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The Tomball City Council recently approved changes to city rules governing fences after some long discussion over two meetings.

The council had previously tabled the changes during the Dec. 17 meeting, after asking City Planner Rebecca Guerra to add additional requirements and standards to the already proposed changes.

"We came before you and you requested that the item be tabled and that staff reexamine items," Guerra told council.

The proposed changes include allowing for a maximum height of eight feet, except in front yards, where the maximum height would be six feet for lots five acres and larger and four feet for lots less than five acres.

Guerra also told council that city planning staffers were proposing that fences not be a danger to life or property. She said that was a minimum standard that would not require too many staff hours to enforce.

Councilman Preston Dodson felt that language was not strong enough.

"My problem is that there is no meaningful requirement that these fences be maintained," he said. "In my view, having a fence falling down or slats falling off – and we have places in Tomball right now – it detracts from the city. It detracts from the value of the property and the property adjacent to it."

Council decided to add language stating that a fence is to be maintained at all times and that it would be unlawful to allow a fence to lean or have missing, loose or broken slats or panels.

A large part of the discussion was about chain link fencing.

Staff initially proposed that chain link fences be prohibited; stating that they thought that was the direction council had led them. Councilman Derek Townsend said that he was misunderstood, however, and wanted a discussion about chain link fencing in front yards only.

Townsend had issues with the proposed changes affecting property owners pocketbooks, especially if their fencing was damaged by natural occurrences.
"I don't think it is government's job to make you spend money," he said.

Guerra said that replacing fencing with allowable materials would only be in the instance that 50 percent or more of the fence was damaged or destroyed.

"I have issues with that," Townsend said. "This fencing is extremely expensive and we have had a significant drought that caused a lot of trees to fall."

In the end council agreed to pass the ordinance, which will now allow for fencing up to the property line in front yards and will allow chain link fences in the back yard of a residence. The measure passed, with Townsend being the only no vote.

In other business the council gave final approval for the Tomball Economic Development Corporation to give more than $56,000 to One Moore Holdings Inc. to build a large dry cleaning and laundry facility in Tomball. The money is to be used for infrastructure costs.

The council also gave final approval to annexing the land that Baker Hughes will build a new training facility at on the corner of FM 2978 and FM 2920, while also approving zoning changes to allow for a training oil well on that site.

Council members once again chose the Tribune as the city's official newspaper for 2013.

The council also set the upcoming municipal election day as May 11 of this year, while also allowing the fire department to receive a new brush truck from the Texas A&M Forestry Service.

Teaming up with Tomball's Kroger store and the Houston area "Souper Bowl of Caring" food drive, the January "2nd Saturday at the Depot" went with a football theme and "sacked" a variety of non-perishable food items for the Houston Food Bank. Pictured with the "2nd Saturday" donation are (from left) Tomball Kroger employees Robin Chan and Irene Avila, City of Tomball Community Event Coordinator Rosalie Dillon and Kroger Consumer Affairs Specialist Katie Nock. For information about festivals and events in Tomball, visit www.tomballtx.gov, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TomballTexanForFun.

The Tomball City Council once again discussed changes to the city's fencing ordinance, after receiving a flood of comments from concerned residents.

The Jan. 21 meeting opened up with comments from residents, as well as email and written comments regarding the fencing rules.

"What right does the city council have to tell us what kind of fencing we can have in terms of how high – in terms of what our property can look like?" said Tomball resident Leslie Lagerquist. "Please reconsider and come up with something a little more thoughtful."

City Secretary Doris Speer then read more than a half dozen emailed remarks, all in opposition to the recent changes.

"With the current increase in violent crimes and home invasions in Harris County, I would like to retain the option of installing a fence in my front yard to aid in protecting my family against a home invasion," wrote Tomball resident Johnny Dove.

City Planner Rebecca Guerra told council she did not have a problem with amending the ordinance further, but was looking for guidance on how they wished to proceed.

"When I came to Tomball I read the existing fencing ordinance and found that it was not only difficult to understand, but difficult to enforce," she said.

Council did discuss more proposed changes to the ordinances, such as allowing for six-foot high fencing in certain zoning areas with larger lots. Guerra pointed out that residents concerned with the height of the fence was worth considering, but that the four-foot high fence rules for front yards had been in effect since 2008.

"The current zoning ordinance, which was passed by the city of Tomball in 2008, states that the maximum height for a fence in the front yard is four feet," she said.
Council will take up a first reading of amendments to the ordinance at their next meeting.

In other business the council debated on whether to continue to waive impact fees for new businesses looking to open in the downtown Tomball area.

The city has waived the sewer and water impact fees before, during a meeting last September. The fees were waived for 180 days for the Old Town area. Council members seemed in agreement that waiving the fees could encourage new development and help smaller mom and pop type businesses get started.

Council directed city staffers to write an ordinance waiving the fees, which will be presented at the next council meeting.

Tomball Public Works Director David Kauffman told council members that the project to build new restrooms at the Tomball Depot Center was moving along.

"We hope to bring the proposal (for final designs) to council at the next meeting," he said.

City workers estimate the project to cost around $125,000 and will be built to look like the depot building.

The Tomball City Council and the Tomball Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) recently began discussions on financing for a new business park in Tomball.

The park, which will be located at the corner of Hufsmith-Kohrville and Holderrieth roads, was moved into the design stage late last year.

"When I came on board the TEDC in March of 2011, we started doing analysis on the economic development side to see where we were and what we found was that costs associated with developing in many areas were challenging because of the lack of infrastructure," TEDC executive director Kelly Violette said.

Violette said that Tomball has lost a lot of potential business because of a lack of build-ready site locations.

"We are losing a lot of potential clients because we have a minimal amount of sites that are ready to develop," she said.

The TEDC recently approved $1.7 million in funding for the sites planning and design stages and recently met with council members to discuss financing options for the construction of the park. Violette said that they estimate the total cost for the site to be around $14 million, including the money already spent for design.

"We have had a number of discussions to talk about what is available as far as financing goes," she said. "We want to make sure that the amount we borrow and the cost to borrow are affordable."

Violette said that preliminary discussions are leaning toward the city issuing bonds, that TEDC will be responsible for paying back. The bonds will be of the type that will not require property taxes to go up.

"The next step is that the city's financial advisor and bond counsel will come and give council and TEDC a checklist of what's needed to make sure the responsibility of paying is on the TEDC," she said, adding that the process will take about four months.

The planned 102-acre park has already received interest from numerous companies, according to Violette. Current designs outline potential lots and Violette said that companies can purchase any size lot they desire, as long as it is a minimum of 5,000 square feet.

Current interest in the park has come mainly from oil and gas companies.

"The indications are that it will sell out quickly," she said. "What is exicitng is that we can be somewhat selective and find companies that fit with Tomball. We are looking for companies with good track records."

The Tomball City Council had another round with a proposed fencing ordinance, before finally approving the measure Feb. 4. Members also looked at the possibility of regulating the large donation boxes located around town, as well as approved waving impact fees for new businesses locating downtown.

Council started the meeting by revisiting the long debated fencing ordinance.

Councilman Derek Townsend's wife Lisa sent an email, which city secretary Doris Speer read.

"I oppose such laws where government regulations limit our decision making ability or puts undue stress on property owners and taxpayers," she wrote. "I hope there are elected officials which support the rights of homeowners and taxpayers."

Derek Townsend then suggested tabling the ordinance to allow for more discussion on what will be permissible. Other council members did not support Townsend and ultimately passed the new fencing ordinance. Townsend was the lone dissenting vote, while Councilman Mark Stoll wasn't present.

The discussion then turned to the charitable donation boxes located around town.

Assistant City Manager Christal Kliewer Weber told the council that most of the boxes are owned by private businesses, which then donate a portion of the proceeds to the charity named on the box. That drew the ire of Councilman Rick Brown, as he suggested charging a fee for those boxes. He had concerns that Goodwill maintains and pay rent at a storefront in the city, while the owners of the boxes do not.

"It seems like they need some kind of fee," Brown said. "Now the questions for staff is, what kind of burden does that put on staff?"

"There are only 16 (boxes) now," Weber said. "We can limit them, depending on what council wants to do."

Councilman Preston Dodson agreed that the boxes need to be regulated.

"I don't see a need for them to pay the city, but I do see a need for them to be well maintained," he said.

Townsend suggested the possibility of placing all donation boxes in a central location.

"Do we have a piece of property that we can set these on and say this is the donation area?" he asked.

Weber replied that some cities do.

Weber will take the council's suggestions and questions and city staffers will come up with a proposed ordinance in the future.

The council then voted unanimously to waive impact fees for new businesses in the downtown area for the next two years, as a way to lure new businesses to the area.
Rodney Hudson, a downtown property owner, thanked the council for the proposal.

"Waving these impact fees will make a difference and I think it's a positive move forward," he said.

Councilman Field Hudgens said he didn't think the move would have a big impact in the end, but still voted to approve the measure.

"I voted against this last time considering I don't think it will have such an impact in the way you guys really think it will," he said.

The Tomball City Council and the Tomball Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) took the first steps toward an agreement to fund a new business and industrial park on Holderrieth and Hufsmith-Kohrville roads, as they agreed to issue Certificate of Obligation bonds, which will be TEDC's responsibility to pay back.

"One of the things that city administration and (TEDC executive director) Kelly Violette asked me, was to find a way to fiancé this project to support the business park in a way that was as efficient and cost effective as possible," said the city's bond counsel Jonathan Frels. "One of the mechanisms we have seen work very well in other cities is the process whereby the city issue certificates of obligation, but the actual payments come from the EDC."

Frels went on to say that Tomball and the TEDC have done business this way in the past, with the TEDC paying off bonds from 1999 and 2002.

"It works in situations like this where the type of infrastructure (water, sewer, streets, etc.) that you are planning to put in is city owned," he added.

The proposal that both the TEDC and the city council agreed to, is one in which the city will issue around $8.5 million in bonds and the TEDC will make the payments. The money will go towards developing the property into a business, technology and industrial park, which officials hope will attract numerous new businesses and jobs to the area.

The agreement also calls for the TEDC to hold a specific fund balance of $2 million, in order to assure the city and creditors of their ability to pay back the money.

"It matches what a rating agency would require of the city and we can go to them and tell them 'look, here is what we have'," Frels said.

The council then approved a measure to publicize the intention to issue the bonds. The entire process is expected to be completed sometime in April.

The Tomball City Council received the annual audit during its regular meeting Mar. 4 and city officials said the results show the city is in sound financial shape. Every year the city is required to have an independent audit of its finances completed by an outside agency.

"The point of an audit is to provide an opinion on the financial statements of the city," said Sara Roberts, of the CPA firm Weaver and Tidwell, who performed the audit.

City finance director Glenn Windsor told city council members that property values increased nearly 18 percent during the last fiscal year – the largest increase in the past five years. Much of the increase is due to Tomball Regional Medical Center being purchased by a private company and becoming a taxable property for the first time.

Sales tax revenues also jumped nearly 18 percent. Officials and financial experts believe the increase in sales tax revenue will continue, as the area is rapidly growing each year.

The general fund balance showed a decrease of nearly $2 million; however that was due to a transfer of more than $2 million to the capital projects fund. Not taking that transfer into account, the general fund had an increased balance of more than $200,000, Roberts said.

Capital projects during the last fiscal year included the completion of Brown-Hufsmith Road, renovations to the main fire station on Quinn Road, as well as a land purchase for the planned Tomball Business Park.

In other business the council approved to waive fees and costs associated with the Lions Club Car Show, which will be held at the Depot Plaza April 21.

Tomball Police Chief Robert Hauck then addressed council about renewing the juvenile curfew ordinance, which must be renewed every three years. The council must hold two public hearings on the issue, before voting to retain it, amend it or drop it all together.

"My recommendation is that we continue the ordinance without change," he said.

The current curfew ordinance states that minors may not be in public during the hours of 12 a.m. until 6 a.m., with some notable exceptions like work, emergencies or running errands for their family. Hauck said that while there doesn't seem to be a big curfew issue within the city, having the ordinance serves as a deterrent.

"It's a reasonably written ordinance," he said.

The council will hold a second hearing on the ordinance during its Mar. 18 meeting.

Lovers of fiddles and steel guitars will be flocking to Tomball Mar. 16, as the city will be holding its second annual Tomball Honky Tonk Music Festival that afternoon.

"It's going to be an afternoon of old style honky tonk music," said Tomball marketing director Mike Baxter. "It's reminiscent of the days of Hank Williams and Patsy Cline – when country was country."

Nearly 1,500 people showed up to the inaugural event last year and Baxter expects more this go around.

Headlining the event is Austin musician Dale Watson, who describes his two decade career as one of a maverick country traditionalist.

Performing first, around noon, will be Miss Leslie & Her Juke Jointers, a group that has appeared at several of the city's events. They will be followed by Country Jim & His Country All-Stars, which features musicians that have shared the stage with legends like Doug Supernaw and Hank Williams Jr.

"(Country Jim) has been performing for more than 40 years," Baxter said.

Rounding out the music festivities will be Amber Digby & Midnight Flyer. Digby and Watson are both new to the event this year.

The concrete patio at the Tomball Depot Plaza will be transformed into a large dance floor, built for two-stepping.

Baxter also said that local favorite's Mel's Country Café and Snookie's Fish Camp will be serving food at the event, while they have lined up nearly 20 merchandise vendors as well. There will also be beer and wine for sale at the event.

Baxter said these events are a good way for the city to show off its unique businesses and it's local flavor to visitors who come in to hear the show.

"The events help bring people to the city, who in turn visit our shops, restaurants and things downtown," he said.

The Tomball Honky Tonk Music Festival will be held Mar. 16, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the Depot Plaza. For more information visit www.tomballtx.gov,
or facebook.com/TomballTexanForFun

Tens of thousands of people are expected to pack the streets of Tomball this weekend, for the 13th annual Tomball German Heritage Festival, March 22-24.

"I keep saying this every year, but we are expecting to get bigger and we are adding more quality events," said Grady Martin, president of the Tomball Sister City Organization.

The three day festival will consist of four stages, with more than 400 performers, including bands, musicians, singers and dancers.

"We also will have a bluegrass stage all weekend at the Depot, over by the gazebo," Martin said.

The Alex Meixner Band will be performing all three days, at the Ziegenbock stage. Meixner is a Grammy nominated accordion performer, known worldwide.

"This will be the only performance he has where the public can see him for free," said Martin.

There will also be booths filled with more than 100 vendors, peddling everything from cigars to candy and beer to homemade bratwursts.

"Of course the carnival will be there like always," Martin added.

There will also be a petting zoo, street performers, arts and crafts, a heritage center and a special church service Sunday morning at 10 a.m., near the gazebo.

Martin also said that Saturday morning, at 10:45 a.m., the head of the German Consulate in Houston, Klaus Gluecke and Tomball Mayor Gretchen Fagan will lead a short walking parade from City Hall to the Depot Plaza, where a ceremonial keg will be tapped in honor of German heritage.

Martin said that the event last year drew close to 40,000 visitors and he expects more this year.

"The city took pictures from Michael 1 (the police department's air unit) last year," he said. "They studied them and then used a state formula and came up with an estimate of 40,000 people last year."

"If we have good weather, then we expect an even bigger crowd this year," Martin added.

The event schedule includes Friday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with events all over the downtown Tomball area. Admission is free.

"Each year we keep getting bigger and I think it's all because we have shown how great of a place Tomball is to visit," Martin said.

For more information visit www.tomballgermanfest.org.

The city of Tomball is now in the process of tackling what they consider to have been a long standing nuisance within the town – out of control and unregulated signs.

The Tomball City Council passed a new sign ordinance last December that city workers can now enforce. It addresses everything from bandit signs to inflatable signs and provides, what they say, is a uniform system within the city limits.

"It's not a content driven ordinance, with the exception of obscenity," said Tomball City Planner Rebeca Guerra. "This is a sign ordinance that city council asked us to write and we want everyone to know that we are enforcing what they want."

Guerra said that city staffers are in the midst of a campaign to educate business owners about the ordinance. They won't be out handing out fines left and right and say they want to work with business owners, in order to help them get into compliance.

"We are always going to engage them first and let them know about the changes, before we attempt any other means," said Tomball Community Development Director Craig Meyers.

The staff has sent out a flyer to business owners, highlighting the major points of the new ordinance, while also holding a community meeting and enlisting the help of the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce.

"The purpose of all of this is outreach," Guerra said. "We want to give them a fair opportunity to fix any inconsistencies."

The new ordinance now prohibits inflatable signs, human or living signs, freestanding temporary signs, attention-getting devices, bandit signs, portable signs and obscene signs. It also will not allow new billboards to be placed within the city limits and if a billboard suffers more than 50 percent damage, it must be removed.

City workers are now working the major corridors, removing signs in the right-of-way, as well as educating business owners that are not in compliance.

"We are not a city that likes to issue violations," Guerra added. "We are trying to talk to people."

She gave an example that there are several businesses in town that only have banner signs, which aren't allowed to be permanent. She said part of the education effort is to let those businesses know that the Tomball Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) has grants available.

"Most folks don't know it, but TEDC can do a matching grant of up to $10,000 for sign improvement," she said.

While the enforcement of the ordinance is just in its infant stages, Guerra said there have already been some successes.

"We have had a great deal of luck in removing many inflatable and human signs," she said. "If people know that we aren't out there just to fine them, they are usually pretty receptive to what we are trying to do. We are never going to take action first, without giving them a chance to correct it."

For information about the sign ordinance, call city hall at 281-351-5484, or visit www.tomballtx.gov. For details about TEDC grants visit www.tomballtxedc.org.