Lessman reappointed as Municipal Judge

The City of Marlin held both a specially called and a regular City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 14. 

A topic spoken on during both meetings was the re-appointment of Marlin Municipal Judge, Denny Lessman, for another term. The first meeting enacted City Ordinance 20-006 when City Council members unanimously approved the motion to reappoint him. 

Judge Lessman is a Class of 2003 Baylor University Law School Alumni who has served at Marlin Municipal Judge for the past nine years. He is a resident of Hewitt and holds his primary office in downtown Waco, encompassing both criminal and civil law. He practices in all levels of court including the United States Supreme Court.

Lessman & Lessman, the private firm the lawyer owns, was begun by his father, Dwight Lessman (deceased,) and has had three generations of Lessmans working under it. 

“I appreciate the service, the opportunity to serve and  the community and the city and our citizens,” Lessman stated after the vote approved his position. “I think we’ve had a great nine years and I look forward to many more, as long as the council wants to have me.”

He commended the City Council and City Administration for the support they have given his office during the pandemic, noting allowing the Court Clerk to work from home and the City secretary assisting in daily procedures while she was gone.

“I’m excited to be here,” he said. “It’s ultimately a pleasure to serve this town.”

The attorney was sworn in during the second meeting by Mayor Carolyn Lofton, pictured above.

Other  business discussed at the meetings are as follows

Community Development Block Grants

The City of Marlin is pursuing two separate Texas Community Development Block Grants through the Texas CDBG program. According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, the primary focus of the program is to develop viable communities by providing decent housing and suitable living environments, and expanding economic opportunities principally for persons of low- to moderate-income. 

The first grant is for the Fire, Ambulance, & Service Truck (FAST) Fund, which provides funds for eligible vehicles to provide emergency response and special services to rural communities. The deadline for this grant application is Sept. 1. 

The second grant is The Planning and Capacity Building Fund, which is a competitive grant program for local public facility and housing planning activities. Typical activities that fall under this grant include but are not limited to: Base Mapping, Land Use, Housing, Economic Development and/or Tourism, Central Business District, Street Conditions, Parks and Recreation, Water Distribution and Supply, Wastewater Collection and Treatment, Drainage (streets & flood hazard areas), and Community Facilities. During the July 14 special meeting, Grantworks Incorporated was designated as the administrative service provider for the FAST grant and as planning service provider for the Planning and Capacity grant.

Calvary Cemetery

The Cemetery Association requested to erect a flagpole at the entrance to Calvary Cemetery, which is owned by the City of Marlin. It was noted during the meeting that three years ago, the association received about $40,000 for the revitalization of the area and have put the money to good use in achieving that goal. Councilwoman Rhonda Milton suggested adding stipulations to which flags could be flown on the flagpole if erected. In the end, a motion to allow the association to put up the flagpole was approved, with the requirement that no flag fly there other than the United States or Texas Flags. 

TREAT Update

Andy Martinez was onsite to give the council an update of where TREAT is in the process of their development plan. The consultant went over the plan with them, outlining the strength and weaknesses the city has in approaching economic development. Strengths include a prominent location on the intersection of two major highways, the mineral water aquifer, and the cost of living, while weaknesses included a declining tax revenue, an ineffective chamber of commerce, and a weakened school district. 

Short term strategies to improve the current state of weakness include marketing/hiring a marketing professional for the city, beautifying the area, expanding Marlin city limits by annexing the land along the Highway 6 Bypass, promoting extensive agriculture, and improving the Chamber of Commerce. The program is in partnership with Falls County, so some of these will be up to both entities to work together to achieve. 

After hearing his presentation, council members discussed the options available to pursue these changes. City Manager Cedric Davis brought forth that the city plans on hiring a Tourism Marketing Specialist and a Project Manager/Consultant. The Tourism Marketing Specialist position has already been posted, with a salary ranging from $42,000-$45,000. This position has an immediate start date, as the funds are readily available in the tourism budget. The Project Manager position has been set with a projected start date of October 1, pending the allotment in the FY21 budget. The motion to go ahead in the process of hiring a marketing specialist was approved 6-0. 

Public Hearing

There was a public hearing held about a requested Special Use Permit for a new manufactured home to be located at 418 2nd St. There were no comments in favor of, in opposition of, not were there questions asked by citizens, so the hearing was closed. The zoning and planning committee for Marlin met on June 23 to discuss the permit and voted unanimous to recommend the council allowing the use permit. The current structure at the site is run down and is expected to be torn down to make room for a single-wide manufactured home, made in 2020, in its place. The council voted to grant the Special Use Permit.

Water Rates

The discussion was tabled in the end, but the council discussed the possibility of reversing a part of the water rate raises seen in the past three years. Mayor Carolyn Lofton announced that it has recently come to the city’s attention that the council has the ability to stop the additional increases imposed by the five year plan enacted in 2017 with Ordinance 2017-012. She recommends that the council decrease the rates by 15 percent of what has been raised. Rates have been raised by about 35 percent thus far from the rate seen in 2017, so reversing it by 15 percent would mean only a 20 percent increase from the 2017 numbers. The original projection was to eventually get to a 50 percent increase.

“We tentatively looked at numbers,” she explained. “And, it’s not going to  affect our budget overall as much as it may seem.”

She noted that it is a burden to citizens, who may already be struggling to pay their water bills.

There was discussion amongst council members of the repercussions of the decrease, which were all answered accordingly. The item was tabled to allow the FY21 budget to be built with this in mind. 

Parks Grant

In conjunction with Falls County, the City of Marlin will be pursuing the Texas Parks and Wildlife Boating Access Grant, with the intent of upgrading the New City Lake. There are a number of facilities whose construction would fall under this funding, including but not limited to ramps, boat lifts, restrooms, sewage treatment facilities, showers, security lights, pump out and dump stations, and design costs. Ideas noted during the meeting included a pier, the addition of restrooms, creating a beach, and the addition of playground equipment.

A memorium of understanding was proposed to the council, to hire Mundo and Associates to help with the process.

There is a cap of $500,000 for this competitive grant, meaning that number is the maximum that could be received. It is doubtful that the City would receive that much, as most Parks and Wildlife grants are allotted by population size, according to their website. 

The grant is a 75 percent matching grant, meaning that the grant can cover up to 75 percent of the total costs of the project. Falls County/Marlin will be responsible for 25 percent of the costs, but these costs can be incurred via in-kind labor, equipment, or materials, as well as with cash money. Because this is a reimbursement grant, money is required up front for the project, to be compensated by the grant upon completion.

The Memorandum states that Mundo and Associates will be receiving 12 percent of total project costs as their payment for design services and assistance through the application process.

Services will begin July 14, and are projected to include discussions on possible park improvements, seeking match opportunities that would go towards the 25 percent responsibility, and preparing the application.

The application deadline is Feb. 1, 2021. If the application is accepted and funds are granted, Mundo will also manage the park improvement project on behalf of the City of Marlin. If it is not granted, they will attempt to submit the grant application again in the next TPWD grant award cycle.

Water Plant Rebuild

The sludge clarifier at the Marlin Water Treatment plan is broken and needs repairing. It is a specialized mechanism that takes raw water and thickens any particles in it, essentially taking them out of the water before chemicals are added to it for treatment. It is unknown why the mechanism broke, as it was only about 14 years old, though most parts of this type can last up to 50 years. It was noted by the engineer that reviewed the mechanism that it was not well maintenanced. Upon approval to pursue repairing it, the process should be complete within about 20 days. Council members had concerns about the lack of maintenance procedures and requested for Water Plant supervisors to create and turn in newly created checklists on a schedule to ensure the new mechanism does not follow in the old one’s fate. The cost of repairing it is $36,865 in comparison to $63,000 to replace it completely. The motion to go ahead with the repair was approved 6-0.

Other

Consideration of the minutes for August 29, 2019, February 14, 2020, June 1, 2020 6 p.m., June 1, 2020 7 p.m., and June 16, 2020 City Council meetings was tabled to allow Council members more time to look them over. A bank account creation for Court Truancy was approved as well as moving $3,023.53 from the general fund court truancy budget line to the new account. The trailer at the convenience station that has not been sold at two different auctions due to its state of disarray was allowed to be given to a City of Marlin Employee for them to haul it off and use as they want. The current mowing contract with No complaints law service was voided as the company has not been holding up their responsibilities as a part of the contract. For now, the City of Marlin Maintenance Department has continued upkeep. It was suggested to hire someone part-time to do mowing services with the funds left in the contract.