Nixon sets splash pad special meeting

*Editor's Note: Nixon city council's special called meeting is set for July 10, not July 8 as previously reported. The Inquirer regrets any confusion the error may have caused.

Nixon city council set July 10 as the date for a special called meeting to select the splash pad location and contractor. The special meeting was set with the intention of giving any concerned residents a say in where the city chooses to place the splash pad. 

Though council did have location and contractor selection on the agenda for the July 1 meeting, they opted to table both items due to a lack of information. 

“Everything we’ve been doing (regarding the splash pad) has been verbal, we haven’t gotten nothing, zero down as far as what it’s going to cost us, where, where we’re running the water, what we’re going to do, what the residents say, we got zero,” Alderperson Estevan ‘Steve’ Aguirre said. “I think we should be more detailed and that’s been one of our problems as a city. We do things verbally and nothing is done properly.” 

Council requested City Administrator Harold Rice prepare a packet for the July 10 meeting that includes price and design details based on location and contractor. Rice mentioned at the July 1 meeting that Roosevelt Park, also known as, Nixon Recreation Park, was a possible location for the pad. Rice said he already spoke with leaders of the First United Methodist Church next door and that they were in support of the project. However, Alderperson Mary Ann Fatheree said there are members of the church who “aren’t on board” with the project. 

Though council did opt to wait on deciding a location and contractor, it did award a contract to Heritage Bank for financing “various projects.” According to the city, “various projects” includes the beginning of the splash pad. 

Other news from the meeting:

• No public comments were given.
• The fire chief’s report was read and accepted as is.
• Minutes from the June 10, 2019, meeting was approved. 
• Financial statements were read, and bills were paid. 
• City Administrator Harold Rice will negotiate Nixon’s money market and certificate of deposit rates with Heritage Bank. 
• The city accepted a depository contract with Heritage Bank. 
• Council approved a resolution regarding a contract for the purpose of financing “various projects” with Heritage Bank. The “various projects” includes the forthcoming city splash pad.
• Renewal rates with Texas Municipal League (TML) health insurance were approved. The council also approved adding voluntary dental, vision and basic life and additional employee life insurance with TML. No extra fees are included with adding the additional benefits. 
• No action was taken on the city purchasing the swimming pool located at 400 E 4th Street, Nixon, Texas. 
• Council will rename County Road 167 subject to the Gonzales County Commissioners Court abandoning its section of the road at its next meeting Monday, July 10. Nixon-Smiley Consolidated Independent School District board member Bud Box petitioned council to rename the road if the county abandons it, so his home would still have an address. Box said he would cover any additional costs, like new street signs, in the renaming process. 
• The city will mail a Texas Commission of Environmental Quality report and an official city statement to a property owner who has complained about truck noise and pollution behind the Circle K in Nixon. 
• The city will tear out a section of sidewalk damaged by a water leak repair located at 609 East 2nd Street. 
• Nixon Police Department announced a memorandum of understanding between its department and NSCISD regarding the police’s new K-9 unit. They seek to perform random school checks for drugs and weapons. 
• As of July 1, Nixon PD will be able to provide 24/7 coverage. 
• ZipLink, an internet service provider, is still installing equipment. Once its finished, the provider will give city hall free public internet. 
• Texas Department of Transportation is supposed to be returning to Nixon July 2 to clean up debris from the four-way repair at Highway 87/Highway 80 intersection.