Kevin Roden for Denton City Council

Council Meeting Preview – September 6, 2011

September 6th, 2011Uncategorized5 comments

I just might celebrate the recent cold front by overcompensating with a corduroy jacket at tonight’s meeting.  The crisp air even has me contemplating the return of my beard.  It just seems so unbecoming of a Denton City Council to be without bearded representation.

In any case, things start off with a Work Session at 3:30pm followed by the Regular Meeting at 6:30pm.  Click here to see the full agenda.  Here’s what you might be interested in…

BUDGET AND BIKES
We will hold the first of our Public Hearings for the 2011-12 Proposed Budget.  If you haven’t yet taken a look at it, go here. I’d encourage you to take the time to read pages 17-41 to get a sense on where city money comes from and where it goes.  It’s a great civics lesson.

By far the most talked about item on this year’s budget is a surplus of $333,676 that has been set aside for yet-to-be-determined City Council initiatives.  Initially conceived to be $192,000, this fund has grown after sales tax revenue has shown a healthy increase.  It is important to realize that the last couple of years have been difficult ones for the Denton city budget due to a weakened state and national economy, housing crisis, and subsequent low consumer confidence (which translates into less spending and less sales tax revenue for city budgets).  What this means is that there are many good things to fund that have gone unfunded as of late.  Here’s what the city council back-up material says about this fund:

Due to an increase in the sales tax forecast, staff increased the level of funding for Council initiatives from the proposed amount of $192,616 to $333,676.  As discussed during the August 16th meeting, these funds can be used for additional street maintenance, the implementation of the bike plan, additional traffic signals, Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) downtown shuttle operating costs, or any other City Council priority.  However, since exact cost information on these programs is not yet available, staff was directed to include these funds in the non-departmental budget for the General Fund. Once additional details are known, staff will bring these items back to the City Council for their consideration at that time.

What is important to note from this is that the City Council will likely NOT make a determination on the precise allotment from this fund before we approve the budget on September 20.  Because many of these items require additional study (in fact, the bike plan has yet to be seen or approved by city council), the direction of the council up to this point, has been to hold off decisions on this fund until more information can be had.

I know many of you who are interested in using some or all of this fund for the initial implementation of the Bike Plan.  In fact, citizen communication regarding this issue to the City Council has been undeniably greater than any other budget topic.  From the perspective of pure democracy, a robust first year roll-out of the bike plan seems to be what Dentonites are most interested in.  You should note that the current budget, apart from this council surplus fund, already recommends $50,000 for the plan in a way that would see this amount repeated in subsequent years.  I expect much time spent during the public hearing on this topic alone.

THE AESTHETICS OF AN UNSUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION MODEL
Want to have a quick lesson in transportation economics?  The Bike Plan just referred to is estimated to cost approximately $25,000 a mile to implement.  At first glance, no doubt, that sounds like a lot of money.  But consider the following…

• Consultants recently told the city of Denton that we need to invest at least $10 million dollars a year just to maintain the CURRENT condition of our quickly deteriorating roads.
• Texas is about to embark on the most costly road project in history in order to expand I35 for a mere 28 miles.  With a total price tag of $4.4 billion, our addiction to cars, gas, and sprawl requires us to pay over $157 million a mile to widen a highway.
• And while most taxpayers expect to be able to drive on highways for free, the lack of revenue requires us to pay fares for much more financially and environmentally sustainable models of transportation, such as the recently-opened DCTA A-Train.  Running along a similar corridor, the project cost only $313 million to build.

All this to say, council is being asked to comment on a TxDOT “Aesthetic Study” for this I35 expansion project.  If I look disinterested in spending much time thinking through how to make a bad idea look pretty, this is why.

TO CATCH A PREDATOR – DENTON STYLE
We are being asked to consider a new ordinance that would make it illegal for convicted sex offenders to live within 1500 feet of a place where children frequently gather (schools, parks, etc.).  Although city data shows that there are no records of Denton sex offenders “reoffending” at the expense of Denton children, there is regional data to suggest that such an ordinance may actually decrease the amount of sex offenders living in our town.  Denton currently has 132 registered sex offenders, a number that has risen in recent years.  We will look at the arguments for this new ordinance that is being adopted by many other cities around us.

MORE STUDENT APARTMENTS?
The creators of Midtown Apartments, the student housing complex that recently went up on the corner of Carroll and Eagle, are hoping to expand already.  The new complex backs up to a series of single family homes fronting Cleveland Street.  The owners of these homes have agreed to sell, but because of a difference in zoning categorization, the area must be rezoned in order to allow multi-family housing.

The last couple of years has seen a flurry in new student housing projects like this one.  Enough to make many observers question whether or not Denton can sustain the quick influx.  The city already has a significant apartment stock.  No doubt there will be a “market” for the newest and hippest student housing option (gone are the days of roach pads, students nowadays demand all sorts of bells and whistles when it comes to apartments).  But what does this momentum do to the existing apartment areas?  What pressures does this bring to neighborhoods in the vicinity of our two universities as apartments want to move in?  And what sort of product is being offered when we see these complexes built seemingly overnight?

That last question became all too relevant this weekend with the tragic accident at The Grove apartments on the corner of Carroll and I35.  Many questions remain following that incident and I wouldn’t be surprised if you hear some of these surface at tonight’s meeting.

I continue to think that Denton should consider developing a comprehensive apartment policy to address these and other issues.