Council Member Yvonne Flores-Cale voiced concern that council would eventually take a vote that would move city hall to the public safety center at their regular meeting on March 7.
Mayor Travis Mitchell said it was not about moving council offices to city hall, but about attempting to legislate in a “highly politicized” environment.
“We can change it up if we want,” Mitchell said.
But according to the 2020 Special Bond Election, the council might be bound to the specifics of what voters passed.
Kyle residents voted to allocate $37 million to fund the design, construction and equipment of the new center that will house a new police station and emergency operations center.
Passage of the bond cost property owners $0.0744 cents per $100 of valuation during the 20-year lifecycle of the general obligation bonds. Since October 2021, property owners who average a $216,000 home within city limits saw their property taxes increase approximately $13.50 per month, or $160.50 per year.
“My hope is that we keep city hall and all its support with city hall,” Flores-Cale said.
Council Member Bear Heiser did not see an immediate need for the council to make changes to something that was approved by the voters.
“To me, this seems like a conversation around something that is not broken, and therefore I don’t see an immediate need for us to try to make changes to something that was approved by the voters in terms of the usage of the public safety center,” Heiser said. “That’s not to say that if the time comes that [the police department] needs more space, that we can’t open the conversation,” he added.
Kyle City Council will meet again on March 21 at city hall at 100 W. Center St. at 7 p.m.
