Lubbock City Council Update

At this week’s Lubbock City Council meeting, the council approved the second reading of an ordinance that updates the list of fees for developers relating to water and sewage connections, as well as making it more expensive to fall behind on water bills. Customers that have their water cut off will now have to pay fifty-five dollars, up from the original forty-five dollars to have their water reconnected during normal business hours, and eighty-seven dollars for after-hours service, up from fifty-seven dollars. The ordinance passed six to one, District 1 Councilman Victor Hernandez voting against the measures.

A staggered construction plan for University Avenue means that road work could continue through November. Construction on University south of South Loop 289 has caused access problems for businesses in the area, spurring the council to approve a plan that will split up the construction in the area, but will add four months and 207 thousand dollars extra to the bill. Mayor Tom Martin said the reconstruction of University could serve as good practice for the upcoming 34^th Street renovation. The measure passed six to zero, District Six Councilman Jim Gilbreath recusing.

Lubbock’s Buddy Holly Statue will soon go into hiding. Crews will soon demolish a fountain structure along 7^th Street between Avenues P and Q, causing the need for the Buddy Holly statue and plaques along the West Texas Walk of Fame to be stored away from the work area. The council unanimously approved replacing the malfunctioning fountain with grass, done by Amarillo-based Talon/LPE. The statue and plaques will be cleaned and repaired during the work, which costs just under 247 thousand dollars. The work is expected to be completed in late September or October.

The City of Lubbock will likely hand over a section of land north of the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center to those planning to build a museum dedicated to college baseball. The land, located at Avenue O and the Marsha Sharp Freeway would become the home for the National College Baseball Hall of Fame Museum, if the College Baseball Foundation meets certain requirements to bring the project to fruition. In order for the city to even consider the commitment, the CBF was required to raise two million dollars toward the museum. The land has also been used for the National Cowboy Symposium, and has contracted to use that area for that event again in September. At some point though, the symposium will be forced to use another municipal space for their outdoor activities. City of Lubbock Attorney Sam Medina recused himself from the issue, due to Medina being chairman of the board of trustees for the College Baseball Foundation. The council unanimously approved the tentative transfer of the land.

A federal grant will help to relocated utilities downtown as part of the city’s Downtown Redevelopment Action Plan. The council accepted a 1.5 million dollar grant from the United States Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration this morning, which will help pay for construction of the ditch and conduit duct system downtown. 800 thousand dollars will also be put forward for the project from the Central Business District Tax Increment Financing reinvestment zone.

Lubbock’s main library will soon get a new roof. The Mahon Library, located in the 1300 block of 9^th Street, will have the old roof removed and replaced with a new thermoplastic polyolefin roofing system. The work will be done by Talon/LPE at a cost of just under 439 thousand dollars.

The members of the council this morning selected a new mayor pro tempore. District 2 Lubbock City Councilman Floyd Price was unanimously selected as mayor pro tempore, replacing District Six Councilman Jim Gilbreath. The Lubbock city charter requires that a new vote be taken for mayor pro tem when new councilpersons are seated. Price has served on the Lubbock City Council since 2004.

Four members of the Lubbock City Council were chosen to represent the area on the South Plains Association of Governments. District 1 City Councilman Victor Hernandez, District 2 Councilman Floyd Price, District 3 Councilman Todd Klein, and District 5 Councilwoman Karen Gibson were selected to serve on SPAG’s board of directors.