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Magnolia City Council convened a special session Aug. 2 to consider a proposed change to the property tax. Montgomery County Assessor and Collector J. R. Moore, Jr., outlined the steps that would be necessary for the council to lower the city’s tax rate to $0.4786 per $100, from $0.4814 per $100 of value.

The council passed a motion to propose the new rate and to undertake those steps.

As explained by Moore, the council must conduct two public hearings on the tax rate, while his office must advertise the new rate in newspapers.  The public notices must also be published on the city’s website. All of this must be accomplished before the end of August.

The proposal will increase total tax revenue from properties on the tax roll in the preceding tax year by more than five percent. That occurs because the proposal will allow for more of the collected revenue to be distributed to the city’s maintenance and operation budget, rather than the debt service fund. The city is estimated to have more than $50,000 additional to work with for operation and maintenance costs.

Individual tax rates will be lower, as long as the assessed valuation of the property isn’t higher. If the council adopts the proposed tax rate, the tax on an average Magnolia home would be $449.07 on a home valued at an average of $97,667. Last year, the amount of taxes imposed on an average home was $470.17 on a home valued at an average of $93,830.

The additional tax revenue will be used for city maintenance and operations. The rate of $0.4786 is the maximum amount that can be adopted by the city for next year’s budget.

“After the public hearings (the city) can adopt a rate that is less but cannot adopt a rate that is more,” stated Moore.

Only properties inside the Magnolia city limits will be subject to the tax.

The council scheduled the two public hearings for the evenings of Tuesday, Aug. 14 and Tuesday, Aug. 21. The public hearings will have a separate agenda.

“People will come here to talk about the tax rate. They cannot discuss the budget at these two meetings,” Moore clarified. 

The meeting to vote on and adopt the tax rate is set for Wednesday, Aug. 29.

All meetings begin at 7 p.m. at the Magnolia City Hall at 18111 Buddy Riley Boulevard in Magnolia. Residents of the city of Magnolia are encouraged to attend the meetings.

The Magnolia City Council wrapped up the summer Aug. 14, with a lengthy agenda of activities and resolutions. The oath of office was administered to City Secretary Lynne George, Municipal Court Judge Jimmy Thornton and Municipal Court Administrator Karla Bussey.

The council agreed to annex several acres adjacent to the Canrig Drilling Technologies offices, along FM 1488 in Magnolia, which pushes the city limits eastward. They agreed to consider a contract for improvements to Commerce and 10^th streets, near the Walgreens store that is being constructed. They also agreed to award a new contract for city janitorial services to Alpha Cleaning Concepts. Approximately eight bids were received and council decided that Alpha provided the most services for the cost.

The council will allow a variance of less than the required five feet on one lot within the Magnolia Ridge subdivision, because the permit has already been issued for a home to be constructed, but they wanted to state that any additional lot deviations would need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Residents of Connie Street, near Nichols Sawmill Road, requested city action regarding a serious drainage problem that they said caused flooding to several homes three times within the last two years. The council agreed to consider a corrective action of larger culverts at that corner to accommodate high rainwater volume.

Mayor Todd Kana proclaimed the first full week of September to be National Payroll Week for Magnolia, as a means to promote economic health and to educate the business community and the public about responsible payroll practices, laws and guidelines. The American Payroll Association, which promotes itself as the nation’s leader in payroll education, has declared September 3-7, 2012 as National Payroll Week to celebrate America’s 156 million wage earners and the payroll professionals who pay them.

Kana also presented a City of Magnolia flag to Magnolia ISD Superintendent Todd Stephens. The flag, which was designed by a Magnolia student, will be displayed at the Celeste Graves Education Center.

The council terminated an agreement with Magnolia ISD regarding joint maintenance for the planned recreation center pool and tennis courts, based on the recommendation of Deborah Rose Miller, president of the Magnolia Community Foundation. She has helped develop a plan that will allow Magnolia ISD to take on full maintenance of the facilities, and indicated that this would be reasonable because the facilities will be utilized by the schools and students.

Police Chief Domingo Ibarra reported a high rate of arrests being made by Magnolia police officers, as well as the benefit to the city from restitution for vandalism to Unity Park, a recently confiscated automobile as a result of the asset forfeiture rule and $113,000 received from fines as a result of the city’s red-light camera at the corner of FM 1488 and Buddy Riley. The camera has helped promote the safety of residents by reminding drivers that they need to come to a complete stop at this busy intersection. 

Ibarra stated he was very proud of the recent success realized by the joint efforts of the Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association, local businesses and residents, which resulted in the demolition of a dilapidated structure on Roy Street being accomplished free of charge by volunteers. Several Magnolia police officers and city council members attended the demolition.

“The neighbors on that street are so happy with the outcome,” said council member Anne Sundquist. 

City Administrator Paul Mendes reported that the better records being kept by the public works department has resulted in greater water conservation. He also stated the municipal court is in the process of removing outstanding warrants for persons who are no longer in the area, which should allow it to manage the recoverable warrants more effectively.

A public hearing was held just prior to the city council meeting regarding the proposal to make a change in tax revenues from properties on the tax rolls during the last year. This change from $0.4814 per $100 of appraised value to $0.4527 per $100 of appraised value could result in greater or lower taxes for individual properties, depending on their county-appraised value. The tax will apply to properties within the Magnolia city limits only.

This was the first of two public hearings to be held on the subject – the second one will be on Tuesday evening, Aug. 21. The council will vote on the proposal the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 29. No citizens spoke up during this first public hearing. 

MAGNOLIA - The Magnolia City Council continued with its extraterrestrial jurisdiction (ETJ) expansion eastward, along FM 1488, at the Sept. 11 meeting. In Texas, the ETJ of a municipality includes specified unincorporated area that is adjacent to the city limits. Property owners can request to be part of the ETJ.

In the future, the City of Magnolia may choose to extend city limits and city services into the ETJ areas.

Unincorporated areas may be subject to annexation by a nearby city, which could be either Conroe or Magnolia. Currently, Magnolia has extended its ETJ areas five miles east of the city limits, which could add a beneficial tax base for the city in the future.

“We have one of the largest ETJs for a city of our size in the state of Texas,” said Deborah Rose Miller, Magnolia’s economic development coordinator.

In other business, the council appointed Anne Sundquist as the city representative to the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s general assembly, which meets in January. The Houston-Galveston Area Council is an association of 36 members from local governments in the 13-county Gulf Coast Planning Region of Texas. Its service area comprises 12,500 square miles and more than six million residents.

Following an executive session, the council terminated the Magnolia Waste Management contract for sewer treatment (sludge removal) services. The city will continue to use Magna-Flow for these services. Contracts with both services have co-existed and the council wanted to remove the redundancy.

Police Chief Domingo Ibarra announced the promotion of Officer Kyle Montgomery to the rank of Sergeant. He also had news about the cooperation of the MPD patrol division with other government entities.

“They are doing a great job working together. As an example, we recovered a stolen vehicle recently from the Brookshire Brothers parking lot, which was a great success,” said Ibarra.

A new Magnolia Police Trespass Agreement Program was announced by Ibarra. The program offers businesses and property owners the opportunity to allow Magnolia police the authorization to contact and question persons who may be unlawfully on private property (without prior authorization from the property owner). It is expected to reduce the instances of crime on private property.  

The Magnolia Community Foundation presented Magnolia City Manager Paul Mendes with a plaque honoring his volunteer service for the organization. Mendes has been instrumental in many of the accomplishments of the Foundation, and has donated his time to help ensure the success of community events, such as those at Unity Park and The Stroll.

Miller, who is also president of the Magnolia Community Foundation, explained the plaque was very appropriate.

“We wanted Paul to know his efforts are greatly appreciated,”

The Tomball City Council took a large step towards bringing a major tourist entity to the city, when it voted to approve an agreement with the Houston Railroad Museum on it's relocation to Tomball.

"They are looking for a new home," said Tomball councilman Field Hudgens. "We have the space available and it makes sense for the two to merge together considering our history."

The Memorandum of Understanding is the first step in a process to bring the museum to Tomball. The agreement states that the museum would be located on the northeast side of the railroad tracks near the Tomball baseball fields.

Hudgens said the museum is a perfect fit for the city.

"It's a wonderful idea," he said. "It's a perfect match with Tomball's roots being set with the railroad."

The museum, which is run by the Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, has been closed for the entirety of 2012 while it searched for a new home. The museum's inventory includes several locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars and cabooses. There are also many railway artifacts.

The museum also provides educational tours and a scholarship to the National Park Service's Rail Camp in Scranton, Pa.

In other business the council approved a new sign ordinance which looks to eliminate the roadways of advertisements known as bandit signs, as well as regulate the size and scope of other signs within the city.

The next city council meeting will be Nov. 18.

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.

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.

The Tomball City Council heard about the successful week long clean up effort during their regular meeting May 6.

The Tomball public works department recently held a clean up week and consolidated recycling day for city residents.

"This is just one of those events that are at the top of the list of things that I do that are rewarding," said Tomball Public Works Director David Kauffman.

The department has held a clean up week for 14 years now, according to Kauffman. The week consists of city workers chipping and disposing of yard brush and removing various bulk items like fridges and furniture from residents homes.

For the last three years the city has added a recycling day.

"This started with myself and the chiefs getting together with Sgt. Rebecca Carlisle for the prescription drug take back with the DEA, plus the demand we had from the public for the recycling of electronics, paper shredding and that kind of thing," Kauffman said.

Kauffman reported that 150 cubic yards of bulk waste was collected, 270 cubic yards of brush and limbs, as well as 327 pounds of prescription drugs.

"When you remove that amount of prescriptions from the wastewater treatment system, it's big," he said. "If you were to flush 10 pounds of antibiotics down the toilet, then 10 pounds of antibiotics would end up in the creek. It doesn't dissipate in the treatment system."

Kauffman also said that 11,140 pounds of electronics were recycled, three tons of mixed household items, 181 gallons of used oil, 30 gallons of antifreeze and 6,000 pounds of paper was shredded.

"That amount of paper saved 52.3 trees, 10 kilowatt hours of energy, 10.2 cubic yards of landfill space, almost 22,000 gallons of water and 185.4 pounds of air pollution," he said.

In other business the council unanimously passed a proposal to sell bonds that will be used to finance the infrastructure for the Tomball Economic Development Corporation's planned business park. The TEDC will be responsible for paying the bond payments.

Kauffman also reported that the city was ready to accept a proposal to build the long-awaited restroom facility at the Depot Plaza. Council agreed to award the contract to KBR for an amount not to exceed $183,000.