Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 116, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 22, 2002 Page: 3 of 30
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I hr Hondo \n*il Hrr»kl, Tbunda>, August 22, 2002. P»f* A
Council mulls board appointments,
nears decision on public library
B> William Hoover
A>v a. He&ald
Hondo City Council considered
appointments Monday to three city
boards The council filled vacancies
on the Parks Board and Construction
Board, but appointments to the Air-
port Board were placed on hold until
Mayor Jim Barden has time to decide
whom he wants to nominate.
Barden nominated T A Lopez to sit
on the Parks Board. Councilman Todd
Hargrove asked how the mayor had
made his decision. "I picked Mr
Lopez because he has been an active
member of the city government," said
the mayor. “He is also influential on
the east side." Council voted unani-
mously to appoint Lopez to the board.
Barden nominated Enc Torres and
Harold Cordell to serve on the Construc-
tion Board of Adjustments and Appeals.
Both men had submitted requests to
serve on the board which considers ap-
peals from people who have had build-
ing permits of any kind denied by the
city building inspector. Council unani-
mously accepted the nominations.
Barden tabled making appointments
to the Airport Board saying he had been
out of town. Before council moved to
the next item, Councilman Ed Fisher
noted the board’s enabling legislation
did not allow airport tenants, or any-
one with a vested interest, to serve on
the board. He suggested that at least
one airport tenant be allowed to serve.
“I’d like one board member to repre-
sent the people who actually use the
facilities out there,” said Fisher. "From
time to time, there may be conflicts of
interest, but they can excuse them-
selves from discussion.”
Airport tenant Rusty Lindeman ap-
proached council and said he thought
it would be a good idea for tenants to
serve alongside the regular Airport
Board because the board often did not
constitute a quorum at called meet
ings He suggested the tenants, with
vested interests in the airport, would
be more likely to attend meetings
Hargrove said he agreed with
Lindeman’s point "That advisory
board is intended to look after the best
interest of the city," said Hargrove "At
the same time, they should look after
the best interest of the tenants When
we have people who don’t show up
for meetings, it’s not in the best inter-
est of the city or the tenants to put them
back on the board Tenants should
have representation on the board ”
"This has been a running debate
dunng my tenure," noted Barden I
believe a tenant will run into few
items which are not conflicts of in-
terest, but I’m not totally opposed.”
Councilman Doug Rivers was con-
cerned with how a tenant would he
defined noting a variety of diverse
organizations leased airport property
from the city, from the livestock auc-
tion to the Hondo Art League.
After the discussion, the mayor in-
structed Fisher and Hargrove to put a
proposal together regarding tenants
serving on the Airport Board which
would be considered at the next meet-
ing, scheduled for Tuesday, Sept 3
at 7 p.m. in City Hall.
Council recessed into executive ses-
sion to deliberate the purchase of prop-
erty on which to build a new Hondo
Municipal Library. They considered a
counteroffer made by Clyde Haak for
property he owns in the center of tow n,
south of Highway 90. Council also
discussed the possibility of purchas-
ing and remodeling the property now
occupied by Family Dollar.
After returning from executive ses-
sion, council moved closer toward
pursuing a deal with Haak.
“I received authorization to counter
an ofler made by the seller o! the p> ►-
tential library property. Clyde Haak,
said Vidaum " We’ve been negotiat
ing and this will be a counter to my
second offer ” The property in question,
which is the lavored location of library
board members, is across trom Memo-
rial Park at Avenue K and 2<Mh Street
In Other Business
• Council accepted the low bid o!
$57,988 Irom J D Ramming Paving
Company to resurtace streets as part
ot the city s 2001 -02 fiscal sear street
resurfacing program
"We've had a street resurlacing
project lor the last eight years." said
Barden "We initially considered this
year's work, the engineering estimate
was S2(X).(XM), so we cut the number
of streets to be resurfaced With the
bid of $57,988. we could negotiate
to resurface more streets "
Barden asked Vidaurri il he was
confident in the company ’s ability to
do the job. "Our engineers. CDS
Muery, reviewed the proposal and it
meets all the requirements," said the
city manager. "They also hav e a local
crew based in town Their equipment
is here and they can start immediately
That’s why they could bid so low "
Fisher motioned to accept the bid
fromJ. D. Ramming Rivers seconded
the motion w hich passed unanimously.
• A public hearing w as held to hear
input and criticism regarding the fis-
cal year 2002-03 budget being dev el-
oped by council. "Council spent four
long nights, and staff worked even
longer, putting this year’s budget to-
gether," said Barden. It s not 100%,
but it's almost complete." No citizens
chose to speak at the hearing.
Council will vote to approve the bud-
get during its Sept. 3 meeting. Details
of the budget are available at city hall.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in city
hall. The public is welcome to attend.
DISD earns 100% status from TEA
D’Hanis ISD has received notifi-
cation from the Texas Education
Agency stating that the district had
received a 100% rating on a recent
ESL/ DEC visit.
Superintendent Bruce Davis made
the announcement Monday night at
the DISD Board of Trustees meeting.
“We are the only ones I have heard
of that got a 100% rating,” he said.
Of 35 criteria, the district had met
30, the other five being items that did
not pertain to the district.
After the opening of bids for the
new softball field construction, the
trustees got a nice surprise when the
lowest of three bidders came in sig-
nificantly lower than the architect/
engineer’s estimate.
W. R. Griggs Construction bid the
base project at $143,540, or $162,490
with the alternate items added. The
engineer’s estimate was $246,873 for
the complete project. The alternate
items include additional paving and
grading for the baseball field and
parking area.
Griggs’ bid included the longest es-
timate of completion time, 150 calen-
dar days, a figure which would have
the work finished in time for the spring
season and would allow for unforseen
circumstances which could develop.
Construction consultant Andy
Simpson reported that the jobs cur-
rently being done by Griggs, are to
be completed by the end of the week
and the stadium contract is to be done
by Aug. 30.
He explained that the work has
seemed to be at a standstill, but it was
planned that way. For example, the
extruded aluminum planking is only
made by certain companies. Contrac-
tors must place their orders and then
“have to get in line" as orders are
completed in the order received bv the
supplier.
He indicated that on Tuesday the
contractor expected to be installing
bleachers and the press box, w hich also
had been constructed off-site. He said
the stadium would reach "substantial
completion" before the first football
game and would be ready for use. He
said this means that there may be some
small items that aren't quite complete,
such as touchup painting and other
little things that aren't quite right but
which will be fixed by the contractor.
A handicap-access lift to the press
box, which was decided upon after
the bid letting, is also being built else-
where and will be delivered and in-
stalled later. Handicap seating and
ramps will be accessible when the
stadium is useable.
The board approved a motion to
award the softball field bid to Griggs,
subject to negotiation by Supt. Davis.
In other action, the board:
• Approved a local leave policy.
• Named D’Hanis State Bank the
district’s depository after determining
it had offered “the best deal overall.”
according to Supt. Davis.
• Approved Texas Association of
School Boards (TASB) as the
district’s insurance carrier based on
last year’s coverage. Board members
discussed increasing coverage in sev-
eral areas, including fleet liability.
• Tabled action on two items: ap-
proval of adjunct faculty and of the
appraisal process for the superinten-
dent until the next meeting.
• Determined that more informa-
tion was needed before action could
be taken regarding proposed con-
struction of a gym/PE facility build-
ing. Alter discussion, it was decided
it would be best to leave the gym/PE
facility in the location indicated in the
bond election.
The board acknowledged Mrs. Lana
Rollans w ho "did a great job” in pro-
curing a $30,000 grant for the library.
•Approved policy regarding what
items may be placed in teachers'
school “mail boxes.” Materials such
as election and religious information
may be placed on a table in the teach-
ers' break room. Only official school
business items may be placed m the
teachers' boxes.
To ensure smooth transition from the
old to the new bookkeeping system,
the board voted to retain the services
of Mrs. Norma Rothe for 10 hours per
week as part time bookkeeper.
Board members signed a letter
from the auditor stating they were not
aware of any violations by the dis-
trict of law s or regulations, such as
nepotism, etc.
The board went into executive ses-
sion to discuss two lawsuits: the
DISD lawsuit against TPS and
Berkley Risk Administrators Com-
pany of Texas concerning the stadium
and the Koch lawsuit against DISD
concerning the election of trustees
and single member district ballots. No
action was taken on the first item and.
on the second item, an attorney w as
retained to represent the district.
HONDO WASH1TERIA
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Open 7 Days • 7 am -10 pm
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Rugs • Comforters
Sleeping Bags
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20 Front-Loading
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& 24 Roomy Dryers
160919th St. ( Hwy. 90) • Hondo
AIR FIELD
(ovTisi n> most r-At.r i
on the site now occupied by the Sunset
Mobile Home Pork The Fcdcrjl Hihjv
ing Authority 's plan 10 build a large
housing development, however tell
through because the guvemiiient laded
to declare Hondo as a delense area The
lack ot adequate housing was a proh
lem both then and today as the town
has a dearth ot affordable housing
With the end ot the War in Europe
HAAF underwent several changes in
its mission The school briefly con-
tinued to train navigators Later it
became the Air Force’s Flight Engi-
neer Schixtl tor the B 29 Hondo also
had a B 24 pilot transition school and
briefly taught new bombardiers the
science of nav igation
Most recently. Hondo is the home ot
the Air Force’s Flight Screening ( en
ter The airfield is the site ot the Air
Force's T-6A flight-training program
with 50aircraft stored at the airport I he
city is in discussion with the Air Foue
to bring the T-3 Flight Training Program
to Hondo alter the current lease expires
next year It the program comes to
Hondo, it will again infuse the airfield
with new life New buildings, includ-
ing a firehouse, would have to he con-
structed to accommodate the new ca-
dets who will be coming to the old field
The former airbase is also a bui-
geoning industrial park with several
recreational facilities, including a golt
course, numerous parks, and the Rick
Taylor Recreation Center.
Several people, who still live in or
around Hondo, once worked at the
base or had relatives w ho did. Among
those who agreed to share their
memories in honor of the field s 60th
anniversary are Jim Barton. Emmett
Beard, Bob Dile. Will (Surge) Ney
and Elmo Pope. We will tell those sto-
ries next week in honor ot the 60th
Anniversary of the airfield. Other
people who want to share their air-
field stories are welcome to contact
the Hondo Anvil Herald otlices.
Birthdays
Aug. 24 - Eva Louise Proctor
Aug. 25 - Billy Joe Myers. Sandy
Palomo, Sally Bader.
Aug. 27 - Jimmy Escamilla Sr.
Michelle Harms
Aug. 28 - Elijah James Sandusky.
Mary Morin
Aug. 29 - Richard Myers. Chris-
topher Laughinghouse. Mary Ann
Abbott.
Come See Hthat We'oe Cooked Up!
SUNDAY BUFFET
Fried Catfish &
Pork Loin Roast s795
(Seniors Kids ‘3* 2 8 under FREE)
Make plans to join us on Sat., Sept 7 to celebrate
Hondo Airbase's
bo Years of lienories
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EL RESTAURANTE AZTECA §
"Hondo's Downtown/ Hometown Restaurant"
Mon-Thur. 10:30-9 - Fri. 10:30-9:30 - Sat. 10:30-9 - Closed Sundays
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AND
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Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 116, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 22, 2002, newspaper, August 22, 2002; Hondo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth818968/m1/3/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hondo Public Library.