Byron Hebert[/caption]The Katy City Council held its first meeting of September and approved several items on their agenda. The 29-minute meeting was marked by the mayor and four council members present wearing American flag decorated dress shirts in honor of 9/11.
1.) Hebert gets raise in new employment deal
Katy City Administrator Byron Hebert will continue leading city staff after City Council approved his employment agreement through September 2017 in a 4-0 vote. Hebert will earn $145,000 per year, a $20,000 raise from his previous salary of $125,000 per year.
Hebert said he was happy with a $17,000 raise originally proposed, but said he was thankful and accepted a motion by Council Member J. Gary Jones to increase the raise by $3,000.
“I’m very fortunate and very blessed to be here doing what I’m doing,” Hebert said. “I love my job. They equated [the pay raise] to some of the bigger projects we’ve been able to bring in and some of the projects that are on the table.”
Hebert has worked for the city since 2000 when he was hired as the finance director. In April 2014, he was promoted to city administrator.
2.) Fire Station No. 2
City officials are negotiating the purchase of one of two pieces of property being eyed for the city’s new Fire Station No. 2, Hebert said. The second station is slated to open in April 2017, and it will house 15 firefighters, an EMS unit and the city’s new quint fire truck.
The original location of the station, near the intersection of Pin Oak Road and Kingsland Boulevard, was changed after the floods of April 18. Hebert said the two locations being considered are inside what the city defines as the “mall area,” an area south of Interstate 10 and within the area bounded by Pin Oak Road, Kingsland Boulevard and Katy Fort Bend Road.
“We needed to have that quint we bought with the ladder where our hotels were,” he said.
3.) Charity runs given go-ahead
The council approved two charity fun runs at the Monday meeting.
The third annual Heroes Against Violence, sponsored by the Katy Christian Ministries, was approved for Oct. 22. The other run is the second annual Graeme’s Run for the Children’s Heart Foundation, set for Feb. 25, 2017.
4.) International gymnastics event set for January
The 2017 RD761 Junior International Team Cup men’s and women’s gymnastics event is coming to Katy. The competition is set for Jan. 16-22, 2017 at the Leonard E. Merrell Center at Katy High School.
The competition was awarded a $62,000 grant under the city’s Convention and Tourism Bureau Hotel Occupancy Grant program.
5.) City to sign agreement for medical benefits
The council voted to authorize Mayor Fabol Hughes to sign an agreement with Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company to provide city employee medical benefits.
