Audience for Concerned Citizens

Did you know you have a forum to make your concerns known? To the powers that be?

There is a time during the City Council meetings where you can do just that. This gives citizens a chance to voice their opinions, concerns, and any grievances. On the Agenda, it is called Audience for Concerned Citizens.

No action is taken by the officials during this time on what is presented. However, the items will be taken under consideration to see if changes to current ordinances, resolutions, rules, etc., are warranted.

Citizens also have this opportunity, Audience for Concerned Citizens, during Commissioners Court meetings.

Three San Saba citizens chose to take advantage of the Audience for Concerned Citizens opportunity at last week's City Council meeting which was held Tuesday, April 9th.

Casey Hibler, Cindy Grooms, and Felicia Sivells signed up for Public Comment to voice their concerns regarding the new RV Ordinance. The Public Comments are limited to three minutes.

Casey Hibler

Mr. Hibler stated he was initially told his RV placement was okay. He was then approached later and said it was not on an approved surface. He feels the specifics in the Ordinance are unclear. For instance, the Ordinance says the RV cannot be plugged in for more than 10 days, but it does not say if that is per month, per year, or what. It was his opinion that specifics in the ordinance were arbitrary.

He stated the Ordinance says it is to promote health and safety, and public welfare of its citizens, but he did not see that the Ordinance did any of that. He did not see any harm an RV could do unless it was leaking sewage which would probably be covered under a different ordinance. And if it wasn’t, it should be.

He stated RV’s have batteries that are expensive. If they don’t stay plugged in, things will need to be replaced more often.

He noted that his RV is plugged into City Electric, and the City is making revenue on it. This should be a positive thing.

Mr. Hibler also stated the $500 a day penalty is an unjust burden on people.

Mr. Hibler also shared another matter of confusion about the Ordinance. He stated it only addresses RVs parked outside of RV parks stating they must be on an approved surface, but those parked in RV parks are parked on grass.

Mr. Hibler stated he also felt the enforcement was also arbitrary because he has been approached twice on this, but those who have RVs parked one block away have had nothing said to them.

At this point, his three minutes were up. The City Manager called 'time.' Mr. Hibler took another moment to quote 1 Corinthians 13 where the Bible talks about love. He noted he knows everyone on the Council and does not think there is any ill will going on. He just thinks there could be more thought into what is passed by the Council and how those things might affect citizens.

He thanked the Council for their time, and Mayor Jordan thanked him for talking to them.

Cindy Grooms

Ms. Grooms noted she was fairly new to town. She stated she feels the realtors in town need to be educated on this Ordinance. She was told it was okay for her to park her RV on her property. She also noted the size limit was too short as most RVs are bigger than 36 feet. She felt this number in the ordinance was arbitrary.

Ms. Grooms also felt the Ordinance is a burden to the older, long-term residents and those of less means. She acknowledged it is hard to enforce ordinances when you grew up with the folks you are confronting about the issues. It is also hard on neighbors reporting on their neighbors they have known their entire lives.

She feels the Ordinance is a ‘guise’ to clean up the city but noted the drug problem is more of a problem in town.

Ms. Grooms suggested the City take City property for RV storage and charge money for that service. She felt this solution would not cause any divisiveness.

Felicia Sivells

Ms. Sivells is new in town. She came from Marble Falls. She started off by asking if anyone on the City Council actually lived within City Limits. They looked at each other, and Mayor Jordan told her they all do. That is a prerequisite for being on the Council.

She stated there are laws all over the US that say they are in the name of safety. She agrees the government should keep us safe but is concerned it can turn into too much government oversight for law-abiding citizens.

She shared her concerns for low-income residents. She agrees that we should make San Saba a beautiful town but is concerned we are putting people out on the street to do that.

Ms. Sivells asked how the ordinance helps with the drug problems by limiting law-abiding citizens who can barely afford where they live.

When all the citizens had their time to make their opinions known, Mayor Jordan thanked them for taking the time to come to the meeting and signing up to speak.

You might consider attending the monthly City Council meetings and the twice-a-month Commissioners Court meetings.

This will help you understand why they do what they do.

Find out what your elected officials are doing and how they are making San Saba the best place on earth to live!