The Katy City Council held a joint meeting with the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission Monday to consider requirements for new motels within the city. In separate votes, the commission and council both unanimously approved the ordinance. The new ordinance requires new motels to have at least 63 guest rooms with access only from an internal hallway accessible through the business’ lobby. Furthermore, the motel must have internal staircases and be at least three stories in height.

The city's Planning and Zoning Commission adjourned its portion of the session immediately following the vote on the ordinance.

The City Council continued with its meeting to conduct the following business:

1. Draft budget distributed

  • A draft of the city’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year was distributed. The total proposed budget rings in at $26.1 million.
  • The proposed budget includes a tax cut of .02 percent for residents of incorporated Katy.
  • Top three expenditures in the proposal are police services at $6.5 million, contingency funding at $5.5 million and fire and emergency medical services at $3.9 million.
  • A public budget workshop will be held at 10 a.m. Aug. 25 at Katy City Hall.

2. Approval of signage requirements for the West Ten Business Park

  • The council approved a variety of requirements for signage at the West Ten Business Park, which is under construction at the northeast corner of I-10 and Cane Island Parkway.

3. Development plats approved

  • The council approved six plats of land for a variety of purposes including residential and commercial subdivisions and road improvements.
  • The council voted unanimously to approve a school zone near the Arastoi Classical Academy at 5610-A Morton Road, Katy.

4. Katy fire and EMS funding and coverage

  • KFD was recently awarded a $2.18 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The council voted unanimously to formally accept the grant.
  • The council voted to authorize KFD to apply for a Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation grant of up to $50,000. If awarded, the grant would be used to purchase educational materials for fire preparedness and emergency management.

5. Technology and modernization contracts approved or submitted for rebid

  • The city rejected all bids for grounds maintenance received recently in response to a solicitation. The bids received varied greatly in quality and cost and no clear best value was immediately identifiable.
  • A lease agreement for radios to read utility meters was approved. The prior system used is being retired by the vendors involved, Sensus USA, Inc. and Sensus Spectrum, LLC. and the companies have agreed to update the system at a reduced cost per materials provided by the city.
  • The council also approved an agreement to purchase appropriate licenses for web-based open records management software called JustFOIA, provided by Municipal Code Corporation.
  • Two expenditures were passed to modernize billing and collections for Katy EMS. The first allows the city to enter a three-year agreement with PST Services, LLC for billing and collections, while the second allows for the purchase of licenses for the software used by PST for data collections. The software will modernize the process for recouping expenses for EMS calls, Katy Fire Chief Russell “Rusty” Wilson said. The new software will interact with the department’s computer aided dispatch system and hospital software to backfill patient information and allow the department to file claims against the patients’ insurance more quickly, he said.