San Marcos Council Items to watch: Charter Review changes, Lions Club lease, COVID small business grant program
Sierra Martin | Managing Editor
On Tuesday, April 6 at 6 p.m. the San Marcos City Council will be holding a virtual meeting and discuss important issues such as the Lions Club Lease, Revive SMTX small business grant program and amendments to the city charter.
Lions Club Lease
San Marcos City Council will be voting on if they should increase the yearly lease of Lion’s Club Tube Rental.
- This is the first time that city staff has NOT recommended a Parks & Rec Commission vote to the council.
- The Parks & Rec Committee is recommending that the council raise the yearly lease from $12,000 to $120,000, which is a 1000% increase.
- If the Lions Club’s yearly lease payment is raised to $120,000 per year, the amount that the Lions Club would have for their donations would drop in half. Roughly from $300,000 to donate to $180,000 left for donations.
Revive SMTX small business grant program
Revive SMTX provides local businesses with federal funds to help them get through the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants will be eligible to receive up to $5,000 per business. The funds can be used for operation safety, sanitation training, PPE and digital redesign for social distancing.
As of March 19, 2021, 95 applications had been received and reviewed per program criteria. 54 are complete, 12 incomplete, and 29 were ineligible. If all 54 complete applications provide acceptable documentation of expenses, the funding needed will exceed 150% of the amount available.
The proposed changes to REVIVE SMTX that will be reviewed at the City Council Meeting are as follows:
- The City Council is requiring any businesses that are eligible to receive the grant going forward to require masks and adhere to CDC guidelines, all funded businesses would have to re-sign the Certifications.
- The Chamber-Business agreement would be modified to require dated picture documentation of a sign posted at the business requiring employees and customers to wear masks as part of the final documentation provided six months after the first payment.
- The Chamber amends all agreements with businesses, including those already executed.
City Council is considering if it would damage the reputation of the City by showing that at any time in the life of an agreement, the City may opt to change the terms of an executed contract to add to the requirements, without having a legal or business need to do so.
Charter Review Commission
The Charter Review Commission is the entity appointed by the City Council to inquire into the operations of the city and review the city charter to determine whether it requires revision. Below is a list of some of the proposed amendments to the city charter that will be discussed during the April 6 meeting.
- Changing the term of office for the position of mayor from 2 years to 4 years, effective at the regular election in November of 2024
- Placing a limit of two consecutive terms for the position of mayor.
- Retaining the three-year term of office for council members but imposing a limit of three consecutive terms
- Eliminate the requirement to obtain city council approval of appointments to the following positions: assistant city clerks (Section 4.02); assistant city managers (Section 4.01); municipal court clerk and assistants (Section 4.03); and assistant city attorneys (Section 4.04).
Persons wishing to participate (speak) during the Citizen Comment portion of the meeting must email citizencomment@sanmarcostx.gov prior to 12:00PM the day of the meeting. A call-in number to join by phone or link will be provided for participation on a mobile device, laptop or desktop computer.
To view the meeting please go to http://sanmarcostx.gov/421/City-Council-Videos-Archives or watch on Grande channel 16 or Spectrum channel 10
