Wednesday, the Rollingwood City Council met for their monthly meeting after the conclusion of a budget workshop. With the rain that came through the area earlier in the week, drainage and a potential drainage ordinance were once again topics of conversation. “Every house in Rollingwood has a drainage problem,” said Mayor Thom Farrell. “It comes down to what is my responsibility as a homeowner and what’s the city’s responsibility.” According to Alderman Michael Dyson, drainage has been a hot-button topic over the last 18 months because of unusually rainy weather. The city has seen three events classified as 100-year floods in the past two years. The city is focused on drainage issues in the streets and other areas residents cannot control. The ordinance would help set guidelines for homeowners trying to limit the impact of water on their property. However, specifics of the ordinance--including what kind of landscaping can be done to redirect water, how the evaluate the impact of construction, and enforcement of the guidelines--are still not clear. The council is trying to look at the problem from all angles. “We’ve been working on this drainage ordinance for over a year,” said Alderman Sara Hutson. “We’ve got to start [figuring things out].” Other topics discussed at the meeting were:

• The council proposed a property tax rate of $0.2171 per $100 assessed valuation for the 2016-17 fiscal year. However, the council intends to lower that rate to $0.1921 by the time the rate is made official at September's meeting. The current fiscal year tax rate is $0.2090.
• The council will allow mayor Farrell to negotiate a contract with Car2Go Austin. They are reserving two parking spaces in town for the potential vehicles. Car2Go allows registered users to drive one of its cars for a low rate and leave it at their destination without returning it.
• Since the approval of Task Order 15-- which aims to add bike lanes to Rollingwood Drive, Hatley Drive, Ridgewood Drive, Wallis Drive, Riley Road, Edgegrove Drive, Nixon Drive, Gentry Drive and Vale Drive-- the city has realized there are more steps than anticipated to receive a TxDOT grant, according to Marcus Naiser, LNV, Inc. An additional $22,050 will be needed to complete the process, which would bring the project to an estimated $117,000. The city will will look at alternatives and present their findings at September’s meeting.
• The council is looking into establishing a minimum flat rate for sewer utility charges. Currently, there are 40 people in Rollingwood without a winter average, which means they have been getting sewer service for free.
• A fall city wide clean up was set for October 22. Residents will be informed of details in the flyers with their water bill.
• The city will evaluate the contracts of contracted employees at next month’s meeting. This will be the first request for proposal in about five years. “It’s just good business practice,” said Farrell.