Nacogdoches City Council moves forward in developing an advisory committee

Nacogdoches City Council moves forward in developing an advisory committee

KTRE
By Mariela Gonzalez
Published: Nov. 10, 2022 at 10:12 PM GMT-7

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) -Following the cancelation of certificates of obligation, the city council has had to reconfigure how they will pay for several city projects.

Certificates of obligation were originally going to be used to fund these projects but the projects were halted after a petition was brought forward with enough signatures to stop the city from taking on this new debt without voter approval.

The City of Nacogdoches presented to the city council solutions to move forward with projects the city says are significant. City manager Mario Canizares, said with the approval by city council they will be able to get started with the beginning phases of creating an advisory committee.

“We’ll be bringing to them an application process where they can reach out to folks in the community to see if they’re interested in participating in a committee process,” said Canizares.

The city council agreed to appoint Nacogdoches residents to be part of the advisory committee.

According to the city, a priority project are the fire stations. The city wants to begin the design process for repairs recommended by engineers.

Fire Chief Keith Kiplinger says major repairs are needed at station #2.

“This is just making those repairs to keep the building envelope safe and stop from the water from running in,” he said.

Demolition and repairs of park restrooms and needs for water quality improvements and drainage in the city are also top priorities.

“It allows us to move forward on some projects that assistance as far as making some repairs at some of our city facilities and other pieces of infrastructures that have been left unfunded,” said Canizares.

City staff will begin applications in the coming weeks. They plan to have an advisory committee appointed by the city council in the beginning of the new year.