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Council slows speed limit on Dean Street |
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By STERRY BUTCHER
MARFA – City council members last Thursday made a quick decision to slow down.
Actually, the idea of lowering the speed limit from 40 to 35mph along the Dean Street section of the Fort Davis highway has been in motion for quite awhile, said Mayor Dan Dunlap.
“I wrote the Texas Department of Transportation a letter a year ago,” he explained. “They conducted a study from the jail to the city limits to see if the speed could be lowered.”
A TxDoT recommendation to lower the limit to 35mph came at the end of that study.
With the recommendation now in hand, council members last Thursday immediately agreed to reduce the speed limit on that stretch of road. Signs with the new speed limit have been ordered, said the mayor.
“Now if we could just get a stop sign by the courthouse!” Councilmember Manny Baeza said before the meeting moved on.
A $44,898 grant was expended at the meeting toward the purchase of a new Chevy Silverado extended-cab pickup which will be used for law enforcement. Council members had wanted to choose among a sedan, an SUV and a truck, and City Administrator Jim Mustard laid out the choices.
“Do we need a camera and radar?” asked Councilmember Josie Simpson.
“All we need is a plain Jane vehicle,” said Baeza.
Any funding that wasn’t used toward the vehicle would have to be turned back to the government, Mustard explained, so the council might as well use the total grant amount.
Figuring out what vehicle would work out the best took some discussion.
“I’d rather go with a truck,” Simpson said.
“A car would be cheaper in the long run,” replied Baeza.
“But a car can’t go down our alleys,” said Mustard. When it’s time for the truck to be retired from law enforcement, he pointed out, it could be decommissioned for use by Public Works.
In the end, the council approved buying the Silverado pickup. Baeza was an opposing vote.
The council also considered Mustard’s request for authority to buy a used dually truck for Public Works. They agreed he could spend up to $5,000 for the truck, which will probably come from a list of state and municipal surplus vehicles. Tax note funds will be used to buy the truck. It will be used to haul slurry during paving projects, thus, it doesn’t have to be in tiptop cosmetic or working order.
“It’ll probably never leave the city limits,” said Mayor Dunlap.
In other city news, council members:
• heard from the city administrator that a Workforce Commission claim filed by former city police officer Juan Lara had been denied on February 18. Lara has the right to appeal by March 11.
• learned from Mustard that the sewer improvement project is progressing and that most of the major earthwork is done. |
