City Manager Gives Updates on Roads
La Grange City Manager Fred Bell gave an update on several road projects in town.
Bell said Texas Department of Transportation could complete the paving work on the new Travis Street Bridge by the end of this week. Lane closures for the paving work caused major traffic backups in town over the past two weeks.
“It’s projected to end this week, but that’s not cut in stone,” Bell said.
In addition, Bell said he’s planning signage improvements to the intersection of Colorado St. and Main St. on the Courthouse Square. A garbage truck knocked down a pole at the intersection several years ago and it has never been replaced. Bell said the City will also manicure a tree at the intersection to make the stop sign more visible.
In other business, City Secretary Janet Bayer reported that only one person applied so far for appointment to the vacant City Council seat for Ward 3. The deadline to apply was this Thursday, April 27, at 5 p.m. Former Councilman Dusty Littrell resigned two weeks ago after accepting a job that requires frequent out-of-state travel. The City Election Day is Saturday, May 6, and there was not enough time to call a special election. The Council decided to appoint someone to fill the seat until next year’s election. The Council will consider the appointment at their next meeting.
Also at Monday’s meeting, the Council signed a proclamation designating the week of April 30-May 6 as Professional Municipal Clerk’s Week in La Grange.
The Council also discussed the performance evaluation for the newly-hired City Manager, Fred Bell. The City Charter states that the Council shall conduct an evaluation for the city manager within six month of appointment and then annually after that. The Charter also states that the Council shall determine the evaluation criteria within three months of the city manager’s appointment. Bell was hired on Feb. 13 and his first day on the job was March 27. The Council discussed forming a committee to conduct the evaluation. Bayer said she would contact other cities to get examples of their evaluation criteria. Council will take up the matter again at their next meeting on May 8.
In addition, Bell reported that he was surprised by the City’s sales tax collections this month, which were up by nearly 62 percent from the same time last year. Bell said he was unsure whether the spike was due to an anomaly or a fine for previously uncollected sales taxes. Bell said he would investigate the matter and return to the Council with his findings.