Results of the September 12th meeting

Mayor Bill Weber opened the meeting and asked Councilman Don Baker to give the invocation, though I didn't arrive until a couple minutes later. When I came in, Mayor Weber was honoring the Public Utilities workers for keeping Woodway water operating through a very long, hot and dry summer. Those honored were

Donald Barnett
Nathan Donnnell
Greg Niemiek
Robert Starnes
Dale Glass
Derrick Robinson

The assembled crowd responded with a standing ovation for this group.

Next was the proclamation of Woodway Public Safety Association Day, as October 1st. This is also the day of the annual barbeque, 11 am to 7 pm at Woodway Elementary School. For more information, here is the website announcement. Three officers were present to represent the Public Safety Association:

Norm Burgess
Ray Dobbs
Bert Hernandez

These received a round of applause at the conclusion of the ceremony. I met these three (and two others) waaay back at the beginning of my term (see here), and can testify that they are amazingly dedicated and a great credit to the City.

Next was the Yard of the Month awards. The Deaton, Henke, Mayer and Crawford families were honored, but none were in attendance. ("must be working on their yards" someone quipped)

Next was a time to hear from visitors. Only one was present to speak, former Councilman Robert Humphrey. He came to speak about the boat/RV/camper ordinance, and distributed color photos of various violations of the ordinance around the city. His point was that it was "obvious that the City does not have a uniform approach to this..." and requested that the Council revisit this issue. (I'm in favor of this.) In particular, he wondered if it shouldn't apply so broadly to all three categories. He went on to call on Mayor Bill Weber (whose resignation was being considered later) to fully resign from the Council and not simply from the Mayoral position.

Next was the "consent agenda", which included the minutes of three meetings, purchase of some almost indestructible (and expensive) laptops for Public Safety, and appointment of Natalie Edwards to represent the City at the MPO Board (Metropolitan Planning Organization). These were unanimously approved.

Next was a discussion of street lighting in Woodway. This was on the agenda at my request, prompted by an email from a constituent. The policy is that unless a developer puts in street lighting, new lights require a citizen request (including agreement among 4-6 near neighbors) and a $600 fee. The actual cost is much greater, but largely borne by Oncor (after a feasibility study approval). The City Engineer (Mitch Davidson) said that no requests for street lights had been placed in the past year or so. Councilman Scott Giddings said that Marble Falls had no well-defined policy on street lighting. Given that some are opposed to lights near their homes, the Council consensus was that the system was reasonable as-is.

The Council skipped ahead to the Manager's report, then returned to items 7-8, discussion and possible action on Mayor Weber's letter of resignation. Bill said this was a very difficult decision, but that he is taking a job elsewhere. He went on to say, "It was an honor and a privilege serving and working with the City." Full of humor as always, Mayor Weber said that the excellence of Woodway City employees "must be a function of my leadership." The Council voted unanimously to accept his resignation as Mayor (could we refuse?!).

Under the direction of City Attorney Mike Dixon, the Council then proceeded to elect a new Mayor. Councilperson Jane Kittner nominated Don Baker. Then Mayor pro tem Gil Lillard nominated Scott Giddings, but Scott declined, saying that he was honored and could certainly do the job, but that he wanted Don Baker to be Mayor. With only one nomination, the Council proceeded to vote unanimously for Don Baker to be the new Mayor of Woodway. This was followed by applause. The local newspaper reported on all this here.

Mayor Baker then asked Bill Weber to conclude the meeting, which adjourned at 6:18 pm.