Mar. 27.
The members of the Bond Advisory Committee are as follows:
Chair:
Ray Still, pastor, Council District 3
Appointees by City Council:
Mayor: Wes Studdard, business
District 1: Teresa Hendon, law enforcement
District 2: Garry Montgomery, engineer
District 3: Larry Hammonds, finance
District 4: Jan Kotylo Morton, director
District 5: Bob Gray, business
District 6: Jennifer Hillyer, nurse
Members from area boards and organizations:
Extraterritorial jurisdiction: Brandon Dietert, business, Chamber of Commerce Chair
District 1: Shane Hines, sales, Downtown Board
District 3: Amy Stone, engineer, Library Advisory Board
District 6: Stuart Hansmann, construction, NBIDC Board
District 3: Atanacio Campos, attorney, NBU board
District 4: John Mathis, health care, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board
District 4: Cory Elrod, real estate, Planning Commission
District 5: Dick Hilllyer, business, River Advisory Committee
District 3: Stephen Hanz, engineer, Watershed Advisory Committee
District 3: Christine Gonzalez, business, Historic Landmark Commission
ETJ: Dee Buck, artist, Arts Commission
Members-at-large:
District 2: Joe Castilleja, finance
District 1: Alice Jewell, CEO
District 3: Lori Archer, business
County commissioners:
Seguin ETJ: Jack Shanafelt, Guadalupe County
District 1: Scott Haag, Comal County