Intern, sidewalk riding, grazing greenlit at council

GONZALES — The Gonzales City Council met in regular session on Tuesday evening and approved a variety of issues from hiring an intern for the Gonzales Economic Development Corporation (GEDC) to signing off on grazing leases for several city parcels.

City Manager Allen Barnes began the resolution to discuss hiring an intern for GEDC by describing it as a good way to bring students back to town who are ready to graduate college yet needing a final bit of coursework to complete their studies. In this case, GEDC had found monies to enlist the help of a paid intern in the amount of $2,000 over the course of the summer to assist the organization. All they needed was council's approval.

GEDC Chair Crissy O'Neal approached the dais with GEDC President Genora Young to make their case. O'Neal said that a local student who attends Texas A&M University is in need of a community development internship and that employing the student would do good in bringing fresh ideas back to Gonzales while helping her to graduate.

This year would be a pilot program, noted Young, and she would like to rotate the student through the various city offices so that the intern could get a well-rounded feel for city management. Young went on to state her desire to find state money to help bring hometown college kids back to the area as a city intern with the hope that they would use their entrepreneurial spirit by starting a business here one day. She said that we often tell students to head off into the world, but we also need them to come back home to keep small communities competitive.

Mayor Bobby Logan liked what he heard, saying that it was a win-win scenario for the student and the town.

The motion to accept the resolution was made enthusiastically by District 2 Councilman Tommy Schurig with District 1 Councilman Gary Schroeder seconding. It passed unanimously.

Regarding relaxing the ordinance to allow bike riding on sidewalks on North and East avenues, Barnes said that the city had applied for a very competitive $5 million grant to widen the pedestrian boulevards. This would allow them to be expanded from five to 10 feet allowing for a bicycle lane.

He added that most people ride on the sidewalks anyway and that the current law was simply never enforced and needed to go away. If the grant is received and the sidewalks constructed, it would give children a safer area to bike around town than in the streets.

Schroeder made the motion, stating that he would rather see bike lanes on the sidewalks instead of on the streets like he has seen in Austin. Schurig seconded the motion.

Council also granted grazing leases on five parcels of land along North Ave. Schroeder motioned acceptance of the first resolution for $30 an acre per year for a 20-year lease, up from Barnes' recommended 5-year lease agreement. District 4 Councilman Clarence Opiela said that 20 years seemed too long for him to support, which was agreed with by District 3 Councilman Lorenzo Hernandez. Logan said that a 10-year lease would fit better. Schroeder then rescinded his motion and resubmitted it with a 10-year lease option as a compromise. This was greeted with approval from the council and they granted the remainder of the leases with the same year agreement.

In other action, council:

• Raised the rental fees for the J.B. Wells Park Arena to $600 for the weekend with $550 for an extra day. The deposit was raised to $300 with the remainder now due in full 10 days from the event. If a renter cancels within 10 days of the event, they will forfeit their rental money.
• Created a $400 set-up fee for the Expo Center at J.B. Wells Park. Users do not have to pay the fee if they set up the hall themselves.
• Agreed to fund the Come and Take It festival $6,000 for advertising the event.